Samir Geagea is set to reassure Christians in a speech Saturday that their existence is not in danger and reject calls for private security despite the rising threat posed by radical Islamist groups, sources close to the Lebanese Forces leader told The Daily Star.
“He will express his total rejection of private security and will assure Christians that they are safe,” one source said.
Geagea will make the address during a ceremony to be held at the party’s headquarters in Maarab in honor of LF martyrs.
The sources said Geagea would stress that the Syrian regime was involved in the creation of ISIS and that the group had nothing to do with Islam or Arabism.
“Geagea will also touch on the plight of Syrian people that the Assad regime is targeting with chemical weapons,” a source said.
The sources said that in his address, Geagea would also emphasize that ISIS and the assassins responsible for the death of March 14 figures were two sides of the same coin. Five Hezbollah members are currently standing trial in absentia over the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, whose Future Movement party is a key member of the March 14 coalition.
Geagea’s speech is also expected to touch on the Arab Spring.
“He will explain that although the Arab Spring is having bloody and violent birth pangs, sooner or later, the end result will be democracy and civilized diversity,” the source said.
As for local politics, Geagea is due to stress that the solution to the presidential vacuum did not lie in tampering with the Constitution.
“He will stress that amending Article 49 of the Constitution is not the solution, but rather lies in refraining from blackmail and paralyzing [state institutions],” the source said.