March 14 vows to confront plot “to topple state and Taif Accord”
The March 14 Forces pledged on Tuesday to face "plans to topple the state and the Taif Accord," vowing to "build the state of Lebanon and establish a unified authority and army." The March 14 Forces held a gathering at the Bristol Hotel in Beirut, in the presence of the coalition”s leaders and electoral candidates from across the country. In a statement issued afterward, the alliance said: "Together we will confront those who wish to topple the state and the Taif Accord."
The statement also rejected what the alliance called "plans to establish the three-way sharing of power instead of the equal sharing of power between Christians and Muslims." They added that such plans threatened the country”s stability.
The statement also called for the establishment of an independent judiciary and voiced the March 14 Forces” support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which will try those accused in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
At the end of the meeting, participants signed a declaration to renew the coalition”s oath and commitments.
Separately on Wednesday, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said that on June 8, a day after the parliamentary elections, the country would witness the "end of the current era."
Addressing a delegation from the Metn towns of Bteghrin and Khenshara, Aoun said that after the elections, Metn residents would be saved from problems "they witnessed over a period of 18 years."
Meanwhile, a candidate for the Shiite seat in Zahle, Mohsen Dalloul, a former MP and defense minister, withdrew from the electoral race on Wednesday. Dalloul announced his decision during a news conference in which he said he thinks the Shiite community in Lebanon is threatened.
In other developments, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said that the March 14
Forces were likely to maintain the parliamentary majority following the elections. During an interview with Al-Anbaa newspaper on Tuesday, Geagea said he was optimistic regarding the elections, adding that the country could not be ruled by one party regardless of the elections results.
Geagea added that the Free Patriotic Movement”s popular support largely decreased, adding that he was expecting "surprising results in districts previously dominated by the FPM."
Asked about a possible meeting between him and Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the LF leader said "the political rift between us is too big and too deep," adding that he met Nasrallah a few times during the dialogue session.
Meanwhile, Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad said on Tuesday that based on available information "the opposition is likely to win the upcoming parliamentary elections, despite US intervention."
During a ceremony on Monday in Kfar Tibneet, Raad denied accusations that the opposition was trying to annul the Taif Accord and to replace it with the Doha Agreement. "The Taif Accord is what the Lebanese agreed upon to establish the state," he said.
Separately, Democratic Gathering bloc MP Marwan Hamadeh said that he did not believe that a meeting would be held between Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt and Nasrallah before the elections. "In any case, the next national dialogue session will convene on June 1. We hope that Sayyed Hassan will attend the dialogue, or else he will be represented by MP Mohammad Raad as usual," he said.
Telecommunications Minister Gibran Bassil, meanwhile, stressed the importance of Hizbullah”s weapons to face Israel threats. During an electoral visit to Batroun, Bassil said that Hizbullah”s weapons were not a threat to Lebanon, adding that "the real danger which the country was able to surmount" was posed by "active and dangerous fundamentalist movements and explosions across Lebanon."
"What Hizbullah is calling for today is a unified Lebanon. Hizbullah”s weapons are necessary to confront Israel and the conspiracy of settling" Palestinian refugees in the country, he said.
Lebanon faced "grave dangers over the past years including fundamentalist networks that mushroomed in Nahr al-Bared," he said, referring to the northern Palestinian refugee camp that saw deadly clashes between militants in the army in 2007.
On the elections, Bassil said the FPM was not against the Lebanese Forces and Phalange Party winning a majority in Parliament. "But the FPM is opposed to a Hariri family parliamentary majority," he added.
He expressed hope that the FPM would have "the largest parliamentary bloc through which we can combat corruption."
Bassil said political opponents who "describe themselves as independents and centrists are unable to realize the change that we aspire for." The 2005 elections presented an "opportunity to restore unity among the Lebanese based on partnership and balance. But we were stabbed by those we extended our hand to," he added.