Gemayel Demands Salam to 'Quickly' Form Cabinet, Urges 'Keeping Lebanon Away from Regional Axis'
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel urged the premier-designate on Monday to “quickly” form a cabinet without any preconditions, stressing also that Lebanon must be “kept away from any regional axis.”
“We demand Tammam Salam to resolve the issue of the cabinet's formation,” Gemayel said after the weekly meeting of Phalange Party's political bureau.
“We must stop setting conditions and counter-conditions and form a cabinet as soon as possible," he stressed.
Gemayel elaborated: “We are not aware of the American Congress' stance towards a military operation in Syria and we know that such a strike can be limited to specific targets and could also have a larger scope.”
“How can we face all of this amid the absence of a cabinet?,” he asked. “President (Michel) Suleiman's powers cannot reduce the roles of all the country's institutions.”
Gemayel urged all factions to form a cabinet “without conditions and to adopt the Baabda Declaration as its policy statement.”
“It is a salvation for Lebanon. It is not in the country's interest to involve it in any regional axis or camp at this stage,” he added.
The former president pointed out that the new council of ministers would constitute a cover “for all official institutions, for the army and the security forces to run matters in the country.”
U.S. President Barack Obama had warned in August he was ready to launch military strikes on Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons.
Washington has accused the regime of Assad of carrying out the August 21 attack near Damascus, which U.S. officials say killed nearly 1,500 people, including hundreds of children.
Obama, however, said he believed it was important to secure support from Congress to wage war.
The congressional approval is scheduled for September 9.
Regarding the situation of Christians in the region, Gemayel considered that what happened in the historical Syrian town of Maalula is “a stab in the Christians and the opposition's back.”
“What took place in Maalula, especially after the kidnapping of the two bishops in Syria is unacceptable. We urge the the Syrian opposition, whose calls for freedom and democracy we respect, to claim its responsibility and we have made the necessary calls in this regard.”
Maalula is an ancient town that symbolizes the Christian presence in Syria and where residents speak Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus Christ used by few communities around the world.
The town north of Damascus had been spared from the violence that has rocked Syria since March 2011, until Wednesday when violence broke out there for the first time since the conflict erupted.
09 September 2013, 20:31
104
Gemaye those are good words, but you should shout them at M8 and demand that they stop the "preconditions" BS... How are you going to stop the Iranian militia from taking orders from their partners in the "Axis"?
10 September 2013, 02:49
17
The facts remained: the only Christian community was saved despite a civil war in the ME is the Lebanese one. Lebanese territories was occupied tightly by Assad, the father, and Baath. Conclusion?
10 September 2013, 05:28
16
Conclusion bustany,
Before the civil war, that Assad senior had a major role in igniting and in arming the non-PLO Palestinian factions, Lebanese Christians were the strong majority and the President had a strong role in the running of Government. After Syria's tight occupation of Lebanese territories, the Christian population dwindled to 30%, the president lost all his powers and HA became the prominent force in the land.
10 September 2013, 14:54
01
This is true helicopter. Bustany, can't we have one country in the land of Jesus where we have a significant presence as Christians at least? Just one country out of all of them, where we have rights and political freedom, can drink arak, dabke, and go to church as we please? Can't we have one country where women don't need to wear scarfs and we can have liquor stores where we please? You act like our current predicament is a blessing.
10 September 2013, 14:54
01
Why shouldn't we have the same freedoms as Christians anywhere else in the world? Should we be thanking our Muslim brethren for not slaughtering us here like they did everywhere else? We fought to survive, made some good and some bad decisions. That is why we are here. The Baath will treat us just fine as long as we are under their foot. That is the difference between Lebanese and Syrian Christians. They follow him there, and have been controlled for centuries. In Lebanon historically we have not submitted. However, we have weak inconsistent leadership the past 40 eyars which has permanently changed our presence here. I refuse to thank Assad for this.
