Geagea Ready for 'Serious Dialogue' with Hizbullah, Says Polls 'Mother of All Battles'
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Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has expressed readiness to engage in a “serious dialogue” with its arch foe Hizbullah and described the upcoming presidential elections as the “mother of all battles.”
“There is no tension with Hizbullah. Our differences with it are not personal or sectarian,” Geagea told al-Akhbar newspaper in an interview published on Monday.
“Our differences lie on viewpoints because I consider that what it (the party) is doing would lead to destruction,” he said about Hizbullah's involvement in the Syrian war.
“Such differences are present among all parties,” he added.
Geagea refused to “waste time,” telling his interviewer that he was “ready to talk to Hizbullah if the dialogue was serious.”
Geagea, whose party has not taken part in Prime Minister Tammam Salam's 24-member government for refusing to share power with Hizbullah, criticized the cabinet's policy statement.
He said the document's resistance clause, which was adopted on Friday after almost a month of political wrangling between the March 8 and 14 alliances, “paved way for every group to arm itself under the excuse of the resistance.”
“What would the government do if a group of citizens in Jbeil, Tripoli or Hasbaya decided to get arms to resist the occupation?” Geagea asked.
He also criticized the policy statement for not clearly stating the Baabda Declaration that on June 2012 received the backing of the rival parties during a national dialogue session chaired by President Michel Suleiman at the presidential palace.
The March 8 and 14 alliances pledged to distance Lebanon from the region's turmoil although Hizbullah has openly fought alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad's troops against the rebels seeking to topple him.
The policy statement's resistance clause states: "By the virtue of the state's responsibility to preserve Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the government stresses the state's duty and efforts to liberate the Shebaa Farms, the Kfarshouba Hills and the occupied part of Ghajar (village) through all legitimate means, while stressing the right of Lebanese citizens to resist Israeli occupation, repel its aggression and regain the occupied land.”
Geagea said the LF lawmakers will not give their confidence to the government although they would participate in the session called for by Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday and Thursday.
Asked about the presidential elections as Suleiman's six-year term ends in May, the LF chief said the March 14 alliance should strongly get engaged in the electoral battle to achieve its objective.
Describing the polls as the “mother of all battles,” Geagea told al-Akhbar that “unlike what some say, the president has authorities.”
“He is the symbol of the state,” he said.
17 March 2014, 08:04
1012
The fake hakim cornered again. First by aoun, now by ha. This man is a political failure. How much weight did he think he had with 5 mps? Lol.
In any case, it's a nice change from obstructionism to dialogue. Can't you ever learn? Dialogue is always the solution, childishness, never.
17 March 2014, 11:55
711
And why would HA want to talk with Geagea ? Geagea is good for one thing ... obstructionism. Hariri used Geagea just for that, obstructionism, and then tossed him aside when the KSA changed out Bandar.
Geagea is political poison at the moment and most probably for a long time to come ... Never mind the HA ... would any party want to talk with Geagea? He has nothing to offer. Even Al Rahi has written him off.
17 March 2014, 09:05
811
I think this has to do with the 10000 men he was training. Obviously we know now that ha is more powerful than we had ever thought. His plan I think of starting a civil war with those men doesn't look like a good idea now, so he's ditching the ksa losers and getting on with the winners.
17 March 2014, 08:12
411
But it's good that he's doing this. Locking yourself up in a castle will get you nowhere. Like he said, we're all friends here, things should be talked out. Hopefully he and aoun can finally bridge theit differences and unite the christians. It's the only way.
17 March 2014, 08:33
159
Geagea always engaged in dialogue and was instrumental in all the dialogue sessions except the last one. He found out the terror party's intentions were not serious and all efforts with them were a waste of time.
17 March 2014, 09:00
513
"Geagea always engaged in dialogue"
No.
Read the other posters' replies and see how much sense yours does in comparison. You'll see that if he doesn't get the presidency he'll be back to locking himself up in marab. Hopefully he's serious though and josephani's assessment is realized.
