Franjieh: Suleiman Making Promises to West, Resistance Has Right to Intervene in Syria
Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh on Thursday accused President Michel Suleiman of “making promises to the West,” stressing that Hizbullah “has the right to intervene in Syria” militarily.
“The president turned against the March 8 camp and when we reached a juncture, he made his choices, and here we raise a question: why did all these countries cling to him? Is he the 'Bismarck of Lebanon' or did he make promises to the West and endorsed their policies?” Franjieh said during an interview with LBCI television.
“The president wants to turn himself into a hero over the (Syrian) shelling (of Lebanese territory). When Syria makes a violation, he directly condemns it, but when Israel makes a violation, Baabda remains silent,” Franjieh added.
The northern leader rejected any attack on any region in Lebanon, saying “we're against these violations, especially those committed by the Free Syrian Army.”
Criticizing the Suleiman-sponsored Baabda Declaration -- which calls for Lebanon to disassociate itself from regional crises, most notably the one in Syria – Franjieh said the declaration “was one of the tools that are aimed at bringing down Hizbullah after bringing down the Syrian regime.”
“They wanted Hizbullah to hand over its weapons and as the regime did not fall, a new round of pressure started, and it can be war or other means,” he added.
The MP also described the Baabda Declaration as a “Sunni-Shiite settlement at the expense of Christians, even if the Syrian regime fell.”
When asked what he was betting on, Franjieh said: “On the strength of our allies and on this entire camp that comprises political figures, parties, countries and axes that are built on firmness, not evanescent interests."
Asked about Hizbullah's military involvement in the Syrian crisis, the Marada leader said: “The resistance has the right to intervene in Syria – ideologically, religiously and politically – and it is an ideological organization that fights at the orders of one side, and there is a major axis in the region – an Arabist axis that is resisting and fighting.”
Franjieh added: “The target has always been the anti-Israel resistance axis and the weakening of the Syrian regime, and this plan actually started with (U.N. Security Council) Resolution 1559,” which was adopted in 2004 and calls upon "all remaining foreign forces" to withdraw from Lebanon" and "for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias."
"We cannot neutralize Lebanon when there is a (new) Sykes–Picot (Agreement) in the region and major players are involved,” he went on to say.
Franjieh stressed that “Syria is not being targeted for the sake of freedom and democracy or human rights, but rather because of its political choices.”
“I don't believe that Arabs can be pro-Israel, but they have succeeded in creating Sunni-Shiite sectarian tensions,” he added.
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