Give Us Veto Power and Have Your Ministerial Declaration; Sfeir”s Positions Are His Own Not Church”s
MP Suleiman Franjieh has insisted on a demand for veto power in the new government telling the majority they can draft a ministerial declaration of their choice in return.
In an interview with OTV late Friday, the Marada leader also renewed criticism of Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir saying the latter”s positions reflect his personal views not those of the Church.
Franjieh voiced his support for MP Michel Aoun and repeated opposition demands for "veto power and more" in the new government.
He also insisted that the opposition will only participate in a government of national unity.
"Either we are in or we are not," he said, adding that coordination was ongoing between Nasrallah and Aoun.
Franjieh wondered whether March 14 wanted Hizbullah”s weapons arsenal as "a guarantee in a (future) ministerial declaration."
"If so, let them give us veto power and they can have which ever declaration they want because in the last time they legalized the arsenal in the statement and later conspired against it," he added.
Addressing Sfeir, the Marada leader said the patriarch has "gone too far by casting doubt on the intentions of the Christian opposition."
"I believe he sees us as traitors and that we are selling our homeland to Iran. It took him a long time before he (spoke) of Arabism, we have been way ahead," he said.
Franjieh went as far as calling for a separation between Bkirki, the Church and Sfeir, who the MP said was voicing "his personal will."
Franjieh”s barrage against Sfeir comes after Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah provoked a storm for criticizing the patriarch over a pre-elections statement in which the latter warned that "Lebanon”s entity and Arab identity will be in danger" should the opposition win.
The Marada leader said Sfeir had invited denunciation when he "touched on sects and religious ranks and he received the reply."
"Each one of us has the right to self defense," Franjieh said, adding that Bkirki was harming its "stature by placing itself in an unnecessary position."
He also accused former MP Fares Soaid of drafting the patriarch”s statement on the eve of the June 7 elections.
On the future prime minister, the MP said the opposition was waiting for the return from Riyadh of MP Saad Hariri, who is considered most likely to occupy the post.
"If he is still a candidate for premier, then he will need national consensus. But if the contender is PM Fouad Saniora, there will be a different stand," he said.
The second scenario, Franjieh said, "does not invite optimism because it means that Saudi Arabia decided to strengthen its grip on Lebanon."
While describing relations with the president as "normal," Franjieh called on Michel Suleiman to "take a position that separates between wrong and right and not to remain neutral."
"If his positions clash with ours, then we will oppose him," he added.
The former interior minister expressed gratitude for the Maronite League for initiating reconciliation among Christians.
"We accept reconciliation for the best interest of the Christians although we will not benefit from it," he added.