Election Will Determine Direction of Lebanon’s Path
Lebanese Forces Executive Council leader Samir Geagea recognized the responsibility of every citizen to vote during the upcoming elections and called on voters to think of their children’s future when casting their ballots.
Speaking to the Voice of Lebanon radio station on Sunday, Geagea said, “Every vote will determine which direction Lebanon will take and whether we will continue what we began on March 14 or vice versa.”
“If we win the elections, and we will win them, it does not mean that the Lebanese pain will end. If we lose, and we will not lose, [it does not mean] that life is over. However, the journey will be delayed,” he added.
In response to a question on the dispute over appointments to the committee formed to supervise the upcoming elections, which took place during Saturday’s cabinet meeting at Baabda, Geagea said that if he had been at the meeting he would have adopted a different position. He added, however, that he respected the positions taken by March 14 ministers. Geagea said that it was unacceptable for March 8 members to continue with such behavior. He said that appointees to a committee to oversee the 2009 elections did not require a two-thirds majority when voting, because they were not high level government employees.
Geagea also said there were a number of indications that suggested the opposition would continue on this path. These included Marada Movement leader Sleiman Franjieh’s most recent statement and that of Youth and Sports Minister Talal Arslan on Friday. Geagea said that he did not think that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun’s recent visit to Syria had caused Arslan to make these remarks. Geagea rejected Arslan’s reasoning and instead said that he was conveying a message from the March 8 coalition. Geagea said that the essence of those statements was to force the majority to carry out the opposition’s will, which, he said, was unacceptable.
Geagea said that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun had been made to appear as if he was “the cause of the problem or the game leader” by other figures who remained “in the shadows.” He added that Lebanese and Christian public opinion viewed things in a different manner. Geagea said he regretted that Aoun had chosen to be put in that situation however he added that every person must accept responsibility of their own choices.
“I am relieved about the public atmosphere and every day I see people from all regions. With regard to March 14, we are pursuing our work and we will succeed in announcing a unified list of candidates [for the 2009 parliamentary elections] and a unified program on which we have already agreed,” he noted.
Geagea said that international supervision for the elections would prevent factions, who would otherwise consider resorting to violence, from using this force.
Geagea also said that he had a vision for the defense strategy, focusing on a Swiss model that emphasized neutrality, which he would bring to the next meeting of the national dialogue roundtable.