Geagea Says Depriving Lebanon of 'Christian President' a Political Crime, Rejects 'Autonomous Security'
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Saturday described the continued presidential void as a “flagrant political crime,” rejecting calls for resorting to “autonomous security” under the excuse of confronting the threat posed by the Islamic State jihadist group.
“It is a flagrant political crime to vacate the Lebanese republic of its Christian president at a time Mosul and Nineveh's plain (in Iraq) are being emptied of their Christian residents,” Geagea said at an annual ceremony commemorating the “Martyrs of the Lebanese Resistance.”
“It is a complete political crime when some parties seek to 'behead the republic' with the aim of becoming its head, and when they take the country hostage in order to get the presidential chair as a ransom,” Geagea added, in an apparent reference to Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.
Slamming Aoun's recent proposal on the election of the president directly by the people rather than by parliament as a way out of the presidential crisis, Geagea said some parties have “come up with a demand to amend Article 49 of the Constitution but they would not have made this proposal had their attempts to secure the election of their candidate been successful.”
“The alibi claiming that amending the Constitution is an attempt to secure the election of a strong president is a futile alibi,” he said.
“Do some realize that impeding the presidential vote will paralyze the entire political life and create social, security and economic instability?” Geagea asked rhetorically.
He said implementing the Lebanese Constitution requires the dissolving of “all illegitimate armed groups” and “returning the military and security conditions exclusively to the Lebanese state, in addition to approving a just and balanced electoral law.”
Turning to the threat posed by the ruthless Islamic State group to Lebanon and the region, Geagea rejected “all schemes of autonomous scurity, especially those that exploit the threat of terrorism ... to enhance the trembling positions of some parties on the domestic scene."
"Should the need arise, or should the IS come, we are ready for resistance, and we will only die on our feet," he vowed.
"Our martyrs did not fall to allow the presence of foreign gunmen on Lebanon's soil, nor the presence of Lebanese gunmen who serve foreign interests ... President-elect Bashir Gemayel did not die so that someone tries to prevent the election of a president," added Geagea.
"Our first and only choice is the state and its institutions, army and security forces. We will fight alongside it through stances, words, patience and endurance ... but we won't hesistate for a single moment to confront anyone who tried to transgress against the state through the forces of arms, whether it is called ISIL (IS) or anything else," he pledged.
Geagea described the Islamic State as a "new and suspicious phenomenon which has suddenly surfaced due to (Syrian President Bashar) Assad's 'magical tricks'."
However, he added that the group "has nothing to do with Islam nor with Arabism nor with all the principles of our time," noting that "confronting such a destructive trend is an obligatory ethical duty that everyone of us must perform."
“The IS is like a cancerous tumor that suddenly appeared in certain parts of Syria and Iraq and it is still limited. Therefore, it can be quickly removed if there is a joint effort and will,” Geagea reassured.
Comparing the Islamic State to the Syrian regime, the LF leader added: “Is the use of chemical weapons and the killing of thousands of people in a few minutes less horrible than the IS' practices and the murder of hundreds of people in a few hours?”
“Is slaughtering an American journalist in the presence of cameras a less terrorist act than blowing up and murdering Rafik Hariri, Bassel Fleihan, Samir Qassir, George Hawi, Gebran Tueni, Pierre Gemayel and other martyrs?” the LF leader went on to say.
Geagea noted that “eradicating the IS is an instant duty that must be accompanied by eliminating the reasons that led to the rise of the IS,” pointing out that the principles of “freedom, democracy, pluralism and civil and humanitarian culture must be spread.”
Commenting on the recent deadly clashes between the army and gunmen from the IS and al-Nusra Front in and around the Bekaa town of Arsal, Geagea saluted “the souls of the Lebanese army's martyrs, the last of whom was the martyr Ali al-Sayyed,” hailing the army's “major sacrifices.”
“We throw our support behind it as it preserves Lebanon's borders in both directions and defends national sovereignty. We also call for the immediate release of the abducted Lebanese troops,” he added.
Deadly clashes broke out between the army and militants from the IS and Nusra on August 2 after troops arrested a top jihadist leader.
The fighting ended with a ceasefire on August 7 but the militants kidnapped around 35 troops and policemen.
The IS has in recent days beheaded two captive Lebanese army troops, Ali al-Sayyed and Abbas Medlej.
Y.R.
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06 September 2014, 19:42
Geagea: Our first and only choice is the state and its institutions, army and security forces. We will fight alongside it through stances, words, patience and endurance ... but we won't hesistate for a single moment to confront anyone who tried to transgress against the state through the forces of arms, whether it is called ISIL or anything else.
