MP Sami Gemayel who heads up the phalange party declared Wednesday that “Lebanon is occupied” and that the Lebanese “are living under Hezbollah’s tutelage.”
“Stability should be accompanied by sovereignty, freedom and real democracy, and unfortunately they are asking us today to choose between freedom and stability in the vein of the Syrian era,” Gemayel said in an interview on Future TV.
“We are living under Hezbollah’s tutelage over Lebanon and a local party does not have the right to impose its agenda on all Lebanese,” he added.
Stability yes tutelage no
Commenting on calls for stability that followed Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s shock resignation from Riyadh, Gemayel said: “We all want stability but it should not be an excuse to force Lebanese to live under tutelage.”
“We have not forgotten what happened on May 7, (2008) when (Hezbollah’s) weapons were used domestically. The weapons are put on the table and may be used at any given moment,” Gemayel added.
“Lebanon is occupied, the state’s decision is hijacked and the Lebanese are not the masters of their fate. The presidential vote was the best example,” he went on to say.
As for Hariri’s unusual resignation from Saudi Arabia, which he reversed last week, Gemayel said he “did not like the manner in which Hariri resigned from outside the country.”
“Hariri is apparently clinging to the settlement and this is something I’m still against,” he added.
“Our problem with the settlement is that it is a settlement based on interests, not a vision for the country,” he explained.
Gemayel has been consistent in his criticism of Hezbollah’s role in Syrian civil war ever since the Iranian backed militant group joined forces with Syria’s dictator Bashar al Assad in 2013.
He blamed Hezbollah for the presence of takfiris in Lebanon.
“What is going on is totally different from what ( Hezbollah chief Hassan ) Nasrallah said. He claims he is preventing takfiris from reaching Lebanon, but in reality he has brought them into Lebanon. The only suicide bombings in Lebanon were when they ( Hezbollah ) attacked the US Embassy” ( in 1983) , Gemayel was quoted as saying in November 26, 2013 in Bekfaya. He was commenting on a suicide bombing that targeted Hezbollah in Dhahih
Hariri had said Monday that he would resign if Hezbollah refuses to accept a new power-sharing arrangement for Lebanon.
Hariri has demanded that Hezbollah should remove itself from regional conflicts, from Syria to Iraq and Bahrain and Yemen. Hezbollah denies playing a military role in Yemen but has fighters in both Iraq and Syria.
President Aoun said Wednesday in an interview that PM Hariri will remain as the premier because “the crisis is behind us now”.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.