Aoun: Cabinet Must Come before Dialogue, I Don't Object to Hizbullah Staying in Syria in Absence of Political Solution
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Wednesday said he is not against the continued deployment of Hizbullah fighters in Syria “in the absence of a political solution” to the conflict, noting that resuming national dialogue before forming a new cabinet in Lebanon would be “fruitless.”
“We have recently proposed a plan for the refugees and said that the solution does not lie in bringing donations to keep them in the country, but rather to facilitate their return home as any region in Syria is twice as big as Lebanon and they can go to certain regions, whether they are with the opposition or with the regime,” said Aoun during an interview on NBN television.
“The Lebanese are the ones suffering from 'inhumanity' amid the influx of refugees and (Syrian) President (Bashar) Assad expressed his approval of their return, but our officials are not exerting any efforts in this regard,” Aoun warned.
He noted that “today, Lebanon is in the eye of the storm and there is reluctance to form a new cabinet, not obstruction” as some parties are saying.
“We had asked the government to at least register those (Syrian refugees) who are already in the country, but today they are announcing estimates because there are no official figures,” Aoun pointed out.
The FPM leader held the ministers of interior and defense and the Higher Defense Council responsible for the refugee crisis, adding that “those who don't want to act always claim that they can't.”
“The entire world is preaching to us about being humane, but meanwhile they are facilitating the entry of arms into Syria,” Aoun said.
“Nowadays, Lebanese business owners are hiring Syrian employees instead of Lebanese employees and the Lebanese are suffering because of this,” he added.
Aoun cautioned that “Lebanon will incur 12 billion dollars in expenses for the issue of refugees.”
“We told them (Lebanese supporters of Syrian uprising) that they have liberated Syria from its residents, not from the tyranny they claim to be fighting,” he went on to say.
“In the absence of a political solution, I do not object to Hizbullah fighters staying in Syria,” he announced, in an apparent change of heart, after having voiced reservations several times over his ally's involvement in the Syrian war.
Aoun pointed out that “today, there is no political maturity but rather criminality against the Lebanese people,” adding that “the first solution would be achieving balance among the three authorities, as the president does not have any powers now.”
“Our problems are nothing compared to Lebanon's size and what's happening in the region,” he said.
“We have a chance to continue the implementation of the Taef Accord if someone imposes reform and enforces the constitution, that's why I have suggested the election of the president by the people,” Aoun stated.
Asked whether he intends to run for president in 2014, Aoun said: “If this adventure doesn't happen, Lebanon will not survive.”
“I can diagnose the disease: the pillars of governance in the republic are inexistent, topped by the constitution, while the Constitutional Council was paralyzed through pressures and the laws are not being respected,” he added.
But later during the interview, Aoun clarified: “I will not be a candidate for presidency, which means I will not visit anyone and ask them to elect me. Those who want to elect me are welcome to do so.”
He also said that Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh “is free not to name me for the presidency.”
Turning to the issue of the stalled cabinet formation process, Aoun said: “There are pressures on Prime Minister-designate (Tammam) Salam but I don't know who is exerting them, because there are several players and their minds are 'occupied' and they only act when they receive orders.”
“I do not accept to take part in a cabinet in which my ministers are named by the president and the PM-designate,” he stressed.
Aoun pointed out that “engaging in dialogue before forming the cabinet would be fruitless.”
“I cannot take responsibility for an endless dialogue,” he added, revealing that the FPM “might participate in the October parliamentary session.”
Source: Naharnet
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