Aoun: My Proposals Don't Require Constitutional Amendment, Confidence Must be Withdrawn from Moqbel

Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun noted Tuesday that the initiative he recently launched to resolve the presidential crisis does not involve any “constitutional amendment,” as he reiterated his call for withdrawing confidence from the defense minister over the security appointments controversy.

"My presidential proposals do not require any constitutional amendment ... Ask the people what they want," said Aoun in an interview on OTV.

Aoun has recently blamed the current political crisis on “the limitation of the presidential powers” after the Taef Accord and “the lack of participation by all the Lebanese factions” in the country's political life.

He called for choosing one of four solutions: a two-phased election of the president by the people, a popular referendum that is binding for parliament, a parliamentary vote for the “two most representative Maronite MPs”, or holding parliamentary polls based on a new and balanced electoral law before organizing the presidential vote.

“I ranked first in recent polls about the presidency,” Aoun told OTV on Tuesday.

“I think I have failed to become a consensual candidate,” he said, in response to a question, noting that the other camp “did not have the intention to reach a consensual candidate.”

“I am trying to make a reformist achievement and this is why I'm being fought,” Aoun pointed out.

Asked about the tour that his Change and Reform bloc had recently carried out to explore the stances of political forces on his presidential initiative, Aoun said “some parliamentary blocs have approved of our proposal on limiting the presidential elections to the two strongest candidates.”

“But the presence of the third candidate (MP) Henri Helou has rendered this proposal infeasible,” he added.

Helou has been nominated by Progressive Socalist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat, who describes his parliamentary bloc as centrist.

Dismissing accusations that his camp is seeking a so-called “constituent assembly,” Aoun said “those who lie in politics can accuse others of what they want.”

“This is what's happening in the issue of the constituent assembly,” he added.

“What did they rely on to accuse me of abandoning equal (Christian-Muslim) power-sharing? We're currently practicing six-party power-sharing due to the unjust electoral law,” Aoun lamented.

Asked about the FPM's ongoing talks with its Christian rival, the Lebanese Forces, Aoun noted that the so-called declaration of intent paper that the two parties are preparing is “almost ready.”

“Political changes will not affect it,” he said.

Turning to the issue of the appointments of top security chiefs, Aoun stressed that he is not trying to “impose anything on anyone.”

“The Constitution distributed authorities among the sects and we have the right to name Christian officials,” he underlined.

“I don't have a problem with (Army Commander) General (Jean) Qahwaji, but why should we keep a civil servant in his post in an illegitimate manner?” Aoun pointed out.

As for his dispute with Defense Minister Samir Moqbel, the FPM chief said that “the defense minister is 'unique.'”

“He is entrusted with implementing the law not with doing what he wants. If he does not want to implement the law, confidence must be withdrawn from him,” said Aoun.

On Monday, Moqbel dismissed Aoun's call for withdrawing confidence from him. “I did not hear him and I don't care about that,” Moqbel said.

The dispute erupted between the two men after Moqbel recently extended the term of the head of the Higher Defense Council, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Khair.

The military positions in Lebanon are suffering as a result of the months-long presidential vacuum in light of the parliament's failure to elect a successor for Michel Suleiman. The vacuum also threatens the position of Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous who is set to retire in June.

The tenure of Army chief Qahwaji is set to end in September. His term was extended for two years in September 2013.

“I told (al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad) Hariri that (Commando Regiment commander) Shamel Roukoz is my candidate (for the army chief post) and he proposed Samir Shehadeh and Imad Othman” for the command of the ISF, Aoun revealed.

“Hariri accepted the proposal and we both agreed to inform our allies,” he noted.

As for the situation in the northeastern border town of Arsal, Aoun pointed out that “the responsibility falls on the entire government to know what is going on in Arsal.”

“The battle is on our border and there are thousands of militants and their numbers are increasing,” he warned.

“What will the army do in Arsal's outskirts? We want to know. Will it allow the militants to continue occupying the land in Arsal? Arsal is not insulated because wounded fighters are moving across the border. Yesterday a member of al-Nusra (Front) was abducted from the town,” said Aoun.

“We will talk about the mistakes of the Lebanese army command at the appropriate time and many mistakes that were committed last time (in Arsal) have not been corrected,” he went on to say.

“Everyone is counting on the army so when will it launch a military battle that honors it? The Lebanese army is currently incapable to repel the extremists' attacks and it might receive the weapons after the end of the war in the Middle East,” Aoun noted.

Aoun's ally Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has warned that Hizbullah would intervene militarily in Arsal's outskirts to oust the militants of the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front if the Lebanese state fails to do so.

Y.R.