Aoun: I Will Not Accept Alternative to Orthodox Law, I Wasn't Informed of Any Rome Agreement
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun rejected on Tuesday any possible alternative to the Orthodox Gathering parliamentary electoral law, saying that the rights of Christians in Lebanon are being usurped.
He said after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: “I was not informed of any of the discussions that were held in Rome.”
Prime Minister Najib Miqati had hinted on Monday that an agreement had been reached in Rome with Speaker Nabih Berri and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi over an electoral law.
Al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Tuesday that the two-paper document states that political foes should consent on a hybrid electoral law that divides the parliamentary seats equally based on winner-takes-all and proportional systems or 60 percent of MPs be elected through the winner-takes-all and 40 according to the proportional system.
Al-Rahi is set to propose the plan to Christians factions upon his return to Lebanon.
The three officials had traveled to Italy to attend the inauguration mass of Pope Francis I on Tuesday.
Aoun continued: “The rights of Christians are being usurped and the way the issue is being dealt with is offensive.”
“The usurpation of their rights is aimed at covering up an attempt to lead Lebanon towards vacuum and chaos,” noted the MP.
The Orthodox Gathering law is constitutional, as is the proposal that calls for the adoption of Lebanon as a single district based on proportional representation, he stressed.
“We will accept the position of the majority. Is this not democracy?” he asked.
Moreover, he slammed the Taef agreement, saying that it should be “dumped in the garbage because it is not an accord.”
The FPM leader also condemned the attack against the four Dar al-Fatwa clerics on Sunday, hoping that the investigation would reach its findings soon.
Aoun voiced his support for Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani's position on the assault, noting that he helped avert strife in Lebanon.
He revealed that an FPM delegation will soon meet with Qabbani to express its solidarity with him.
On Sunday night two Dar al-Fatwa clerics Sheikh Mazen Hariri and Sheikh Ahmed Fakhran were assaulted while passing through the Beirut area of Khandaq al-Ghamiq.
Another two clerics, one of them identified as Sheikh Omar al-Imami, were assaulted in the southern suburb of Shiyyah.
Tensions soared in the wake of the two attacks as angry protesters blocked roads in several regions across Lebanon.
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19 March 2013, 17:20
Aoun: The Taef agreement should be dumped in the trash as it is not an accord.
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19 March 2013, 17:19
Aoun: I was not in Rome and was not informed of the talks that took place there.
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19 March 2013, 17:15
Aoun on Syrian shelling against Lebanon: I recently said of the Akkar residents and security that the locals will be in danger if the army withdrew from the area. Attacks from war-torn countries are inevitable if we are neighboring them. Don't let the situation in the North develop into a similar situation that was witnessed in the South in the past.
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19 March 2013, 17:12
Aoun: We're not living in a primitive or tribal mentality.
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19 March 2013, 17:12
Aoun: We accept the opinion of the majority. Is this not a democracy? Playing around with Christian representation is unacceptable.
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19 March 2013, 17:07
Aoun: The usurpation of Christian rights is a cover for an attempt to lead Lebanon to vacuum and chaos.
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19 March 2013, 17:06
Aoun: An error would be committed if the state did not distribute seats according to sects. How can a Christian MP represent his sect if he is not elected by Christian voters?
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19 March 2013, 17:05
Aoun: The Orthodox Gathering law is constitutional as is the one based on a single electoral district. One MP claimed that the Orthodox law is sectarian, while neglecting to mention that the distribution of power among the president, premier, and speaker in Lebanon is based on sects.
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19 March 2013, 17:05
Aoun: The way Christians' rights is being dealt with has become offensive.
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19 March 2013, 17:04
Aoun: We praise Grand Mufti Mohammed Rashid Qabbani's position on the attack.
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19 March 2013, 17:03
Aoun: We condemn all moral attacks and not just physical ones. Moral attacks are more painful than physical ones.
