There Are No Moderate Arab States
The head of Change and Reform Parliamentary bloc Gen. Michel Aoun has attacked so-called "moderate" Arab states.
"There is no such thing as a moderate Arab axis, there is no moderation between right and wrong," Aoun told Hizbullah”s al-Manar television in an interview Friday evening.
"Moderation is in accepting the other side and in holding a dialogue with him," Aoun added.
"So-called moderate Arab states should be termed states of submission," he said.
Aoun also attacked Israel”s continued lack of respect for international resolutions and agreements.
"Israel surpasses all international agreements in using banned weapons. The Palestinian people die and no one cares," he said.
"Arab pressure exerted by moderate Arab states did not prevent Israel from targeting Palestinian civilians in Gaza," he said.
"Which of the U.N. Security Council member states denounced the (Israeli) violation of signed international agreements?" Aoun wondered.
"The Qassam rockets are not the real cause of the war on Gaza, the real cause is to kill the Palestinian will," Aoun said.
He linked the tragedy of Gaza with that of Qana in south Lebanon, saying: "The massacres are one and the same."
Aoun commented on the Doha summit resolution on suspending the Arab peace initiative (launched at the 2002 Beirut Arab summit) saying: "This was necessary, particularly when this initiative was not followed up by any implementation. Israel continues to reject the Palestinian right of return."
"The Arab initiative is suspended to begin with. The Qatari and Mauritanian decision for severing ties with Israel is a positive thing," he said.
Concerning the recent criticism by Beirut demonstrators against President Michel Suleiman, Aoun said: "The president”s position was not ambiguous and we at the Free Patriotic Movement did not press the president."
"We are not against the president we are competing against him politically at the upcoming elections. All those that are not allied with us are against us," he said.
"We at the Free Patriotic Movement spearhead the objectionable stance," Aoun affirmed, adding that people express their political views freely.
"I do not understand what is centrism, what is their agenda? Today we hear about centrists independents, what does that mean?" Aoun asked.
He went on to add that the centrist political bloc is another name for March 14 Forces that are attempting to influence public opinion.