MP Zahra: We reject the return of tutelage over Lebanon
MP Antoine Zahra of the Lebanese Forces said that the incidents and clashes that followed Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s speech are part of a political campaign aimed at saying, “We are the strongest” and at suggesting that Lebanon cannot be ruled but by pro-Syrians.
“This campaign is directed against those who are rejecting the return of tutelage,” Zahra told LBC Television. “This message is rejected, and it is not acceptable for the security of any of the Lebanese people to be threatened. The state must consolidate its presence in order to preserve everyone’s dignity,” he said.
“Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has the right to belong to the Wilayat al-Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurist) party, and it is our right to reject that this be imposed on the Lebanese people,” he added.
Zahra said, “Hezbollah’s project is experiencing a drawback, for what happened was not received well by it, and it did not receive well its own incapacity to control the Mountain within the expected time,” he declared.
According to Zahra, the fact that the opposition got the obstructing one-third is not a victory. “The government will remain only for nine months. The share of the president was weakened because of the stances of some at Doha, but we are betting on the personality of the president.”
“Sayyed Nasrallah contradicted himself in his speech,” Zahra noted. “He said that he does not want to use weapons in order to achieve political gains, but then, he declared that an agreement would not have been reached without the incidents which happened,” he said.
Commenting on the five blank votes at the presidential session, Zahra noted that those concerned with the presidency knew in less than 24 hours who had submitted blank votes.
An additional blank vote was casted in the ballot by MP Boutros Harb, who had made his stance public ahead of the presidential session.
“Those who did it were targeting the Lebanese Forces,” Zahra declared.
Zahra noted that there are two candidates for the premiership: PM Fouad Siniora and MP Saad Hariri. “We will know before tomorrow. Neither Saudi Arabia nor any other country names the prime minister. I don’t know if the US wants PM Siniora, but he is a very competent person,” he said.
Zahra called on all Lebanese, saying, “As of today, [you should] respect the results of the legislative elections. I think that March 14 will be a majority with more than 70 MPs.”
He also criticized speaker Nabih Berri for using his constitutional position to voice his personal opinions. “I don’t know when Speaker Nabih Berri is distinguishing between his constitutional position as speaker and his position as a politician. He has abused his constitutional position to express policies that do not reflect that of the parliament. If he wants to express his personal point of view, he must sit in the seats of MPs.”
MP Zahra said that Hezbollah abandoned its ally the Free Patriotic Movement on two matters: the presidency and the electoral law.
He also reiterated the good relation joining the Lebanese Forces with MP Walid Jumblatt.
“Security fears are not over yet, and we are still receiving warnings, and we know that independence figures are still targeted,” Zahra noted.