Franjieh: I'm with a New Secular Regime in Syria, March 14 Wants Partitioning
Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh on Monday said he would support the rise of a new “secular” regime in Syria, accusing the Christians of the March 14 coalition of betting on the partitioning of the neighboring country and subsequently of Lebanon.
“We have never supported the alliance of minorities, but some March 14 Christians are betting on the partitioning of Syria although that would hurt the minorities,” Franjieh warned during an interview on MTV.
“March 14 wants the transition to statehood to happen according to its vision, which is based on disarming Hizbullah, while they don't mention the arms of the Palestinians. They want to remove the pro-Syria Palestinian arms and to keep the arms (of the other Palestinian factions) inside the camps,” Franjieh added.
He said the rival alliance “wants to topple the (Syrian) regime and afterwards to topple the resistance” of Hizbullah.
“If a secular regime that ensures equality rises to power in Syria I will support it and (Syrian) President (Bashar) Assad will not stay forever,” Franjieh noted.
He rejected “the rule of majority over the minority through the law of (Islamic) sharia,” saying “this is not a democracy, as democracy can only be secular.”
Asked about the Islamist armed groups in Tripoli, Franjieh said: “Any weapons of a sectarian nature scare me. They scared me in the past when they were with the Christians because such weapons only lead to disaster.”
“Political cover was provided for the army in Tripoli and we hope it will carry on with its mission. Today the army deployed for the first time in Bab al-Tabbaneh and this is very good,” he added.
Commenting on the controversy created by the leaked recordings featuring MP Oqab Saqr, Franjieh said: “Oqab Saqr's masters, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, have publicly announced that they want to arm (the Syrian opposition) and I don't think that Saqr would distance himself.”
He accused the Mustaqbal Movement of being “involved in financing, arming and recruitment,” noting that “those who were killed in Tall Kalakh paid the price of political choices aimed at strengthening the Americans' position in the negotiations with Russia over Syria.”
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