FPM, LF Entrust Al-Rahi with Declaration of Intent: Not Seeking New Political Affiliations
The Free Patriotic Movement and Lebanese Forces handed over to Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi a copy of the so-called declaration of intent between the two parties for his review.
FPM lawmaker Ibrahim Kanaan and LF official Melhem Riachi stressed after talks with al-Rahi in Bkirki that the declaration isn't targeting any side but merely to bridge the gap between Christians.
Change and Reform bloc MP Kanaan clarified that the agreement represents a “new page and hope for Christians.”
“We are not creating new affiliations,” Kanaan told reporters, pointing out that the FPM and the LF are seeking to generalize the declaration and implement it.
He noted that “al-Rahi is the sole guarantee and sponsor for to the declaration.”
For his part, Riachi remarked that the social fabric is united again and the “virtual wall that separates the two parties collapsed.”
He considered that “positive and fruitful dialogue will take place from now on.”
On Tuesday, LF leader Samir Geagea held a landmark meeting with FPM chief MP Michel Aoun after which a joint document was announced.
In the so-called declaration of intent, the two parties called for the election of “a strong president who is embraced by his (Christian) community and capable of reassuring the other components of the country.”
Since independence, Lebanon's leadership posts have been distributed among its largest religious sects: Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims and Christians, for whom the presidency is reserved.
Kanaan and Riachi had held a series of meetings in recent months to prepare for the joint declaration.
The rival camps have failed to elect a successor to president Michel Suleiman although around 24 parliamentary sessions have been held for this purpose. A boycott by the MPs of Hizbullah and Aoun's Change and Reform bloc have stripped the sessions of the two-thirds quorum required to hold a presidential vote.
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