Saniora Says al-Mustaqbal Wants Polls to be Held on Time to Get Rid of Hizbullah, Syria
Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader Fouad Saniora said Wednesday the parliamentary elections should be held on time to prevent Hizbullah and the Syrian regime from keeping their stranglehold on Lebanon.
In a televised statement on the eve of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's 8th assassination anniversary, Saniora said: “We insist on holding the elections on time to renew the trust in Lebanon and to achieve democratic change to get rid of this group that is keeping its stranglehold on Lebanon's economy and preventing its development.”
He also said the polls are the only means that would salvage the country from Hizbullah's “arms and its allies beyond Lebanon's border.”
Saniora reiterated his rejection of the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal, saying it harms the social fabric.
He said al-Mustaqbal is ready to discuss any proposal that guarantees the fair representation of all the Lebanese, a day after the bloc made a new suggestion on a hybrid draft-law that calls for 70 percent of MPs to be elected under the winner-takes-all system and the rest under the proportional representation system.
The toppling of the national unity cabinet of ex-Premier Saad Hariri in January 2011 was the result of the black coup against the public will and the outcome of the last elections in 2009 that had brought March 14 to power, he said.
Saniora cited the achievements made when he and Hariri were in power, saying there was good economic progress despite the series of assassinations of March 14 opposition figures since Rafik Hariri's Feb. 2005 murder, the 2006 Israel-Hizbullah war and the obstruction of the government's work by Hizbullah-led parties.
He said the March 14 alliance was able to drive Syrian forces out of the country if the aftermath of Hariri's assassination, it conducted a huge reconstruction operation after the 2006 war through Arab assistance and the army regained its natural role on the international border assisted by U.N. peacekeepers.
March 14 has also held onto the Taef agreement and sovereignty, it won the elections twice and was capable of establishing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, he said.
“The past days were difficult over the control of the de facto powers. But we hold onto our convictions and hold onto our country and its unity,” he said.
“We will continue to fight in defense of the principles that Hariri was killed for,” Saniora said, adding that the former premier “remains in our minds and souls.”
Four Hizbullah members have been named suspects by the STL in the Beirut truck bombing that killed Hariri whom Saniora described as “the person who contributed to salvaging and reconstructing Lebanon.”
Hizbullah denies the charges and has refused to hand over the suspects.
But Saniora said that the assassins “failed to destroy Hariri's presence” stressing they “will be brought to justice.”
The former prime minister stressed in his statement that March 14 holds onto coexistence, democracy and freedoms, independence, the Taef accord and the sovereignty of state institutions.
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