Geagea: Regional Equation Changing, Hizbullah Must Dismantle Military Wing
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday called on Hizbullah to “take a brave decision to abandon its military wing,” noting that “the regional equation that was behind the strengthening of (Hizbullah’s) military clout is changing at the moment.”
“The fall of the regime in Syria will not necessarily lead to the fall of Hizbullah in Lebanon and Syria’s allies in Lebanon will throw their support behind Hizbullah in that case,” Geagea added during an interview on MTV.
The LF leader said he believes Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will soon meet a similar fate as ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
“There is no balance of power between the Syrian regime and opposition, as the regime has lost its clout in the domestic, Arab and international arenas,” Geagea noted.
“I don’t think that things are heading towards a civil war in Syria, but rather towards the triumph of one of the camps,” he went on to say.
Addressing the domestic Lebanese situations, Geagea ruled out an imminent collapse of Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s government.
“I don’t think that the decision to force the collapse of the government is on the table now, as those who formed it don’t favor its collapse,” he explained.
On the controversial electricity plan proposed by Energy and Water Minister Jebran Bassil, Geagea said “throughout parliament’s history, no one had ever proposed a draft law that entails the spending of $1.2 billion, as high-budget draft laws are usually proposed by the government.”
“Minister Bassil must let things take their normal course and stop calling for a hasty implementation of the electricity plan. The way the electricity plan was put forward is unusual,” he added.
The LF chief accused Bassil of tasking his “well-known advisor, who hails from Mount Lebanon, with running the (current) electricity supply system.”
Turning to the thorny issue of the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Geagea warned that “should the government stop financing the tribunal, the consequences will not be good at the international level.”
But he noted that “PM Miqati is trying to shoulder his responsibilities” in that regard.
“Hizbullah might favor the financing of the STL over facing the possible consequences of blocking the funding,” Geagea added.
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