March 14 Could Absorb Shock, But Jumblat Departure Over and Done With
MP Michel Aoun said Saturday that March 14 forces might be able to "absorb" the shock caused by MP Walid Jumblat”s recent actions but they cannot "reverse" what happened.
"March 14 forces might be able to absorb the shock caused by Jumblat”s departure, but they cannot absorb the action itself," Aoun told Sawt al-Mada radio station in an interview.
"The majority is no longer a majority. It is now a group of minorities and forming a coalition is inevitable in the country," he said on the impact of Jumblat”s move on March 14.
On a possible meeting with Jumblat, Aoun said "circumstances are starting to ripen. It won”t be long before we meet." He added he did not have any preconditions for such an encounter.
Press reports said on Saturday Aoun was preconditioning that a meeting with Jumblat take place in one of the Chouf”s Maronite churches, a demand the Druze leader has rejected.
Aoun said Jumblat”s move "resembles in general what we did in 2005." He said the Progressive Socialist Party leader came across the "same vacuum that I found because the scope of the majority is limited to individuals and does not include the people as a whole."
He said Jumblat can afford to change directions "without paying the price politically, inside his party and with his public. But this is not possible with all parties."
Aoun said Christian members of the majority "do not know which direction to go. It is like riding a ship without a compass."
"They are against Hizbulah”s weapons arsenal but they do not have any blueprint, at the same time they want to negotiate with Israel," he added.