Aoun attacks Sfeir, said “does not represent the public opinion”

 

Hezbollah-led opposition ally General Michel Aoun on Monday attacked Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir and said ” he does not represent the public opinion, but only the Church.”

 
The Patriarch, Aoun said, “is free to express his opinion regarding the political situation … but he does not decide our constitutional powers on behalf of us.”

 

Aoun asked Sfeir to “clarify what is being said” about Bkirki”s support for Premier Fouad Saniora”s government.

Aoun, who was addressing a delegation from Byblos at his residence in Rabieh, also accused former President Amin Gemayel and Lebanese Forces leader Dr. Samir Geagea of “blocking the Bkirki meeting” that had been aimed at achieving consensus among Christian leaders on a presidential candidate.

 

Aoun repeated his claim that he is the main “ representative of the Christian community until further notice and that Gemayel and Geagea have very few followers.”

 

Aoun has on several occasions criticized Bkirki and has been actively competing against Sfeir for control of the Christian community. According to analysts , his alliance with Hezbollah has drastically reduced his influence within the Christian community , while Sfeir’s influence has been on the rise . The Christians see Aoun as a dangerous man , whose only objective is to become the president of Lebanon at any price and is willing to get in bed with the devil to achieve his goal, regardless what happens to Lebanon.

 

Aoun accused the majority of seeking a “president who keeps the war and we tell them that we would not accept such a president. We want a president to stop any war that is being planned.”

 

Army General Michel Suleiman was nominated by the majority as a compromise candidate and according to analysts this General is not a war president, but willing to fight for Lebanon like he did against Fatah al Islam terrorists last summer . He has been playing a unifying role ever since he has been in that post …he is after all managing an army that represents all the 18 religious factions of Lebanon . Unlike Aoun who is blamed for dividing Lebanon right in the middle and is blamed for destabilizing the county as a result of his alliance with the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah organization.

 

Hezbollah initiated a war with Israel in the summer of 2006 which left more than 1200 Lebanese dead, mainly civilians and Lebanon’s infrastructure was devastated. Hasn’t it been for Aoun’s Christian cover for Hezbollah analysts say, it would not have dared initiate such a devastating war .

 

Similarly the Hezbollah led protest under the government that followed the war would not have endured has Aoun not actively participated . Even though the protest has failed in overthrowing the government ( its main objective ) , it never-the-less left scars that will take a long time to heal.

 

Many analysts believe Aoun is so blinded by his dream of the presidency that he has lost touch with reality and his constituency. They think that Aoun’s only chance to reclaim his leadership position within the Christian community is if he reforms himself and goes back to where he belonged in the first place and that is to fight along with the majority for Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence . “Being a tool in the hands of Hezbollah “ as Bishop Bechara al Rahi said of Aoun, will continue to erode his position within his constituency and will turn his dream into a nightmare.

 

According to analysts , the fact that two world leaders have exposed Syria’s disruptive role in Lebanon , should be enough proof for Aoun that the accusations by the March 14 leaders against Syria and its allies were always true and that Aoun has been used by the Syrians all along to destabilize the country.

 

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday called on Syria to help Lebanon achieve a national consensus on the postponed presidential election and maintain its stability. The French president went a step further and said “ France will have no more contact with Syria until Damascus shows sincerity in letting Lebanon choose a consensus president.”