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19 March 2013, 17:03
Aoun: We condemn the assault against the four clerics and urge a speedy investigation in the matter.
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19 March 2013, 17:02
FPM leader MP Michel Aoun after Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: We congratulate Christians on the election of a new pope.
19 March 2013, 23:52
22
You can always count on this useful idiot to take Christians to the Middle Ages, tarnishing Christians with same reputation for freedom, democracy and civility as Hizbollah or Iranian Basij. He and Hizb have finished destroying our economy, caused the exodus of all foreign corporations and good jobs, and now is destroying the livelihood of successful Lebanese living abroad. Hard to believe anyone with half a brain supports this buffoon. Lucky for him there are enough buffoons in M8 and M14 to make him look like a genius. God save us from this poison!
19 March 2013, 17:12
511
Like all Lebanese politicians...Mr Aoun you say what suits you and ignore what doesn't. I was a kid when you used to address the Lebanese as "Ya sha3ba lobnan el 3zeem" and although I was suffering from your army shelling my building (34 direct hits btw) I respected you for what you represent...today you should address your follower as: ya sha3ba lobnan el kharoof...suits them better!
19 March 2013, 17:15
21
Never heard or seen anyone more sectarian than this man! Christian this and Christian that,,,,uffffffffff!
19 March 2013, 17:17
21
Oh what an idiot.... so, by the same token, let the Sunnis elect the prime minister, the shias the speaker, and the christians the president???? Is that the lebanon that he wants????
19 March 2013, 17:31
106
Aoun: The Orthodox Gathering law is constitutional as is the one based on a single electoral district. One MP claimed that the Orthodox law is sectarian, while neglecting to mention that the distribution of power among the president, premier, and speaker in Lebanon is based on sects.
Yep ... the powers that be want to keep out the reformers to keep their fiefdoms safe for patronage at the expense of Lebanon. Suleiman, Miqati and Berri are all angling to keep the corrupt status quo that keeps their money rolling in ... Only Aoun will reform Lebanon
19 March 2013, 20:57
23
"Only Aoun will reform Lebanon"
good you wrote "WILL" coz with FPM all is promises but not acts whatsoever... he is in power what reform did he do? none...
and he never will!
20 March 2013, 04:46
21
MCKINL..its double wow to you and that madman of el rabieh..what are you both on.if to say you are the smartest people and the rest are idiots.Aoun whatever his medication taking him into should change his prescription i don't think its doing him any good.in fact its making him to believe that all of Lebanese are hallucinating from his medication and his the only normal one.i have been saying the orthodox gathering are not in any body's favor at all even to the christians it harms them more than it give them any thing.the true fact the current law which makes all MP to be representing all of the country not based on sectarians like MAJNOUN EL RABIEH been saying.whatever the taif accord agreement based on is to serve Lebanon and save its citizen.otherwise i don't think any of our politicians would have agreed on.AGAIN AOUN hysteria is anything to do with Saudi drive him LOOPY and i should call him that name from now on
19 March 2013, 17:36
21
liar liar pants on fire (that's how they came up with the orange color)
19 March 2013, 17:41
58
"An error would be committed if the state did not distribute seats according to sects. How can a Christian MP represent his sect if he is not elected by Christian voters?"
This is the problem. This sentence disgusts me. I am shameful that I even used to defend this man. I never thought he would turn out this sectarian.
A Christian MP should represent all of Lebanon, not just his sect. This is disgusting rhetoric and is divisive and dangerous.
19 March 2013, 18:34
22
dont wanna choose our own. Shoo constituent??!?!? What if I am labelled a Shia and am actually an atheist? It's all horsecrap, get over this sectarian nonsense.. it will lead to nothing but destruction
19 March 2013, 19:14
17
When a christian candidate can win without being on HA, FM or PSP's lists, then lebanon can be secular.
