Geagea Says 'Iran, Vast Majority of Countries' Did Not Want Aoun for President
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Wednesday noted that “the vast majority of countries,” including Iran, did not want Michel Aoun to become president of Lebanon.
“We took a major risk and so far we have won the bet. Those who think and have doubts that the General might stab us in the back are mistaken,” Geagea reassured during an interview on MTV.
“Claims that the president was 'made in Dahieh' or Iran are not correct,” Geagea said.
“Had Hizbullah been serious in its support for Aoun, it would have sought his election the moment he received the LF's support. We must not forget that Hizbullah tried back then to pin the blame for obstruction on ex-PM (Saad) Hariri,” the LF leader noted.
He stressed that the election of Aoun was “made in Lebanon” and that all previous presidential votes were “influenced by foreign factors.”
“The vast majority of countries even Iran did not want Aoun's election as president and Aoun and Minister Bassil know this point,” he said.
As for Aoun's oath of office and Hizbullah's stance on it, Geagea added: “We want a president and a premier who say that the army is the guardian of the country's sovereignty and we don't want any party to monopolize this issue.”
“What I knew is that Hizbullah was not happy with the oath of office because it was patriotic, pro-independence and sovereign par excellence,” the LF leader noted.
“If (Hizbullah deputy chief) Sheikh Naim Qassem considers the oath of office to be patriotic and pro-independence par excellence, then when don't we propose endorsing it as a ministerial policy statement since it enjoys everyone's support,” Geagea suggested.
“Aoun's remarks on the preemptive war on terror in the oath of office have nothing to do with the issue of Hizbullah's fighting in Syria,” he noted.
Responding to those who criticized the election of Aoun as president and the agreements that accompanied it, Geagea said: “We did not surrender to those who are bigger than Hizbullah, so why would we surrender to Hizbullah today?”
“The days are ahead of us to see whose calculations were right and who was wrong and I hope to hear apologies from those who realize that they were mistaken,” he added.
Aoun was elected president on Monday after around two and a half years of presidential void. His presidential chances were largely boosted in mid-October by a key endorsement from al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri, who is closed to Saudi Arabia.
Aoun's nomination also received crucial support from Iran-backed Hizbullah and the LF.
Analysts have warned that Aoun's election will not be a "magic wand" for Lebanon, which has seen longstanding political divisions exacerbated by the war in neighboring Syria and has struggled to deal with an influx of more than a million Syrian refugees.
In addition to pledges of economic growth and security, Aoun said in his oath of office that Lebanon must work to ensure Syrian refugees "can return quickly" to their country.
Aoun also pledged to endorse an "independent foreign policy" and to protect Lebanon from "the fires burning across the region."
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