Geagea Says Resistance outside State Authority Illegitimate, Urges Election of 'Strong' March 14 President
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed during a rally marking the ninth anniversary of the March 14 “Independence Uprising” on Friday that “any resistance outside state's authority” is “illegitimate,” calling on his coalition to endorse a “strong” March 14 presidential nominee even if there are “several candidates.”
“The previous and current experiences of the Lebanese with Hizbullah and its allies have proven that they do not have any consideration for the Lebanese state and the future of the Lebanese and their security, neither for their own commitments and pledges,” Geagea said via video link from Maarab, addressing the rally that was held at the BIEL exhibition center in Beirut.
And as he noted that Hizbullah and its allies “closed the doors of discussions over the policy statement … from the very first moment, when they rejected any debate over their arms and declared the death of the Baabda Declaration,” Geagea underlined that “any resistance outside the state's authority, decision and arms is illegitimate.”
“Hizbullah cannot go fight the Syrians then try to convince the Lebanese that the Syrians were going to attack them anyway under the pretext of the presence of takfiris,” Geagea said.
“Does Hizbullah understand the threat this involvement poses to the existence of the Lebanese entity itself? Should what was written in Iran be carefully implemented even if that was at Lebanon's expense?” Geagea asked.
“Hizbullah did not consult the Lebanese when it got involved in Syria but its acts make them bear the consequences of this involvement. Hizbullah cannot continue its involvement and then ask the Lebanese to form 'Sahwa' armed groups to defend it,” he stressed.
Commenting on the issue of the new cabinet which the LF had boycotted over the presence of Hizbullah ministers in it, Geagea added: “Yes and "one thousand Yes's" to dialogue, but No and "one thousand No's" to entrapment, anesthetization and passing time under the pretext of dialogue."
“Our problem with the current cabinet is related to the presence of a fundamental contradiction between two projects: the project of the state and the project of the statelet. One is made of gold and the other is made of wood. We had rejected the formation of a 'cabinet of contradictions' from the very beginning,” he said.
Referring to the recent war of words between Hizbullah and President Michel Suleiman on whether the so-called “army-people-resistance equation” was “wooden” or “golden,” Geagea said: “We did not want the gold to mix with wood and lose its value, but rather to remain gold.”
“The dispute over the policy statement is not a matter of textual maneuvering or disagreements over the wording, but rather a normal reflection of this contradiction between two projects, as the 'golden project' is seeking to return the political decision to the state and only the state, while the 'wooden project' is seeking to usurp its political and military decision,” Geagea explained.
He accused Hizbullah and its allies of seeking “a fictional state dedicated to servicing their interests,” noting that “they want to usurp its resources and monopolize its political and military decisions.”
Turning to the issue of the upcoming presidential vote, Geagea pointed out that the presence of several March 14 presidential candidates does not justify choosing someone who doesn't belong to this coalition.
He said March 14's “main mission” in the current period must be exerting efforts to secure the election of a “strong” Lebanese president from the March 14 coalition with the aim of “correcting the course of events, pulling Lebanon out of its dire situation and establishing the aspired state.”
Source: Naharnet
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