Geagea: Saudi Arabia Had Nothing to Do with Salam's Nomination but Influenced Jumblat's Stance
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea asserted on Monday that Saudi Arabia had nothing to do with nominating Beirut MP Tammam Salam to head the new cabinet, revealing that Riyadh had only influenced Druze leader MP Walid Jumblat's stance.
"March 14 is the party that named Salam,” Geagea stated in an interview on MTV.
He elaborated: “When we named him, the kingdom welcomed the step, exactly like it would have welcomed any other candidate.”
"Hegemony is the Syrian regime's specialty while Saudi Arabia is not a regime of hegemony, regardless of our stance on the Saudi regime, which is a Wahhabist regime but only inside Saudi Arabia,” he noted.
“Saudi Arabia has endorsed the stance of neutrality towards the domestic Lebanese issues.”
Geagea explained that Riyadh's role was to “convince Walid Jumblat of March 14's candidate in light of his reconciliation with the kingdom.”
Denying Jumblat's remarks that he had suggested Salam for the premiership, Geagea said: “Tammam Salam was first nominated by the March 14 forces and Jumblat joined the settlement later on and this is the truth”.
“(Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen.) Ashraf Rifi's name was raised over the last five days, and I was with such a nomination, but then we started discussing non-provocative candidates and Salam's name was suggested. (Former premier) Saad Hariri then told Jumblat there are two candidates -- Salam and Rifi -- and Jumblat picked Salam.”
Salam assumed the position of prime minister-designate on the second day of binding parliamentary consultations on Saturday after garnering a total of 124 votes by lawmakers.
The MP had paid a visit to Saudi Arabia, shortly before he was nominated for premiership, where he met with Hariri and Saudi Intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan, sparking rumors that his nomination is part of a Saudi-sponsored settlement that includes the formation of the cabinet and the staging of parliamentary elections.
"March 8 wanted to renominate (caretaker PM Najib) Miqati, but (Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel) Aoun did not accept the renomination," Geagea said.
"Miqati's resignation was a local issue because he was fed up and reports of an agreement over the Iranian issue are incorrect as the confrontation between the Arab states and Iran is still at its climax," he added.
Geagea pointed out that Salam was “the only person who showed solidarity with Christians in their boycott of the 1992 elections.”
“I seriously wish PM-designate Salam all success and he is a man of principles,” he added.
On the cabinet's formation process, Geagea said the new government must be tasked with staging the elections “as the PM-designate said.”
“Therefore any cabinet similar to the cabinets we saw in the past will not be formed before months and the elections would be postponed indefinitely,” he remarked.
The LF leader said “Hariri wants a technocrat cabinet and the rest of March 14 parties are close to this approach.”
"Amid such a critical political situation, do we need a political government that would collapse from infighting? The March 14 camp wants to seek the assistance of the army and U.N. forces on the border with Syria, would the other camp accept that in a political government?" he cautioned.
Turning to the issue of the electoral law, Geagea noted that “the battle is not the battle of the Orthodox law, but rather the battle of the new electoral law.”
“We've been seeking a consensual law since two months. It's a good thing that all Christian parties have agreed to seek a hybrid law,” added Geagea.
“A hybrid law would achieve good Christian representation and it is wrong to discuss the numbers because the fate of the country is at stake,” he went on to say.
He also stressed that the LF “does not have a problem with the independent Christians, but every person must bear responsibility for his choices.”
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08 April 2013, 22:54
Geagea: We don't have a problem with the independent Christians, but every person must bear responsibility for his choices.
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08 April 2013, 22:50
Geagea: I'm betting on moderate Muslims in the entire region.
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08 April 2013, 22:46
Geagea: A hybrid law would achieve good Christian representation and it is wrong to discuss the numbers because the fate of the country is at stake.
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08 April 2013, 22:43
Geagea: The battle is not the battle of the Orthodox law, but rather the battle of the new electoral law and we've been seeking a consensual law since two months. It's a good thing that all Christian parties have agreed to seek a hybrid law.
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08 April 2013, 22:31
Geagea: I'm confident that Saad Hariri wants a technocrat cabinet and the rest of March 14 parties are close to this approach.
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08 April 2013, 22:23
Geagea: Amid such a critical political situation, do we need a political government that would collapse from infighting? The March 14 camp wants to seek the assistance of the army and U.N. forces on the border with Syria, would the other camp accept that in a political government?
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08 April 2013, 22:18
Geagea on cabinet formation process: The new government must be a government tasked with staging the elections as the PM-designate said, and therefore any cabinet similar to the cabinets we saw in the past will not be formed before months and the elections will be postponed indefinitely.
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08 April 2013, 22:07
Geagea: I seriously wish PM-designate Salam all success and he is a man of principles.