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06 September 2014, 19:40
Geagea: Our martyrs did not fall to allow the presence of foreign gunmen on Lebanon's soil, nor the presence of Lebanese gunmen who serve foreign interests ... President-elect Bashir Gemayel did not die so that someone tries to prevent the election of a president.
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06 September 2014, 19:39
Geagea: Should the need arise, or should the IS come, we are ready for resistance, and we will only die on our feet.
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06 September 2014, 19:36
Geagea: We reject all schemes of autonomous scurity, especially those that exploit the threat of terrorism ... to enhance the trembling positions of some parties on the domestic scene.
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06 September 2014, 19:36
Geagea: We salute the souls of the Lebanese army's martyrs, the last of whom was the martyr Ali al-Sayyed, and we hail the army's major sacrifices. We throw our support behind it as it preserves Lebanon's borders in both directions and defends national sovereignty. We also call for the immediate release of the abducted Lebanese troops.
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06 September 2014, 19:34
Geagea on Arsal: What happened confirmed our viewpoint on the need that the state fully control the Lebanese-Syrian border, with the assistance of UNSCR 1701, in order to prevent all gunmen from all sides to cross into and from Syria.
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06 September 2014, 19:34
Geagea: Why are the March 8 forces insisting on rejecting this proposal and keeping the border and security in a chaotic manner? Why are they putting the Syrian regime's interest before the higher Lebanese interest?
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06 September 2014, 19:33
Geagea: Do some realize that impeding the presidential vote will paralyze the entire political life and create social, security and economic instability?
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06 September 2014, 19:31
Geagea: The alibi claiming that amending the Constitution is an attempt to secure the election of a strong president is a futile alibi.
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06 September 2014, 19:31
Geagea on Aoun's proposal on electing the president by the people: Some parties have come up with a demand to amend Article 49 of the Constitution but they would not have made this proposal had their attempts to secure the election of their candidate been successful.
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06 September 2014, 19:30
Geagea: It is a complete political crime when some parties seek to "behead the republic" with the aim of becoming its head, and when they take the country hostage in order to get the presidential chair as a ransom.
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06 September 2014, 19:29
Geagea: It is a flagrant political crime to vacate the Lebanese republic of its Christian president at a time Mosul and Nineveh's plain are being emptied of their Christian residents.
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06 September 2014, 19:29
Geagea: Implementing the Lebanese Constitution requires the dissolving of all illegitimate armed groups and returning the military and security conditions exclusively to the Lebanese state, in addition to approving a just and balanced electoral law.
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06 September 2014, 19:28
Geagea: The problem in Lebanon is that some parties want to turn the Constitution into meaningless papers, although the principle of the modern state is clearly stated in the Constitution. Some parties are preventing the implementation of the state's pillars and conditions.
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06 September 2014, 19:25
Geagea: The Arab Spring revolutions -- despite all the negative and bloody trends -- will eventually succeed to replace the outdated principles in the Levant with ones that are more humanitarian, democratic and civilized. We support the societies' struggle to achieve better conditions regardless of anything and are with change despite everything.
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06 September 2014, 19:22
Geagea: Eradicating the IS is an instant duty that must be accompanied by eliminating the reasons that led to the rise of the IS. The principles of freedom, democracy, pluralism and civil and humanitarian culture must be spread.
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06 September 2014, 19:22
Geagea: There is a statelet operating outside state authority in Lebanon and manipulating the fates of the Lebanese contrary to their will. It is usurping their military and security decisions, which was recently manifested in fighting the opposition in Syria on behalf of the regime. It is a statelet that eliminates moderate forces and laments over the threat of extremists.
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06 September 2014, 19:17
Geagea: Is slaughtering an American journalist in the presence of cameras a less terrorist act than blowing up and murdering Rafik Hariri, Bassel Fleihan, Samir Qassir, George Hawi, Gebran Tueni, Pierre Gemayel and other martyrs?
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06 September 2014, 19:17
Geagea: Is destroying Syria's cities and killing its people with heavy artillery and tank shells less brutal than sabotaging city neighborhoods and villages with primitive means?
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06 September 2014, 19:17
Geagea: Is throwing tens of thousands of Syrians and Lebanese arbitrarily in jails and dungeons -- where thousands of them were tortured to death -- less horrible than the IS' practices?
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06 September 2014, 19:16
Geagea: Is the use of chemical weapons and the killing of thousands of people in a few minutes less horrible than the IS' practices and the murder of hundreds of people in a few hours?