19 March 2013, 19:26
25
The_roar
You correctly point out the lack of fairness in the 1960 law. But we should also realize that at a fundamental level, the 1960 law's flaws are based on the sectarian system. The only adequate alternative to the 1960 law is not one that maintains the sectarian quotas, but rather one that can establish a secular political system.
I used to believe Aoun was going to fight for a secular system, as espoused in the FPM's 2009 political platform. Because of that he won my vote. But now I cannot even recognize him, as the Orthodox Law is far from a secular law at all.
19 March 2013, 22:03
24
I'm all for Christian rights, but your argument is somewhat flawed. If Christians couldn't elect their own MP's, then neither could any sect. Yeah, the 1960 Law is ridiculous. But at this point a Christian vote outweighs a Muslim vote 3:1. Christians have their rights in droves. The solution to this "problem" isn't descending into greater levels of sectarianism but actually establishing a secular state. War criminals and feudal families need to be rid of. Elias Khoury once said that for an Arab Spring to happen in Lebanon, one would have to happen in each sect. But unfortunately, Lebanon is backwards like hell, perhaps irreparably so, especially when we have sectarian laws like this even being considered considered and leaders like Berri, Geagea, Aoun, Jumblatt.
19 March 2013, 17:42
11
how old is he, were there any lunatics before he was born or it all stated with him
19 March 2013, 17:50
20
The Taef agreement should be dumped in the trash as it is not an accord.
he's right as Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in 1989 "The problem with the Taif is that it enshrines the Maronite sectarian system .. The alternative to the Taif accord is the resistance."
19 March 2013, 17:56
45
rejection of the taef accord.
this is the main thing they are after.neither hizbushaitan nor aoun want taef, although aoun is basing his electoral law on the taef accord.
what they want is divide power into 3 between Christians, Shia and sunnis. this has always been the hidden agenda of hizbushaitan. and aoun is the one getting them there.
aoun was and still is the worst thing that happened to Lebanon.
we are definitely heading towards civil war guys. better prepare well for this one.
19 March 2013, 19:28
24
Man you 2. Your opinions lack so much credibility. Go read a book and learn how to argue in a civil manner.
And please, do not call me a Farsi, traitor, regime loyalist, or whatever else you 2 like to throw around.
19 March 2013, 18:31
10
the christian ayatollah baddou houkouk el massihiye,so monseigneur rahi is batrak el massihiye or what?
19 March 2013, 18:43
10
Taef enshrines the stop counting half and half Mounasafa, does Aoun really want us to believe that the Christians at 35% will get a better deal. After all Nasrallah does not deny that HA's wish is to establish an Islamic Republic, because "establishing an Islamic government is the only way to bring stability to a society and is the only way to settle social differences, even in a society that is composed of numerous minorities". Also remember that Hezballah supports the Orthodox law only because it's based on a single electoral district and proportional representation not because it give the Christians fair representation. When the same law where the Christian voters elect all their 64 MPs but under majority vote was suggested by Sami Gemayel Hezballah opposed it.
Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it.
Mark Twain
19 March 2013, 19:21
43
How about your God who left the shouf people fending for themselves after getting them in trouble with the druze and sunnis of that area. He is the last one to speak for the christians too.
19 March 2013, 19:23
57
Dr Geagea is the man, not only for christians but for all of Lebanon
19 March 2013, 20:16
11
Abbas Ibrahim living proof of how Aoun defends Christian's rights
19 March 2013, 20:34
14
roar, that's sooo funny..LMAO..really ??? a better quote is "For Those About to Rock We Salute You" ya general.... lol
19 March 2013, 21:00
23
this clown is not even worth commenting, he is a waste of time....
19 March 2013, 21:17
12
guess what Aoun--you are becoming more and more marginalized now. Choose your words carefully next time.
19 March 2013, 21:42
24
Go aoun, accept nothing less than the orthodox law, hope you stick to your commitment ..
