Fatfat in Maarab to Stress Strong Alliance between al-Mustaqbal, LF

Al-Mustaqbal Movement MP Ahmed Fatfat held talks with Lebanese Forces Chief Samir Geagea in an attempt to rectify ties between the two parties after the formation of Prime Minister Tammam Salam's cabinet.

Fatfat stressed after a two-hour meeting in Maarab that the two parties are “allies,” pointing out that “it's is a necessity to reconsider the current political stage after the formation of the new government, which we hoped that the LF would have been part of.”

However, he pointed out that al-Mustaqbal movement “respects the stance of the Lebanese Forces.”

Ties have deteriorated between al-Mustaqbal Movement and the Lebanese forces after al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri agreed to participate with Hizbullah in Salam's government.

Geagea had been adamant to stay out of the cabinet, saying he would not share power with Hizbullah.

He has also reportedly expressed dismay at the recent rapprochement between Hariri and his foe Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun.

Concerning Salam's cabinet ministerial policy statement, Fatfat stressed that the Baabda declaration should be the basis of any ministerial statement, which should be in alignment with the Bkirki charter.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi had unveiled early in February a treaty that calls for holding the presidential elections on time.

It also demanded that political powers adhere to the country's national pact and place national interests above personal ones.

Asked about army-people-resistance equation, the lawmaker ruled out the possibility of mentioning the formula in the ministerial statement, whether directly or in an indirect way.

“Hizbullah has realized that the party's intervention in Syria is imposing great threats on it and its popular base as we are on the doorstep of a historical stage that compels us to act responsibly and take straightforward stances,” Fatfat said in his statement.

The MP warned that “if the there was no intention to safeguard Lebanon from its crises then the national unity cabinet doesn't exist.”

He reiterated that the “dissociation policy is Lebanon's only salvation.”

Fatfat revealed that several al-Mustaqbal movement lawmakers support the withdrawal of the party's ministers from the cabinet if “the army-people-resistance equation was adopted in the ministerial policy statement.”