Michel Aoun

 News

FPM protestors, Army soldiers injured during rally at Grand Serail

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Hundreds of supporters of a Lebanese Christian politician protested in Beirut on Thursday against the Sunni prime minister they claim is marginalizing Christian influence.

Seven soldiers and several protesters were injured during a brawl between the Lebanese Army and Free Patriotic Movement supporters near the Grand Serail in Downtown Beirut.

Michel Aoun accuses Prime Minister Tammam Salam of taking decisions without cross-party consensus and usurping powers reserved for the president – a post set aside for a Christian but vacant since last year due to the wider political crisis.

Aoun’s critics, including other Christian leaders, say his motivation is personal. A presidential hopeful, he wants his son-in-law, Brigadier-General Shamel Roukoz, appointed as army chief when the job needs filling in September.

Aoun, 80, is an ally of Hezbollah, a powerful Lebanese Shi’ite group backed by Iran that is fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Hezbollah has said it backs Aoun’s political position, but is not taking part in the rally.

WATCH: FPM protestors scuffle with Lebanese Army outside of the Grand Serail in Downtown Beirut.

Supporters of Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) waved its orange flag as groups on foot and in cars honking horns made their way towards the Grand Serail government headquarters in central Beirut, where Salam was holding a cabinet meeting.

The army had blocked roads using armored vehicles and metal barriers as the protesters chanted and took pictures on their smartphones. Soldiers watched in the shade.

“All parties should agree on laws,” said 21-year-old student Charbel Khoury. “They are taking everything from us. As Christians we should act, we should not stay at home. We are only a small number in the region.”

Political sources in parties allied to Aoun said his ministers would not resign, even as one of them threatened further escalation. “We will stay in the street until the government is toppled if it continues in this way,” Walid Khoury, an FPM lawmaker, was quoted by local media as saying.

Reuters

Comments Off on FPM protestors, Army soldiers injured during rally at Grand Serail 1835
 News

Lebanese Christian rivals hold rare meeting

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanon’s two main Christian political leaders held a historic meeting on Tuesday, in an effort to find common ground among two enemies whose rivalry has lasted for decades.

Michel Aoun and Samir Geagea, who fought each other during the Lebanese Civil War from 1975-1990, are both candidates for the Lebanese presidency which has been vacant since Michel Sleiman’s term expired a year ago.

But the rare meeting, which was held at Aoun’s home in Rabieh, left political quarrels behind and instead focused on a landmark declaration of intent between the two rivals.

Aoun and Geagea prepare to speak to the media during a joint press conference at Aoun's home in Rabieh on June 2, 2015. (Photo: Aldo Ayoub)
Aoun and Geagea prepare to speak to the media during a joint press conference at Aoun’s home in Rabieh on June 2, 2015. (Photo: Aldo Ayoub)

The Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement parties have been in talks for months now, ushered by FPM MP Ibrahim Kanaan and LF media officer Melhem Riachi.

Aoun called the meeting a “gift” to Lebanese Christians who were concerned about the political and security climate in Lebanon.

“The decision is in our hands and not in the hands of any other party,” Aoun said, referring to the influence of the regional power-players Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The agreement on a new president is widely seen as a broader deal requiring a Saudi-Iranian blessing.

Aoun is an ally of the Shiite Iranian-backed Hezbollah, while Geagea backs the Sunni Saudi-backed politician Saad Hariri.

The two leaders issued a joint statement calling for the election of a “strong president” which would be supported by a majority Christian population and capable of working with Lebanon’s other religious sects.

The declaration of intent was negotiated between FPM MP Ibrahim Kanaan and LF media officer Melhem Riachi. (Photo: Aldo Ayoub)
The declaration of intent was negotiated between FPM MP Ibrahim Kanaan and LF media officer Melhem Riachi. (Photo: Aldo Ayoub)

Geagea said the purpose of his visit to Aoun’s home was to gather the two main Christian parties to discuss the ongoing political climate for Christians in the country. He said he “wished the meeting took place 30 years ago.”

“(LF and FPM) are two political forces which — if they agree — can have a positive impact on Lebanon,” Geagea said in comments published by the Lebanese National News Agency. “Our meeting today is the beginning of dialogue, because the previous months witnessed preparations that paved the ground for this meeting.”

