Gemayel: Miqati’s Good Will Cannot Build a State, March 8 Adopting Principle of ‘I Obstruct Therefore I Am’

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel criticized on Monday the ongoing governmental vacuum in Lebanon, saying that the country is in desperate need of a national salvation government to revive the state and restore contacts among the Lebanese.

He said during a press conference: “We are getting distracted with pointless debates and we have no right to ignore the reality of the situation in the country.”

“Given the developments in the region, the vacuum in Lebanon should not persist. The fate of the seven Estonians is unknown, and the incidents in the Roumieh prison and the Zahle bombing reveal that the situation in Lebanon is dangerous,” he stressed.

Gemayel criticized the March 8 camp’s conduct in the government formation process, saying that it is advocating the slogan of “I obstruct therefore I am.”

He said that it is deliberately obstructing the government formation “because it has its own social and military institutions and therefore obstructing the official state is justified for this statelet.”

“Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati should be frank with the people. The constitution does not speak of deadlines, but there are social and economic ones linked to the security situation, including the developments involving the Lebanese expatriates in Bahrain and the Ivory Coast,” he noted.

He said: “We are aware of Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati’s good intentions, but they won’t help build a state.”

In addition, he said that President Michel Suleiman is responsible for finding solutions.

“It’s time for him to make a speech in parliament to reassure the people,” Gemayel stated.

“The March 14 camp should work on confronting the dangerousness of this phase and we will contact our allies in order for the camp to act as a shield for the nation,” he added.

“We have not cut ties with Miqati, but there is currently no practical initiative that we can count on,” he said.

“We turn to the president to tackle our proposals and renew contacts between the various sections of society,” Gemayel said.