Geagea: We are for a resistance that defends Lebanon, not Iran

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea lashed out at his critics and said the March 14 forces were the first to introduce the concept of real resistance to Lebanon, by the Lebanese Armed Forces in defense of Lebanon.

“To those who claim we are against the choice of resistance, I say: We originally introduced the concept of resistance to Lebanon,” Geagea told LF officials in Keserouan-Ftouh region.

“We are with a resistance in which decisions are made by the Lebanese government and not Iran. We support a resistance that defends Lebanon and not Iran’s position in the region and the world.”

“We are with the real resistance which is handled by the Lebanese Armed Forces in defense of Lebanon , adding “but we are against Hezbollah’s arms which are intended to defend Iran and not Lebanon,” Geagea said

Geagea said the resistance he is talking about is “the resistance of the Lebanese state and the Lebanese army and not that of a party,” a reference to Hezbollah.

The decision-making of our resistance is made by the Lebanese state and not Iran, Geagea told his supporters, adding its objective is to preserve Lebanon and not Tehran’s strategic position in the region.

The LF leader also stressed that his resistance aims at deterring foreign occupiers and not occupying Lebanese land, in reference to Israel and Syria

Geagea stressed that the March 14 resistance uses its arms in the service of the citizen and not against him. In a possible reference to Hezbollah’s use of arms against the Lebanese citizens since 2006 for gaining political advantages

Geagea urged his supporters to participate en masse in the sixth anniversary of the Cedar Revolution scheduled to be held on Sunday March 13 at Beirut’s Martyrs Square.

The Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah brought down PM Saad Hariri’s government on January 12 over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s imminent indictment which is widely expected to implicate Hezbollah members in the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri in 2005 .

Nagib Mikati, who was backed by Hezbollah and its March 8 allies including MP Walid Jumblatt and Mohammad Safadi, was appointed on January 25 by president Michel Suleiman as PM-designate to form and head the next cabinet , giving Hezbollah and its allies increased leverage in the country and provoking widespread protest.

Caretaker PM Hariri vowed on Monday to fight the use of non-state weapons in Lebanon in a “peaceful and democratic way.”