17 March 2014, 11:59
712
What do HA or any other party have to discuss with Geagea? Even Hariri threw him under the bus when he didn't need Geagea's obstructionism anymore. This is a desperate attempt by Geagea for political relevance.
17 March 2014, 09:15
135
He won't be HA's muppet and won't accept its conditions, he's no Aoun...
Question is : can m8 impose Aoun or Frangieh without M14 consent ?
17 March 2014, 09:36
124
'he will need to set his differences aside and kiss and make up with them.'
his difference with them are coming from syria, disarming, bringing to court hariri's killersm etc...
Do u think they'll accept ? No, only a greedy muppet will accept to sell lebanese sovereignty against Baabda palace...
17 March 2014, 10:23
114
I understand ur point of view but i dont share it.
I'm no M8/M14, but M14 has a sovereign project, M8 doesnt care, wouldn't mind syrian troops to come back or even pasdarans. i speak about politicians of course, not the voters...
17 March 2014, 11:58
21
All what we need from all the politicians is to engage in a serious open dialogue. Setting terms ahead of sitting together is against the notion of having a dialogue. However knowing the Lebanese politicians, no one whether from 8 or 14 would sit with the intention to reach a resolution where there is a 0.00001% that he might have to let go of anything belonging to him ... that ya politicians is not dialogue. Wake up and see what you have done to our Lebanon and to the Lebanese youth. ENOUGH ... walla it is ENOUGH
17 March 2014, 12:51
111
Did you know this mod removed around 120 comments from an original 135 or something? They just read names, and sometimes don't even bother. The moderation is extremely lacking and unprofessional. Sometimes though, posts are reinstatrd. Just report your own post so they see it. It probably got reported by popeye or friends.
17 March 2014, 15:43
102
I don't support either March 8 or 14, in my opinion they can all go to hell, they ruined the country. However, to all those Hizballah supporters bashing Geagea for "finally" wanting dialog saying that Hizballah has been ready to talk for a long time, let me say one thing: True, Hizballah has been ready for dialog, but with their precondition that their weapons are not up for discussion there is not point in having a dialog. The major issue that is at the center of the deadlock in Lebanon is their weapons, and if they refuse to talk about that then they are simply playing the victim, "we want dialog but march 14 is not sitting with us". This is BS, when they set preconditions they are setting up any dialog to fail.
17 March 2014, 17:47
83
Are you jealous your false General and the false Sayyed are no longer on good terms ? Your false general no longers enjoys monopoly of collaboration with the traitor Hassan ?
I'm pretty sure the false Hakim will not reach anything with your false Sayyed because your false Sayyed does not care about the presidency or Lebanon. He is the de facto dictator of Lebanon and he pisses on both your false general and the false hakim. Both should join forces if they truly still believe in christians' of the east !
17 March 2014, 17:51
11
In my opinion, HA likes the chaos, it's serving them well, order and law hurts them. They believe they are above the law, and this is getting to their heads. The way they are going I believe they have only have a few options. Since they don't trust anyone they should either take over the country (which will mean civil war), split the country, or give in to the rule of law and the state, the Lebanese government. The ideal situation is the latter, but from what we have seen they do not show loyalty to Lebanon but to Syria and Iran, so I think what it is going to boil down to is either of the first two. The status quo is not going to last very long, it can't.
17 March 2014, 17:51
11
When someone you are trying to do dialogue with starts dissing you that tells you they do not believe the dialogue is serious. Unfortunately for all of us, we have to share this little country, so either we coexist or we kill each other. I vote for the coexist part. Now, for us to coexist we have to respect each other's opinions and not impose anything on each other. I shouldn't have to expect HA to impose their weapons on me as I don't expect them to want me to impose anything on them, hence the dialogue.
17 March 2014, 18:34
71
polls or no polls anyway hezbollah doesn't care about the results... if it does not please them they just disobey the state and spit on its institutions... and M8ers bravely follow them out of fear or interests....
