Geagea: Harmony Could Exist Only in Neutral Cabinet
Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea said Saturday that harmony between cabinet members would currently be only guaranteed by the formation of a neutral government.
“The country shouldn't be left without a cabinet on condition that it be harmonious,” Geagea told a delegation visiting him at his residence in Maarab.
“Such characteristics for the time being would only be guaranteed by a neutral government,” he said.
Geagea has announced that he would not take part in a cabinet in which Hizbullah is represented even if his ally al-Mustaqbal movement leader Saad Hariri has accepted to share power with Hizbullah.
Negotiations are underway to form an all-embracing 24-member cabinet although President Michel Suleiman and Premier-designate Tammam Salam are sticking to the option of a non partisan government if the rival parties fail to strike a deal.
Hizbullah considers a neutral government as a fait accompli cabinet and has totally rejected it.
“I have a strong belief that as long as Hizbullah is in this current situation, we won't be able to improve the country,” Geagea told his visitors.
“On the contrary, things will head from bad to worse,” he said.
“There should be stability so that we have an acceptable situation in Lebanon,” Geagea said.
But he wondered how Hizbullah's presence in Syria and the Lebanese state could coexist.
Geagea slammed Hizbullah for fighting alongside troops loyal to President Bashar Assad in Syria against rebels seeking to topple him. He also accused it of plotting attacks against Israeli tourists in Cyprus and carrying out a deadly bus bombing in the Bulgarian resort of Burgas.
“We have a group inside Lebanon that sometimes fights in the South with Israel and sometimes in Syria and at other times in Bulgaria and Cyprus,” he said.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/115702 |