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08 April 2013, 22:07
Geagea: Tammam Salam is the only person who showed solidarity with Christians in their boycott of the 1992 elections.
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08 April 2013, 22:03
Geagea: Miqati's resignation was a local issue because he was fed up and reports of an agreement over the Iranian issue are incorrect as the confrontation between the Arab states and Iran is still at its climax.
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08 April 2013, 22:00
Geagea: Saudi Arabia has endorsed the stance of neutrality towards the domestic Lebanese issues.
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08 April 2013, 21:58
Geagea: Hegemony is the Syrian regime's specialty while Saudi Arabia is not a regime of hegemony, regardless of our stance on the Saudi regime, which is a Wahhabist regime but only inside Saudi Arabia.
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08 April 2013, 21:56
Geagea: March 8 wanted to renominate Miqati, but Aoun did not accept the renomination.
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08 April 2013, 21:55
Geagea: Saudi Arabia's role was to convince Walid Jumblat of March 14's candidate in light of his reconciliation with the kingdom, and he seized the chance after it informed him that it is time to improve the relation.
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08 April 2013, 21:54
Geagea: Saudi Arabia had nothing to do with the nomination and March 14 is the party that named Salam, who only met with Saad Hariri in Saudi Arabia. When we named Salam, the kingdom welcomed the step, exactly like it would have welcomed any other candidate.
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08 April 2013, 21:52
Geagea: Rifi's name was raised over the last five days, and I was with such a nomination, but then we started discussing non-provocative candidates and Salam's name was suggested. Hariri then told Jumblat there are two candidates -- Salam and Rifi -- and Jumblat picked Salam.
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08 April 2013, 21:49
Geagea: Tammam Salam was first nominated by the March 14 forces and Walid Jumblat joined the settlement later on and this is the truth.
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08 April 2013, 21:47
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in an interview on MTV: Neither world powers nor small nations can control a certain country unless it makes itself vulnerable to manipulation. Had we implemented the Taef Accord, including the article on disarming all militias in Lebanon, no one would have dominated us. They started with the LF and the PSP, but then they said that Hizbullah is a resistance movement, although the issue was not mentioned in the Taef Accord, and that was the original sin.
08 April 2013, 22:26
42
A mon cher Michel
Ne fais pas cette mine chagrine,
Je ne t’ai pas trompé.
Ma conduite n’était pas vipérine,
Et je n’ai fais qu’anticiper.
Le temps pressait, hélas,
On ne pouvait pas attendre,
Et ce n’est que de guerre lasse
Que j’ai évité l’esclandre.
Il ne faut pas m’en vouloir
Mes sentiments n’ont pas changé.
Ne crois pas aux rumeurs de couloirs,
Je ne te suis pas étranger.
Fie-toi toujours à moi,
Tu ne le regretteras pas.
Attendons la fin du mois,
L’Iran ne nous décevra pas.
Assad maintenant l’a à la dure,
Mais nous pourrons toujours prétendre,
Qu’il chute ou qu’il perdure,
Qu’en politique il faut surprendre.
Repose- toi et dors tranquille,
Ton frère Hassan tient la barre.
Nos adversaires sont débiles,
Arrête d’être furibard.
09 April 2013, 00:31
26
Pas d'attaques personnelles SVP! On aime ou on n'aime pas.... Mais ses poèmes sont créatifs et c'est un moyen d'expression tout à fait valable. L'important c'est de stimuler la caboche, et c'est mission accomplie pour mouallek.
09 April 2013, 00:32
23
Le dernier paragraphe n'est pas "waouw" mais j'aime bien.
Bravo!
09 April 2013, 00:56
51
I know FT and Benzona are probably the same person. Nice to see you can have a convo with yourself in French.
09 April 2013, 01:21
26
Oufti! Qui bien fait de repasser par ici. MDR!!!!!!
Canadian, you made me smile.... You just proved that M8/M14 have stuff in common. Your obviously not from Quebec or MTL. (Toronto? Vancouver? Or a small town somewhere in between?)
You should know that I am an M14er by now, don't you?
Goodnight everyone.
09 April 2013, 03:44
52
My allegiance to Canada and Lebanon is balanced working well. How is it washing Aouns balls with your tongue?
08 April 2013, 23:40
20
typical comments from ignorant people. Dogs can sometimes think for themselves even though they are trained not to do so.... only some March 8 geniuses, like the above, are unable to ....
09 April 2013, 00:28
14
Mowaten, concernant Qaouq Shishtaouq, c'est un jeu de mot, une rhyme un peu gamine certes mais pas une attaque personnelle ni contre toi, ni contre un autre du site.
On ne peut pas dire qu'il s'agit d'une attaque personnelle. De plus, je ne sais pas si vous l'avez remarqué, mais je ne donne plus de pouces rouges/verts Facebook-style à qui que ce soit.... C'est du non-sense.
