Soaid Lauds 'Victory of Coexistence' over Orthodox Gathering Proposal

March 14 general-secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid hailed on Wednesday the “victory of coexistence” on what he said were attempts to “tear the country apart.”

In a press conference he held following the weekly meeting of the general-secretariat, Soaid said: “This is a stage of victory for the March 14 alliance.”

“Today's exceptional meeting consolidates the victory of coexistence,” he said the same day the coalition's main parties and the centrist National Struggle Front struck a deal on a hybrid vote law proposal that combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems.

However, the Phalange party, which is a principle member of the alliance, rejected the proposal.

Soaid said he met with Phalange leader Amin Gemayel on Wednesday morning, adding the party will “overcome” its rejection of the plan.

“The interest of both Christians and Muslims is in national unity. The Christians can't turn themselves into a tribe in confrontation of the others,” the former MP told reporters in reference to the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal which was strongly backed by Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement.

The plan, which considers Lebanon a single electoral district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system, was meant to give Christians better representation.

But the Lebanese Forces, which is a Christian March 14 party, said it granted instead its support to the hybrid plan that falls in Lebanon's national interest.

Soaid also said that “compromises should be made to achieve coexistence.”

“Every time we stretched our hands to Muslims, we emerged victorious in favor of Lebanon,” he added.

Soaid slammed FPM chief Michel Aoun for claiming that he works for the interest of Christians at a time when “he visits Tehran.”

Aoun said Wednesday that “some of the parties that backed the (Orthodox) proposal abandoned it therefore toppling the most important law for Christians.”

He was referring to the LF, which along with the FPM, the Phalange and Marada movement had announced the plan as the electoral draft-law of their choice but then backed down to pave way for consensus.