Aoun Vows to Stay in Presidential Race if Negotiations are Not on 'Republic Survival'
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday called for negotiating with him over “the survival of the republic,” stressing that he will not withdraw from the presidential race if there is no “key change in the practices of power.”
“The problem is not over electing a certain person as president of the republic but rather over 'electing the republic' and the survival of the republic,” Aoun told reporters after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform bloc in Rabieh.
“I will only negotiate with anyone according to this principle, or else I will stay in the (electoral) race,” he added.
Aoun is still the candidate of the March 8 camp in the face of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, the nominee of the March 14 forces. The rivalry between the two men has led to a lack of quorum in 15 electoral sessions in parliament, amid a boycott by the MPs of Aoun and Hizbullah.
The presidential seat has been vacant since president Michel Suleiman's term ended on May 25.
“Upon every attempt to form a new government, we faced the same problem. They said we didn't have the right to obtain a sovereign ministerial portfolio or high-ranking posts in state administrations,” Aoun lamented.
“There is no equal power-sharing in the parliament. There is no partnership or balance and there is no electoral law that respects the stipulations of the Document (of National Accord). There is no balance in implementing the developmental projects, and in short, the main articles of Taef (Accord) are not being implemented,” the FPM leader decried.
Warning that the situation in the country is “critical,” Aoun noted that foreign bank deposits “will start diminishing in Lebanon if there is no key change in the practices of power.”
“What can justify this deterioration in practicing power? The (Taef) Accord will not remain in place if its stipulations are not being respected,” he cautioned.
“Why haven't we extracted oil until now? Why haven't we built a gas pipeline? Is it because it costs $400 million and can generate $1 billion in revenues? Why has our deficit in the electricity sector reached $28 billion?” Aoun wondered.
“Why don't we have water? How can our homeland survive if we continue in this manner? The Taef Accord was not implemented and the malicious approach is not ethical,” he went on to say.
Aoun vowed to keep struggling “until the last moment” against any foreign interference, noting that any hegemony “is not in Lebanon's interest.”
“We are ready for negotiations and our history is a guarantee for all citizens,” he added.
Y.R.
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