19 March 2013, 22:18
11
Yesterday the Pro Syrians were worshiping the Taef accord, now it's a terrible deal. Where does it say in the Lebanese laws or constitution that every religion elects its own MPs? Claiming that this is usurping the rights of Christians a fantasy because such a law doesn't exist.
19 March 2013, 22:55
43
We shall wait and see which one would break on their words ( ie LF or Kataeb) then we will know in who's bed their in. Orthodox law or nothing !!!
19 March 2013, 22:57
23
all sects should get fair representation without infringing on the rights of others, better yet, get rid of the sect aspect and let the best candidates be selected regardless of religion. Religion and politics has NEVER been good in history, but have been used by religious authorities get their way.
and just an FYI, Aoun opens his mouth and invites criticism--or to use another quote--"tis better to be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt". He perhaps should be a bit more measured in his responses instead of talking without thinking.
19 March 2013, 23:39
33
Who cares about what an old sick man has to say! That's why he isn't kept in the loop, his opinion doesn't matter!
20 March 2013, 00:38
12
@the_roar
Not sure how old you were during our civil war and how well you recollect the events. Simply put we, the Christians, precipitated the civil war because the Christian leaders then refused to yield some power to our fellow Moslems - which at the time were lead by the Sunnis.
The war ensued and with Syria backing the our Moslem compatriots we Christians started to loose one battle after the other. It was when we on were on the verge of loosing the war that our political, and most wise spiritual leadership under Patriarch Sfeir, that we acceded to Taef. Aoun yelled and screamed but was utterly unable to change the coarse of events. That be the history my friend don't stick your neck in the sand.
20 March 2013, 00:47
12
So Aoun's cries almost twenty years later ring hollow. There is no way to turn the clock back and Aoun can do nothing about it and he knows it. He is just using this to sucker people into supporting him.
Anyone who think that HA or the Shiites are going to hand Aoun the power the president lost because he is supporting them is very naive.
So instead of the unrealistic rah rah rah we want to get back the powers of the Christian Presidency, it behooves us Christians to be more realistic and instead insist on a secular state with secular values and a system of government modeled after the West whereby power is shared between all Lebanese and transferred in an orderly and peaceful manner without resort to the coercion of sectarian arms. Other options will simply keep Lebanon in an eternal unstable state with no chance of a bright future.
20 March 2013, 01:04
12
As Christians, allying ourselves with Iran and HA (Syria's Assad will soon be history) will not lead Lebanon on the path of democracy for neither is a model of democracy.
We waited a long time for our Sunni compatriots to reach the conclusion that teaming up to live in a secular Lebanon is the only solution. Remember qornet shahwan? Rafik Hariri started seeing things the qornet shahwan way and hence was killed.
To believe that HA sectarian weapons are the straw that will save the Christians is naive to say the least. HA has not yet internalized the lessons of history that in Lebanon no amount of arms is ever going to secure any sect anything. Christian stupidity came close to destroying Lebanon during the civil war, HA and Shiite stupidity may even do more damage if it continues.
It is not until ALL Lebanese reach the inevitable conclusion that no one is going to care for Lebanon like the Lebanese who live in it do that we will begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
20 March 2013, 01:11
12
That was from a social perspective.
From a political perspective, both Future and HA are posturing and playing brinksmanship. Both are aware that neither of them will be able to completely prevail.
The pressure to hold elections is enormous and some sources are predicting that an eleventh hour agreement will be reached and the elections will be held. After the elections some power sharing formula will be reached if Lebanon can have any hopes of arresting and reversing the mounting tension that is inexorably careening towards a bloody civil war that will leave no one standing.
20 March 2013, 08:40
11
@the_roar
You can choose to remember it that way but the details you mention, though some are true, loose you the big picture. Let me preface what I am going to say next by stating that Lebanon of the 60s was the most enjoyable period of my life.
