Aoun Warns of Lebanese Civil War if Assad Falls
Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun has expressed fear that Lebanon would witness a new civil war if Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime falls.
“The repercussions of what’s going on in Syria cannot take us to such a war,” Aoun told As Safir daily in an interview published on Saturday. Yet he warned that “the regime’s collapse could lead to a war.”
Syria has been engulfed in turmoil since March 2011 when the regime launched a violent crackdown on protestors that activists say has left 14,400 people dead.
Aoun advocated regime change but said change should come through other means. “Sooner or later there would be a negotiation on the change of the regime,” he said.
If the Syrian president “wins the war and the regime stays, then Assad himself should make changes to give larger freedoms” to his own people, the FPM chief added.
Asked about the parliamentary elections of next year, Aoun doubted that the polls could be held if the security situation remains the same.
Northern Lebanon has witnessed severe gunbattles between rival groups that have left scores of victims.
Despite his doubts, Aoun began preparing for the electoral battle which should come under a proportional representation law, As Safir said.
Proportionality satisfies not just Christians but also all minorities whether religious or political , Aoun told the newspaper.
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