Maronite Leaders Agree to Dialogue with Other Powers after Adopting Orthodox Proposal

The Maronite leaders were unanimous on Friday in agreeing on the Orthodox meeting proposals regarding the parliamentary electoral law, while stressing the need to hold dialogue with the rest of the Lebanese factions on the matter.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi headed the meeting at Bkirki between Phalange Party chief Amin Gemayel, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, the head of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea, and Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh.

Geagea said after the meeting: “It’s important that we now work on the agreement that was reached at the summit.”

“It’s true that all the gatherers were Christians, but we are not addressing matters from a Christian perspective,” he added.

“We are adopting an approach that can bolster mutual coexistence,” he stressed.

On persuading other sects of the Maronite meeting agreement, he said: “The majority of the gatherers believe that this is the best solution that could achieve political stability in Lebanon at the present time.”

For his part, Aoun said: “We are all in agreement over the way the parliamentary electoral law should be tackled.”

He added however that this issue must be addressed through dialogue with all Lebanese factions.

Franjieh said after the meeting: “We have been supporters of the Orthodox meeting proposals from the very beginning, but we demanded that certain conditions need to be provided.”

“The proposals guarantee proper Christian representation during the parliamentary elections and all sides had unanimously agreed to it,” he noted.

The Maronite leaders are not seeking to impose their opinions on the other factions in the country, but dialogue should be held in order for an agreement to be reached over this issue, remarked the MP.

Meanwhile, MP Butros Harb refuted reports that a dispute had erupted between him and Aoun at the Bkirki meeting.

He said: “It’s unfortunate that political differences nowadays are interpreted as disputes.”

“I have my position which differs from Aoun’s. The meeting ended amicably,” he said.

MTV had reported earlier that a dispute had erupted between the MPs when Aoun spoke of the squandering of state funds, hinting at former Premier Fouad Saniora’s alleged role in such affairs.

At this Harb responded: “The judiciary alone investigates such issues.”

The Orthodox meeting called for each sect to elect its own candidate based on proportional representation during parliamentary elections.

The Maronite meeting was aimed at discussing an electoral law in an attempt to find common grounds between the bickering politicians, in the fourth meeting between them in nine months.