09 April 2013, 01:23
13
I thought we were done with the green/red colours!!!!!!
I beleive bonanza got banned tonight, he was behaving like a wanker tonight insulting everyone.
Bonne nuit.
09 April 2013, 04:08
26
We are unable to comprehend the present and some of you guys are trying to sort out who was in the right and who wass in the wrong 20 years ago. Lets simplify things and jusge them on how they talk andd behave nowadays please. Fix the present for a better tomorrow and leave history for the historians.
09 April 2013, 04:14
25
Amen to you as well. We need a few more people thinking like you and ashrafieh. Thank you both for helping inch our country along the path of Coexistence.
09 April 2013, 04:43
24
Thank you too lebanonfirst.
SomeCommentators tend to forget that Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not to their own facts. And we must be alert to the possibility that what we think the facts are is not necessazily the same as what they are. So sticking to the present and charting the future is much more useful path.
09 April 2013, 04:12
43
Flames hitter somehow thinks because his skull has a large circumference that he's got a big brain. That was proven wrong though when his Neighbour started knocking on it and it caused a hollow sound.
09 April 2013, 04:49
54
"Flame shiter have a large brain just like ASSad."...lololololol...now that's funny tony. Fagblower talking out of his wide derrier AGAIN.
09 April 2013, 06:45
46
LOL, look at Geagea shamelessly bend over for his Wahabi employers!
09 April 2013, 14:26
25
Wise words Phoenix, it takes courage to stand against your party's leader on certain issues. He will never be a fraction of the leader the man in your avatar was.
09 April 2013, 14:50
41
Seriously Phoenix? The Hariri are dangerous wahabis? I know many of them personally, they drink booze, they party, and they don't pray. L'habit, la barbichette ou le voile ne fait pas le moine (ou le sheikh).
À bon entendeur!
09 April 2013, 15:17
23
So if they drink alcohol and party they can't be Wahabis and love al Qaeda? Maybe you should read about the enormous x-rated collection they found in bin Laden's stash when they killed him, and he was the founder of modern-day terrorism. I'm sure he had a few 6-packs under his bed too, HE MUST BE MODERATE AND PARTY!
09 April 2013, 16:37
41
Modern day terrorism was founded by the Palestinians followed by the Shia militiamen that later became known as Hezbollah. Now Hezbollah took the lead.... The Pals are uncompetitive. I'm not sure your friend Hassan is a wahabi. I'm willing as labeling him as such if it pleases you. I can label anyone of you want, I'm not sure it's of any use. Does putting etiquettes on people's heads make you feel better Mr Karim M2? A terrorist is a terrorist regardless of this religion. He can be Sunni, Shia, Buddhist etc. we should fight ALL terrorists in Lebanon, whether they label themselves as resistance of salafists. It's just labels.... The problem remains the same with a different logo/flag.
09 April 2013, 19:13
21
Ouf ouf! Tant de véhémence dans tes propos quasi belliqueux. Que s'est-il passé chez toi mon ami? Sérieusement, il a dû t'arriver quelquechose. Le stress est mauvais pour la santé (et je suis bien placé pour en parler).
Le jour ou les islamistes prendront les rennes du pouvoir (et c'est pas demain la vieille) chaque modéré du pays, toutes confession confondues, prendra les armes pour défendre notre pays multiculturel. There is no such thing as preemptive strike à la Bush, this would pave the way to radicalization. Give everyone a chance before attacking them, verbally or physically. Everyone does mistakes, every Lebanese leader has his hands stained with blood, let's wait for Bachar to collapse and see what happens to his country and ours. It won't necessarily turn out like a second Iraq. People are more educated than Iraqis.... They know the consequences of taking the wrong path. A plus
09 April 2013, 15:09
02
Let ur hakim coexist with his fellow Christians he had murdered first .
09 April 2013, 15:43
00
As usual, Dr. Arreet 7akeh knows a lot about nothing and says nothing about a lot. min addak ya 7ak...awati!
09 April 2013, 15:44
24
Big brother is watching Neon, where is freedom of speech Naharnet?
09 April 2013, 16:35
31
I never thought I'd ever see Phoenix drink the kool aid. However, here we are today and Phoenix is clearly bought into the idea of the assads were protecting us from the big bad monster called wahabis and now they are coming to slaughter us all. Nothing shocks me anymore when it comes to Lebanese politics.
09 April 2013, 19:37
21
no one has denied that al nursa is in Syria, the question is how much control do they have. That number is unknown as no knows for sure. The more fear you want to inflict the higher you raise that number. You can say what you want but they are not coming to Lebanon. If anyone attacks, you know we will stand side by side and fight but the fact is they are NOT coming to Lebanon. This is pure propaganda used for sectarian divide and it is clearly working.