That said, the fact of the matter is that Christians of that era behaved arrogantly as HA is doing today. We had the power and refused to share it just like HA is doing now. The Moslems enlisted the Palestinians to fight the Christians because the Palestinians had the arms with which to counter those wielded by the Christians. Later on Assad's Syria engaged against us and shelled Ashrafieh.
The stupid bus incident triggered the whole mess but it was mainly Christian arrogance then, as HA's arrogance now, that was the root cause. Don't get so mired in the details and loose sight of the big picture. Arrogance of power was always the cause of destruction in Lebanon and HA arrogance is no exception.
20 March 2013, 01:54
22
Prison what prison ? He was in holiday home, he should be in prison with Charles Manson, that's a prison for you. How many Christians did this maniac slaughter ? What the Churches he blew up whilst people were praying and taking shelter?
20 March 2013, 02:03
22
Lady Sammy GAGA &Co.. Were shelling the lebanese Army in east Beirut at the same time as the Syrians were doing the same thing, what do call that? Who is the real traitor here? This psychopath gave the green card to the Syrians to enter east Beirut , only because he was bent on killing Aoun and no matter how many lebanese soldiers died during the process. What low life scum.
20 March 2013, 16:38
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Your point FloatingTurd, Geagea also visited Aoun at the Church of the Ascension in Dbayyeh to offer his condolences when his brother Elias Aoun died.. umm.. confused.. umm I see.. umm.. OMG GEAGEA IS A CLOSET AOUNIST!!! Thanks FlamingTart for outing Geagea!
20 March 2013, 15:58
00
Aoun was not consulted in Rome because Aoun is not a principal to the political issues in Lebanon, he is a mere agent for an agent for a real player. This is the core of the Aoun delusion. He always acts as though he is a principal, when in reality, which he seeks to avoid, he is only an agent for others. To discover the Aoun Principal, one only needs to follow the money. It passes to Aoun first from Hezbollah and it comes to Hezbollah from Iran or Hezbollah's various criminal enterprises. All of Lebanon knows this reality, only Aoun is fooling himself and his foolish followers.
20 March 2013, 16:04
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To say that Aoun supports the Orthodox Plan because it is the ONLY avenue for restoring Christian political power is to buy into the Aoun delusion. This is not the case at all. It is the Hezbollah/Iranian agenda that Aoun is promoting, though he denies this as does his followers.
20 March 2013, 16:04
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By Proportial Representation proposed in the Orthodox Plan, Hezbollah will have purchased the Shiite Vote and will control the Deputies from the Shiite Districts. The whole promise of Aoun to the Hezbollah as sold to them by Assad is that he can deliver the Christian Deputies to Hezbollah based on a fear and loathing of the Sunni. To date and through two elections, Aoun has proven to not be up to the task. He loses to his Christian competitors in the Kataeb and the LF in contested Christian districts. The only way Aoun can deliver and keep himself relevant to Hezbollah and thus to his source of money is to win though he loses. Proportional voting will allow this to Aoun. So that if he gets 40% of the vote and loses, he will still get an allocation of seats in Parliament and by this means deliver on his bargain to bring the Christian deputies into the service of Hezbollah and Iranian interests in Lebanon and marginalize the Sunni and Druze.
20 March 2013, 16:09
00
Aoun is not leading his sheep to freedom for the Christians of Lebanon nor to independence for Lebanon. He is delusional enough to believe that this is his purpose and he says so. However, the rest of Lebanon can see through the delusion, Mikati, Sulieman and all the rest can see that Aoun is taking the Christians and with them all of Lebanon into an Iranian tutelage for Lebanon. Does he really believe that Iran will allow him to ever become President? Does he really believe that Iran will ever let their money be used through the vehicle of the FPM to pursue any agenda other than Iranian hegemony over Lebanon through the empowerment of Hezbollah and maintaining its grip on the Lebanese government? Yes, Aoun believes that he can. And this is where he departs from reality and his mental illness serves him well. However, no one else should in good conscious listen to this man. He should be put away where he can receive proper care.
