March 14 to Discuss its Initiative with Hizbullah: Its Rejection Jeopardizes Lebanon

The March 14 General Secretariat noted on Wednesday that reactions to the alliance's initiative regarding the presidential deadlock were “too hasty,” while warning that rejecting it “threatens the unity of state institutions.”

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “The March 8 camp's rejection of the proposal will lead to chaos on the border and a disregard of international resolutions, which will lead to the collapse of the state.”

“Failure to elect a president will lead Lebanon towards the unknown and will push it toward violence and the unrest in Syria and Iraq,” it warned.

“I do not think there is a camp in Lebanon, especially one that is involved in Syria, that would benefit from spreading this violence to the country,” remarked March 14 General Secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid after the meeting.

“We should all rise to the occasion and seek the interests of the Lebanese people,” he stressed.

Moreover, he said that the General Secretariat will not respond to the Free Patriotic Movement's dismissal of the March 14 initiative “because the alliance has, since Monday, set itself as a power seeking to launch dialogue with all sides and political forces.”

“It has demonstrated that it seeks Lebanon's interests. We will discuss the FPM's view with the movement or its allies, particularly Hizbullah, which holds greater sway in ending the presidential deadlock than the FPM,” Soaid noted.

The March 14 alliance on Tuesday kept its support for Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea as a presidential candidate, but said it was ready to agree on another consensual candidate.

“Out of its keenness to hold the elections, the March 14 alliance calls for the respect of constitutional deadlines and the rotation of power,” MP Fouad Saniora told reporters minutes after Speaker Nabih Berri adjourned a parliamentary session aimed at electing a president.

The March 14 alliance holds onto the candidacy of Geagea, the lawmaker said but expressed the camp's “full readiness to discuss with the rest of the factions the name of a person who receives the backing of all the Lebanese and who is committed to the country's principles.”

The FPM rejected the proposal, saying that it offered nothing new and was a waste of time. It instead remained committed to the initiative suggested by its chief MP Michel Aoun.

Commenting on the recent unrest in the northeastern border town of Arsal and the kidnapping of a number of soldiers and policemen, Soaid said: “These developments demonstrate the great need to elect a new president.”

“Failure to do so and complete the construction of the state will lead to its collapse over all sides without exception,” he remarked.

“This is why the March 14 alliance sought to launch its initiative and proposed the election of a consensual president capable of saving the republic and protecting the constitution,” he added.

The security personnel were abducted in light of the five-day Arsal clashes that erupted on August 2 between the army and Islamist militants.

They were sparked by the arrest of a member of the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front.

A number of the captives have since been released, the most recent of whom were five soldiers over the weekend.

Media reports have said that the captors are conditioning the release of the remaining captives to Hizbullah halting its involvement in Syria.

M.T.

Y.R.