The declaration of intent calls for peaceful interaction between the two parties, including mutual support to “principles of sovereignty” and “the approach of dialogue.”

“The two parties agree to strengthen state institutions and resort to the law to resolve any sudden dispute. They agree not to resort to arms or violence and to support the army because it is the institution that can preserve sovereignty and national security,” the declaration of intent reads in-part.

Aoun and Geagea echoed support for coexistence among Lebanon’s religious groups, including an electoral law that respects equal power-sharing between Muslims and Christians.

Geagea visited FPM leader Michel Aoun at his home in Rabieh on June 2, 2015. (Photo: Aldo Ayoub)
Geagea visited FPM leader Michel Aoun at his home in Rabieh on June 2, 2015. (Photo: Aldo Ayoub)

On the issue of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, both parties called Israel an “enemy” and called for a two-state solution. They also issued a mutual statement rejecting the naturalization of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

The agreement also mentions the Syrian crisis and its impact on Lebanon, adding that they will “not allow”  the Lebanese border to be used for the smuggling of militants.

“We call for finding a solution to the Syrian refugee crisis, which is a time bomb at all levels and we call for securing their return to safe areas in Syria,” the document said.

The agreement also made a brief mention of Lebanese emigrants, adding that the two rivals will exert “joint efforts” to approve laws that protect property ownership and naturalization of Lebanese emigrants.

Comments Off on Lebanese Christian rivals hold rare meeting 2886
 News

Aoun wants either Hariri’s support or Parliament elections

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun will press for holding parliamentary elections on schedule if former Prime Minister Saad Hariri does not support his candidacy for the presidency, or if a new president is not elected before September, FPM parliamentary sources told The Daily Star.

“If a new president is not elected before September, Gen. Aoun will not accept under any circumstances the extension of Parliament’s mandate,” the sources said.

They added that Aoun, the March 8 alliance’s undeclared candidate for the presidency, insisted that the government of Prime Minister Tammam Salam under the laws in force should call for holding parliamentary elections scheduled in November either on the basis of a new electoral law or under the modified 1960 rules that were agreed as part of the 2008 Doha Accord.

Lawmakers last year extended Parliament’s mandate by 17 months after failing to endorse a new electoral law.

Aoun, the head of the parliamentary Change and Reform bloc, will not wait for a response from Hariri regarding the Future Movement’s support for him as a consensus candidate for the presidency longer than the legal deadline under which the government would be obliged to call for parliamentary elections in September, the sources said.

Aoun has been in contact with Hariri through his son-in-law Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil over the Future Movement’s possible support for the FPM leader as a consensus presidential candidate, the sources said. Aoun had debated the possibility of parliamentary elections with his allies but it was not clear whether it was also discussed with Hariri by way of the ongoing negotiations between the two sides, the sources added.

Aoun, according to the sources, would seek to convince all influential political parties in the country of the need to conduct elections on time. The MP feels a fresh extension of Parliament’s mandate would be difficult to pass, especially as some parliamentary blocs, such as the Kataeb Party, which had endorsed the previous extension, now insist that the forthcoming parliamentary polls be held as scheduled in November.

It was noteworthy that Aoun’s suggestion that new parliamentary elections be held if a new president is not elected before September has been ignored by all political parties. Neither Aoun’s March 8 allies, nor the March 14 parties have commented on this proposal.

Political sources said the rival parties’ indifference toward Aoun’s proposal meant that the idea of holding parliamentary elections and thus for a newly elected Parliament to pick a successor to former President Michel Sleiman was not yet ripe.

In order for Aoun’s proposal to see the light of day, it must be supported in the first place by the Future Movement and the March 14 parties, in addition to the FPM leader’s March 8 allies, but this does not seem to be within reach at present, the sources said.

They added that if Aoun succeeded in persuading all Christian parties of the need to hold parliamentary elections – which is deemed impossible for now – it would be difficult for the government and other parliamentary blocs to disregard the unanimity of Christians who have complained of a vacancy in the country’s top Christian post.

