Aoun Says FPM Preparing for Protests as Bassil Vows to Take Partnership by Force
The Free Patriotic Movement's call for street protests took a new turn on Saturday after its chief Michel Aoun revealed plans to hold demonstrations in several districts and his son-in-law Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil vowed to take “partnership by force.”
“The Christians of the Orient are being eliminated by the sword and they want to eliminate us politically,” Aoun told his supporters in Rabieh.
“This is why we started preparing for popular movements and demonstrations in the districts of Mount Lebanon, Baabda and Koura,” he said as the delegation from south Lebanon cheered.
Aoun, who heads the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc, has been recently hinting that his movement is preparing for protests to what he calls attempts by his rivals to end the role of Christians in Lebanon.
He made the announcement on Saturday a day after he urged Christians to take to the streets.
“We Christians are facing an existential threat because the foxes of Lebanese politics are usurping all the rights and posts of Christians,” said Aoun at the annual dinner banquet of FPM's Metn committee.
The lawmaker's warning came as Bassil said the FPM's dispute with its rivals “is not over appointments but over partnership and dignity.”
“We will take partnership by force if we had no other option,” he said.
Bassil, who is a top FPM official, vowed to keep fighting to defend the authorities of the president.
“No one will put its hand on it as long as we are here,” he warned.
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