Gemayel Admits Disagreements with March 14 over Syria

Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel confirmed on Tuesday that he disagreed with his allies in the March 14 forces on the situation in Syria, saying Lebanon had no interest in shoving itself in the internal affairs of the neighboring country.

In an interview with As Safir newspaper, Gemayel said: “We have differences on how to deal with the Syrian issue and this is no secret.”

“We support change but we don’t see any interest for Lebanon to shove itself into the Syrian internal affairs,” the former president stressed, rejecting to turn the Syrian uprising against the Assad regime into a Lebanese conflict.

The Western backed March 14 opposition says it is in favor of Assad’s collapse against rising protests but Hizbullah and its allies, which make up the majority of the government, are staunch supporters of the Syrian president.

“Lebanon is a sick man, arms are spread throughout Lebanon and there is a lot of tension. So, any spark could put the country in flames,” Gemayel said.

But the Phalange chief also expressed concern at the possible rise of extremists to power in Syria if the Assad regime was toppled.

If fundamentalists come to power, then change won’t be efficient, he said. “Fundamentalism is also a dictatorship because it practices suppression in the name of God.”

Asked about his party’s ties with Hizbullah, Gemayel said: “We haven’t cut our relations with anyone.”

“We are open to dialogue but what is asked for is dialogue and not monologue,” the ex-president told An Nahar, stressing that “there is no point in sitting at a table with any team that holds onto its ideological stances.”

“That would lead nowhere,” he said.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced Saturday that the party was ready to engage in dialogue with its foes but the March 14 forces have conditioned their participation in the all-party talks at Baabda palace on putting the country’s defense strategy as the only item on the agenda of the National Dialogue.