A number of FPM lawmakers see Aoun as fighting his last political battle and believe he will not hesitate to use all legal and constitutional political weapons possible in order to win the struggle that he thinks is his last chance to reach the presidency.

By insisting that he does not have a plan B if Hariri does not endorse him as a consensus candidate for the presidency, Aoun’s proposal for holding parliamentary elections might further complicate matters at all levels, especially if other parliamentary blocs reach a consensus on the renewal of Parliament’s mandate and allowing Baabda Palace to remain unoccupied, FPM lawmakers said.

Source: The Daily Star

Original Article

Comments Off on Aoun wants either Hariri’s support or Parliament elections 1915
 News

Aoun’s bloc to cast blank ballot for presidential election

BEIRUT: The Change and Reform bloc headed by MP Michel Aoun will cast a blank ballot during Wednesday’s Parliament session to elect a new president as the presumed candidates have yet to secure a two-thirds majority.

“We will attend tomorrow’s Parliament session and we will cast a blank ballot,” MP Emile Rahme told reporters after a bloc meeting chaired by Aoun in Rabieh.

While the former Army general has said he would only run for the country’s top Christian post as a “consensus candidate,” his rival, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea announced his candidacy earlier this month.

Meanwhile, MP Walid Jumblatt said his National Struggle Front bloc nominated MP Henry Helou for the post, describing the Aley lawmaker as a “voice of moderation.”

Speaking to reporters after his bloc’s meeting, Jumblatt denied Helou’s nomination was a “political maneuver,” saying he believed his lawmaker can help safeguard the country.

Only Geagea and MP Robert Ghanem have announced their candidacy for the presidency although Lebanon has entered its two-month constitutional deadline to elect a new head of state.

President Michel Sleiman’s six-year term ends on May 25.

None of the candidates including those who consider themselves natural nominees such as Auon and Kataeb head Amin Gemayel have yet worked to secure two thirds majority for the first round of the parliamentary sessions.

In a clear sign Gemayel would not enter the presidential race as announced last week, MP Elie Marounie said Kataeb lawmakers would attend the legislative session and vote in favor of Geagea.

A Lebanese Forces delegation headed by MP Strida Geagea handed Speaker Nabih Berri a copy of presidential hopeful Geagea’s platform during a meeting in Ain el-Tineh.

Geagea said the speaker praised her husband’s agenda, saying the LF expected its head to do well in Wednesday’s session.

“We expect Geagea to get no less than 50 votes for the first round of election… we have 37 votes from the Future bloc, eight votes from the Lebanese Forces along with several other independent lawmakers,” the MP told reporters after the meeting.

“As a March 14 coalition, we insist on having a single candidate. Our candidate, as March 14 forces, is Geagea and it is too early to talk about other options,” she added.

She also thanked Telecoms Minister Butros Harb, once thought to be a presidential hopeful, for contacting Geagea and voicing support for his candidacy.

Earlier in the day, Berri held talks with MP Michel Murr, head of the Lebanese Democratic Party MP Talal Arslan as well as Health Minister Wael Abu Faour who headed a delegation from Jumblatt.

Murr said he along with MP Nayla Tueni would attend Wednesday’s morning session, adding that he expected quorum.

“I will check with my conscious and Lebanon’s interest and then I will elect a president on that basis,” Murr told reporters after the meeting in Ain el-Tineh.

Berri also spoke to Arslan and the PSPS delegation about the presidential election.

The speaker also met with a delegation from Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya headed by MP Imad Hout.

Several blocs have already confirmed their attendance of Wednesday’s session including lawmakers from Jumblatt and Berri’s blocs.

MP Robert Ghanem who visited Geagea and Maronite Cardinal Beshara Rai Tuesday said he was running for the election because he was a consensus candidate.

“I announced my candidacy on the basis that I am a consensus president. According to Article 49, the president is the head of the nation’s unit and works for its institutions,” Ghanem told reporters after his meeting with Geagea in Maarab.

“When I announced I was running, I was convinced that the power of moderation is the effective power that can restore state institutions,” he added.

Future MP Ahmad Fatfat also met with Rai and ruled out the possibility of Lebanon plunging into a presidential vacuum.

