Geagea Demands Govt. Session to Put Immediate Stop to Hizbullah Fighting in Syria
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea condemned on Tuesday Hizbullah's fighting in Syria alongside the Syrian regime, accusing the party of violating the Baabda Declaration that calls for Lebanon to distance itself from regional crises.
He said during a press conference: “The government must hold a session to put an immediate stop to Hizbullah's fighting in Syria.
He explained that the government, despite its caretaking role, is obligated to address the country's national interests, especially when Hizbullah's actions are threatening to drag Lebanon towards the Syrian crisis.
Moreover, he said that Iran is employing Hizbullah in order to defend its expansionist ambitions in the region.
He added: “Iran has taken a strategic decision to fight for the survival of the Syrian regime at the expense of the life of the last Hizbullah fighter.”
“Where is the Lebanese state's position on Hizbullah's involvement and some Lebanese calls for jihad in Syria?” he wondered.
Commenting on Hizbullah demands that the fighters killed in Syria should be recognized as martyrs, Geagea asked: “What about those killed in Akkar and Tripoli? Who tasked the party to defend the Syrian regime and for what purpose?”
He then justified his decision to boycott the national dialogue sessions over the past year seeing as the Baabda Declaration, which was adopted during a session in June, has since been violated by Hizbullah, which itself was present at that round of talks.
On Monday, Hizbullah official Sheikh Nabil Qaouq has said the party's fighters had a moral and nationalistic duty to protect Lebanese citizens from rebels in villages and towns on the Syrian-Lebanese border.
“What Hizbullah is doing regarding this issue is a nationalistic and moral duty in protecting the Lebanese in border villages,” Qaouq, who is the deputy head of the party's executive council, said.
Addressing the case of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Geagea suggested the formation of buffer zones with Syrian border regions that can harbor the displaced.
These zone should be set up in border areas in Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey and should be protected by international forces that may allow the refugees to live in peace and dignity, he proposed.
On the efforts to form a new government, Geagea stressed that the new cabinet should be tasked with overseeing the parliamentary elections.
He urged the need to keep the government formation efforts away from discussions on the political distribution of portfolios, which includes the March 14 camp.
“How can the other camp accuse us of seeking to form a one-sided cabinet if we are willing to exclude ourselves from it for the sake of staging the elections?” he asked.
“The new government should be judged according to its policy statement, not the identity of its members,” he stressed.
He therefore suggested that President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam come up with a government lineup, which they will then present to the political power who in turn will subject it to a vote of confidence.
In addition, Geagea said: “The new policy statement should not include the phrase the army, people, and resistance, but army, people, and Hizbullah because the resistance no longer exists.”
Commenting on the ongoing discussions over a parliamentary electoral law, Geagea remarked that it had emerged in recent weeks that all parties are in agreement over the hybrid law.
The main dispute remains over the details of the law, he added.
He then suggested that various versions of the law be subject to a vote at parliament and the version with the most votes be adopted in the elections.
“We must accept democracy in all its forms if we are seeking to hold the elections,” he explained.
Rival lawmakers failed on Tuesday to reach an agreement on a hybrid electoral draft-law after they accused each other of obstructing attempts to achieve consensus on a system that would replace the 1960 law.
The hybrid law combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems.
“There is no longer any need for the subcommittee to continue its meetings. But this doesn't stop the members from continuing consultations among themselves,” MP Robert Ghanem, the chairman of a parliamentary subcommittee, said.
The MPs, who represent the major political parties in the subcommittee, had been tasked with agreeing on a new law that would replace the 1960 law that considers the qada an electoral district and is based on the winner-takes-all system.
Speaker Nabih Berri had given the subcommittee until May 15 to agree on a new law before calling for a legislative session to reach a breakthrough.
Source: Naharnet
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