Samir Geagea
On April 22, the March 14 website carried a statement by the leader of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, after receiving US Charge d”Affaires Michel Sisson at his residence in Maarab:
Geagea: “Speaker Berri”s calls for [dialogue] sessions are not serious. [If he was serious], he would have at least walked, along with members of his parliamentary bloc, into the parliament hall if there was an intention to fill the presidential vacuum.” Geagea said he was surprised at Berri”s call for deputies to head to parliament without convening a session. He also said that a country that has no president has no republic, accusing the opposition of attempting to abolish Lebanon.
He also said that Berri is not right; “His talk is smooth from outside, but rough from the inside,” recalling the mechanism stipulated by the constitution regarding the election of a president.
“Since all rivals agreed to elect General [Michel] Sleiman, why link the issue to other matters? In time, we all realized the existence of a political crisis in the country and many points that need to be resolved… The electoral law concerns us much more than it concerns Berri, and we will not partake in any parliamentary election without a new electoral law.
“But there are also other points that concern us, such as the uprising against the state, the weapons that are outside the framework of the state, and the demarcation of our border with Syria. Thus, we have to talk about all the issues proposed by Berri, which we also proposed.
“Is this a response to Berri”s call?”
Geagea: “This is my preliminary response, and we have to see what this call holds between the lines. We will not miss any chance that would take us to a presidential election. Speaker Berri is smart enough, and he knows very well how to handle things. But this is not what concerns us. We are rather concerned about seeing the reality of the situation. For example, we want to listen to the opinion of Hezbollah and General Aoun regarding dialogue, in addition to the issues over which we will hold dialogue.”
Regarding the statement of US Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs David Welch about Lebanon”s “hot summer” and the death of the Arab initiative, Geagea explained that Ambassador Sisson affirmed to him that “Welch did not declare this, and they still have the recording, and they had sent necessary explanations to the newspapers that circulated this quote.”
Geagea also thanked all friendly countries, namely the United States, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which affirmed the necessity of having Lebanon participate in the Kuwait Conference, and which try at every forum to help Lebanon. In response to a question, Geagea reaffirmed that there are arming operations that ceased five months ago. He said: “The official security apparatuses are informed about the situation, and I think they are supposed to carry out necessary measures in this regard.” He emphasized the need to preserve civil peace no matter what…
Asked about the options to be taken by the majority after the postponement of the election session, Geagea said, “All our options are hard, and due to this, we are cautious, although the country does not bear a vacuum at the level of the presidency. Besides, official political movement activates society.”
“Don”t you think that Speaker Berri’s step – even if it was a nominal one – comes in the context of fulfilling his responsibilities and trying to outflank the ruling team?”
Geagea: “Speaker Berri is smart. His call today is an empty call, since he did not go to the public hall and did not inaugurate a session.”
“Does this mean that there is no solution?
Geagea: “We have a solution, but the other team hinders it…”