Source: The Daily Star

Comments Off on Aoun’s bloc to cast blank ballot for presidential election 1685
 News

Sleiman reiterates rejection of extending his term

BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman reiterated Sunday that he would not accept an extension of his presidential term that ends next month.

“I am bored of answering the question about extending my term, and I say it once again that I am against the extension because it not democratic,” Sleiman said, speaking from Bkirki where he attended the Sunday Easter Mass.

“I say no for extension of the presidency or in Parliament,” he said.

Sleiman said that boycotting the upcoming Parliament session to elect a new president would be “wrong” as it meant “boycotting consensus and Dialogue.”

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai also appealed to lawmakers to attend the session, saying that “it is an honor for lawmakers to elect a new president.”

Speaker Nabih Berri has called for a Parliament session to elect a new head of state Wednesday, but it is not certain whether a quorum for such session will be secured.

The president also praised the presidential campaign platform of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, who declared his candidacy for the election earlier this month.

“I like the presidential program of Samir Geagea because it is national and sovereign, and I congratulate any president who applies such program,” he said.

A delegation from the LF held a rare visit to Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun at his Rabieh residence Saturday afternoon and gave him a copy of Geagea’s presidential program.

The delegation included MPs Strida Geagea, Joseph Maalouf and Fadi Karam, along with former Minister Toni Karam and a member of the party’s executive committee, Eddy Abi al-Lamaa.

Sleiman also spoke about his ties with Hezbollah, which have deteriorated recently over the president’s criticism of the party’s role in Syria.

“My ties with Hezbollah are normal, Hezbollah ministers are present within the government and I see them once or twice a week,” he said.

“The party just took inappropriate stances, and I made statement that they did not like.”

Source: The Daily Star

Comments Off on Sleiman reiterates rejection of extending his term 1515
 News

‘Friendly’ Meeting between Aoun, LF Delegates

A Lebanese Forces delegation met with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Saturday afternoon, and handed him over a copy of the LF leader’s presidential program.

The delegation included MPs Sethrida Geagea, Joseph al-Maalouf, Fadi Karam, former minister Toni Karam and member of the party’s Executive Committee Eddy Abi al-Lamaa.

MTV provided late on Saturday details on the “friendly” meeting between Aoun and the LF delegates.

It reported that the talks started with MP Geagea handing over the presidential program to Aoun, with a greeting from LF leader Samir Geagea.

“We hope that you would support his candidacy,” Sethrida Geagea told Aoun, who responded with a smile, according to MTV.

The FPM leader told Geagea that the final decision on whether he will run for office or not will be announced on Tuesday, after his Change and Reform bloc’s weekly meeting.

“My presidential program is focused only on securing stability,” Aoun remarked.

The meeting ended with both parties agreeing on attending Wednesday’s parliamentary session, and on supporting a “strong candidate who has a clear program.”

MP Geagea assured Aoun that the LF will be “the first to congratulate him if he wins in the presidential race, and that the party will stand by whomever becomes president.”

“I will also be the first to congratulate Geagea if he takes office,” Aoun responded, according to the same source.

LF officials have been holding talks with different parties and leaders in the country to hand them over LF leader Geagea’s presidential program, and to discuss the upcoming elections.

LF sources told MTV on Friday that a meeting with Hizbullah officials will be requested for the same purpose as well.

“We will request an appointment to meet with Hizbullah officials as well but we are not sure they will be responsive. But we are going to do what we have to do,” the sources said.

MTV said on Saturday that LF MP George Adwan is the person tasked with contacting Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal party over this matter.

On Wednesday, Geagea announced a presidential program that focused on “restoring the authority of the state against the proliferation of weapons during a time of regional unrest.”

The LF chief also called for a state monopoly on the use of force, including confronting Israel.

He is the sole politician to have officially announced his candidacy for the polls, which are first scheduled to be held on April 23.

Speaker Nabih Berri called on MPs to meet next Wednesday, although the election is not expected to be an easy process amid a lack of agreement on a consensual candidate.

President Michel Suleiman’s six-year tenure ends on May 25.