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06 September 2014, 19:16
Geagea addressing Lebanese people: As if the “achievements” of the dictatorial regimes in the styles of oppression, murder, destruction and brutality were not enough. We now have the “invention” of the ISIL, which has come to crown those “achievements.”
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06 September 2014, 19:15
Geagea: The IS is like a cancerous tumor that suddenly appeared in certain parts of Syria and Iraq and it is still limited. Therefore, it can be quickly removed if there is a joint effort and will.
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06 September 2014, 19:15
Geagea: This new and suspicious phenomenon, which has suddenly surfaced due to "Assad's magical tricks," has nothing to do with Islam nor with Arabism nor with all the principles of our time. Confronting such a destructive trend is an obligatory ethical duty that everyone of us must perform.
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06 September 2014, 19:14
Geagea: My martyr comrades, after years and years of injustice and lies against you, the tragic events in Syria and Iraq have come to do you justice. After years of accusations and defamation, those who had made allegations against you have become worried and frightened, begging for either protection from a tyrant or for a fake autonomous security.
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06 September 2014, 19:12
Geagea: Had it not been for you, our people would have abandoned their land and towns, similar to what happened to the people of Qaraqush, Mosul, Qusayr and Maalula.
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06 September 2014, 19:11
Geagea addressing martyrs: Had it not been for you and for your surviving comrades, we would have been still stranded until today “at the peak of some Mount Sinjar,” waiting for a certain pilot to drop us water and food.
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06 September 2014, 19:10
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea after the annual mass commemorating the “Lebanese Resistance Martyrs”: Your commemoration this year carries a deeper meaning in light of everything that happened over the past months and weeks and is still happening in Syria and Iraq.
06 September 2014, 19:26
2910
Hakim W'basssssss
Habib Al Malayeen
Hakim for King of Lebanon
06 September 2014, 19:41
2911
جعجع: لكن إذا دعا داعٍ او داعش، فنحن للمقاومة جاهزون ولن نموت إلا واقفين.
جعجع: لم يسقط بشير الجميل رئيسا منتخباً للجمهورية، كي يأتي من يمنع انتخاب رئيس للجمهورية.
جعجع: لم يسقط شهداؤنا عندما قاتلوا في غياب الدولة، كي تغيب الدولة وتُغيّب مرة أخرى.
جعجع: لم يسقط شهداؤنا كي يبقى غريب مسلح على أرض لبنان ، ولا لبناني مسلح في خدمة غريب.
06 September 2014, 19:46
2910
جعجع: لم نعتد يوماً على أحد، ولن نعتدي. لذلك، العدوان والإرهاب يزولان وحبة تراب واحدة من هذه الأرض لا تزول.
جعجع: خبزنا اليومي: عمل، بناء، نضال، تضحية، علم، ثقافة، خير وجمال.
جعجع: نحن أبناء هذه الأرض. نحن أبناء الحرية. نحن أصحاب حق. نحن أصحاب قضية.
06 September 2014, 21:02
47
"...has nothing to do with Arabism nor with all the principles of our time."
Geagea and the LF have now become a spokesperson for Arabism, LOL. That must explain the 5 MPs.
06 September 2014, 21:40
710
Dr. G and his party is known to have executed Lebanese Army personnel, so it's not unusual.
06 September 2014, 22:39
62
رصاص الابتهاج ببري أدخل انطوني العناية الفائقة!
http://www.annahar.com/article/168454-رصاص-الابتهاج-ببري-أدخل-انطوني-العناية-الفائقة
07 September 2014, 03:12
52
He did not say that .... either you are purposly misinterpreting his words or your understanding is limited.
He said Bashar's crimes are not less harmful. Meaning they both are crimes against humanity. However I personally think that if ISIS had the means Bashar has, they would have committed more terrible atrocities.
07 September 2014, 08:18
53
I disagree... ISIS publicizes its crimes while Assad and HA hide them.
07 September 2014, 05:01
25
1 vote, 1 count. If Lebanon shall remain sectarian, let the Christians truly decide their leader. If it is Geagea, so be it. But we all know Aoun wins in a 1 vote, 1 count system.
07 September 2014, 05:11
36
Yes, you could argue Aoun is preventing the elections from taking place by not agreeing to March 14th proposal. But, you could also say that March 14th is preventing the elections from taking place by not agreeing to March 8th proposal ;)
07 September 2014, 08:45
00
The political crime is having those who contributed to the destruction and selling of Lebanon to its enemies still in positions where they have a forum from which they spew their filth, with pests like Jumblat, Geagea and Hariri Mafia at their head. Thank you to the Lebanese quasi-people for that.
