Syrian Regime”s Intentions toward Lebanon Unchanged
Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra questioned whether Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun’s call for amending the Taif Agreement was aimed at dividing the state according to the three major groups [Christian, Sunni, and Shia] instead of being equally distributed between Christians and Muslims.
He told Future News television on Friday that MP Aoun’s position in Lebanon was not as important as Syrian authorities tried to imply during his reception in Damascus.
He affirmed that the Syrian regime had not changed its intentions toward Lebanon as some said it had.
He said that the opposition was raising the issue of the parliamentary elections because it realized where Lebanese public opinion stands.
He added that MP Aoun’s bloc did not represent the percentage of votes in North Lebanon that he claimed to have because Marada bloc leader MP Sleiman Franjieh guaranteed 60% of the candidates’ vote, which, he said, was the highest percentage of March 8 alliance Christian leaders.
He also said that Aoun will request the Syrian authorities to compensate him for “the prospective electoral lost in Mount Lebanon” by giving him seats in other areas, dominated by Syria’s allies, such as Baalbek-Hermel.