Source: Naharnet

Comments Off on ‘Friendly’ Meeting between Aoun, LF Delegates 1469
 News

Hezbollah raps Geagea candidacy, calls for compromise

BEIRUT: Hezbollah Friday implicitly rejected Samir Geagea’s candidacy for the presidency, saying the Lebanese Forces leader’s move could delay holding the presidential election on time and cause trouble in the politically divided country.

MP Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah’s bloc in Parliament, also said his party would only support a presidential candidate who defended the resistance, a long-running divisive issue among the Lebanese.

“Some candidacies that are not qualified [for the presidency] might obstruct holding the election. The country cannot endure a problem and a clash between two national options,” Raad told a rally in south Lebanon, in a clear reference to Geagea’s bid for president.

“There is no time for [forging] a major political compromise over these two options because an agreement on a president cannot be reached unless there is a consensus over a compromise,” he said.

Raad was apparently referring to the two conflicting options over Hezbollah’s arsenal. While the March 14 coalition wants Hezbollah to disarm and surrender its missiles to the Lebanese Army, the March 8 alliance insists that the party keep its weapons to defend Lebanon against a possible Israeli attack.

Geagea, an outspoken critic of Hezbollah, has repeatedly called on the party to hand over its arsenal to the Army, saying a powerful state cannot be built while illegitimate arms remain in the hands of any party. Geagea and his March 14 allies have also slammed Hezbollah’s military intervention in Syria to support President Bashar Assad’s forces.

Days after announcing he would run for president, Geagea unveiled Wednesday a broad political platform stressing the state’s monopoly over the use of arms, a move intended to deprive Hezbollah of its arsenal.

In an apparent response to Geagea’s platform, Raad said Hezbollah would only support a candidate who defended the resistance.

“We want a candidate who will safeguard and defend the resistance option and is keen on the unity of the Lebanese,” Raad said. “With regard to major national issues, abandoning the resistance option in favor of another option will threaten national sovereignty and put the country on the brink of a new abyss.”

“Therefore, we advise those concerned [with the presidential election] to be wise and refrain from embarking on miscalculated adventures,” he said.

The presidential race has moved into high gear after Speaker Nabih Berri Wednesday called on Parliament to convene on April 23 to elect a new president.

The parliamentary session will likely fail to elect a president as no candidate appears ready to secure two-thirds of the MPs’ votes, and the session may not achieve quorum.

In addition to Geagea, Western Bekaa MP Robert Ghanem from the March 14 coalition has also announced his candidacy.

Kataeb Party leader Amine Gemayel is also expected to announce his candidacy for the presidency in the new few days.

As news of Gemayel’s nomination spread, LF and Kataeb officials were in contact in an attempt to reach consensus over a single March 14 candidate.

Geagea’s wife, MP Strida Geagea, telephoned Gemayel asking to meet at the latter’s residence in Bikfaya.

“The LF and the Kataeb Party are very close to an agreement on approaching the presidential election in such a way to ensure March 14 unity in order to wage the presidential battle under the best conditions,” an LF source said.

An LF delegation will soon visit Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun in Rabieh, north of Beirut, to give him a copy of Geagea’s political platform. LF delegations will also visit March 8 and March 14 leaders for the same purpose.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai spoke by telephone with Geagea to congratulate him on his nomination for president and the declaration of his political platform, a statement from the LF chief’s office said.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said he was still undecided on which candidate to support for the presidency.

“I will choose [a candidate] at the last minute after consulting my conscience and my partners,” he told Al-Ousbou Al-Arabi magazine. “I will consult Speaker Nabih Berri first, the Future Movement and other sides.”

Jumblatt, head of a seven-member parliamentary bloc, is seen as the kingmaker in the presidential election as his support for one of the two rival factions can tip the balance in its favor.

Separately, a Future Movement source denied Friday that former Prime Minister Saad Hariri would return to Lebanon to attend next week’s parliamentary session to elect a new president.

“Such allegations are not true,” the source told The Daily Star. “Hariri has no intention of coming back to Lebanon at the moment.”

Earlier Friday, Future MP Samir Jisr told the Voice of Lebanon radio station that Hariri might come to Beirut next week to attend the parliamentary session to elect a president.

Source: The Daily Star

Comments Off on Hezbollah raps Geagea candidacy, calls for compromise 1516

Send this to friend