Nayla Tueni Accuses Aoun of “Radical” Shifts
Parliamentary candidate Nayla Tueni said Tuesday the positions of MP Michel Aoun have undergone "radical shifts" over the past years making him "unqualified" to judge others, especially those who were killed for adhering to their principles.
Tueni was reacting to Aoun”s remarks on Monday when he described slain MP and An Nahar general manager Gebran Tueni as a man of "seasonal" principles. Aoun also reiterated his view that the younger Tueni possessed a "limited" understanding of politics and was undeserving of a reaction to previous statements criticizing him.
"General Aoun”s position on sovereignty underwent radical shifts in the past years making him unqualified to categorize others, especially those who were martyred for their adherence to their principles," she said in a statement.
Tueni, who is An-Nahar newspaper assistant general director, is running for the Orthodox seat in Ashrafiyeh in the June 7 polls.
She criticized Aoun for turning the elections into a "personal" issue and for messing with "sanctities and dignities."
Tueni lamented Aoun”s betrayal of his own principles, his movement and "the advocates of sovereignty" recalling that he once shared a "with the martyr Gebran Tueni a long era of common struggle."
She recounted Aoun”s policies in the previous years including "his alliance with those he accused of treason years ago, his defense of weapons he once said threatened the pillars of the state, and last his visit to Syria, whose leader he once wanted to crush."
She said she will rise above Aoun”s "redundant" rhetoric, in which he described his opponents as "youngsters and sons of prominent families."
Tueni advised Aoun "not to slip to a level unfit for any leader who speaks of martyr Gebran Tueni and describes him as seasonal," a description she said was inaccurate given the late MP”s "fearlessness" and "adamant struggle."
"Aoun”s desperate attempt to distort the image of the martyr Gebran Tueni might be due to the fact that he is being haunted by (Tueni”s) memory more than anything else," Tueni said.
"He is trying – with no success – to erase this memory as part of a new war of elimination, which forms the focus of his electoral promise for residents of Ashrafiyeh and other Christian areas," she concluded.