Jumblatt denies his bloc will vote for Franjieh:’ People don’t want Assad’s friend as president

Following reports that Russia, (which has its hands full with its war in Ukraine) is communicating with former Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) chief Walid Jumblatt to convince him to support Suleiman Franjieh’s election as president, the “L’Orient-Le Jour” newspaper interviewed Jumblatt’s son, Taymour Jumblatt , the head of the Democratic Gathering paliamentary bloc and the new PSP leader to discuss this issue and his vision for Lebanon.

The pro- Hezbollah daily Al Akhbar reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has been lobbying on behalf of Russian president Vladimir for Franjieh and many heads of state were contacted in this regard

Beirut – The head of the Progressive Socialist Party, MP Taymour Jumblatt, stressed in an interview with the “L’Orient-Le Jour” newspaper the importance of dialogue in order to avoid obstruction and preserve the remaining institutions so that the people do not continue to pay the price, indicating that his vision for Lebanon “is based on the vision of Kamal Jumblatt: a civil state based on strong institutions and the separation of religion from the state.” He said: “We live in a democratic country, and we have the right to be in opposition or to have different positions.”

Jumblatt explained that “the party’s members and supporters are women and men belonging to various Lebanese sects and represent the Lebanese diversity, and our party was built on the principles of anti-secularism, including the complete separation between religion and the state, and we support the principles of sovereignty and social and economic justice, with absolute loyalty to the vision and principles of the party’s founder, Kamal Jumblatt, without denying that after the civil war, all sectarian parties adhered to it, although the Progressive Socialist Party represents a majority of the Druze sect, and perhaps more than other political parties, and since I am the son of Walid Jumblatt and now at the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, I will continue on this patriotic path, and this will never mean that I exclusively represent the Lebanese Druze at the expense of their other compatriots, and my main goal will remain the representation of all Lebanese young men and women, in the hope that we lead the country towards a better future with a spirit of openness and tolerance.

In response to a question, he indicated, “Dialogue continues with all political components in the country, and our contacts with Christian parties are based on the reconciliation established by the Triangle of Mercy, Patriarch Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, and Walid Jumblatt. In this context, and since my election as head of the party, I have communicated with the Free Patriotic Movement. This dialogue is based on mutual respect more than it is on trust, as it is still a superficial discussion because our relations went through difficult periods in the past. Of course, we agreed with the movement and with the rest of the opposition blocs to support the candidacy of former Minister Jihad Azour for Presidential elections, but I cannot guarantee that Gebran Bassil will not abandon him for his personal interests, especially since his relations with Hezbollah seem to be improving. We also have differences with him in many files, such as naming the army chief of staff and the military council. In any case, we hope that things will progress in the interest of the country. As for other Christian parties, such as the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb, we are also looking forward to developing relations with them, especially since we have many common political positions, and the channels of communication remain open as well with the elected representatives of the popular movement. “

Jumblatt pointed out that his vision for Lebanon “is based on Kamal Jumblatt’s vision: a civil state based on strong institutions and the separation of religion from the state. Unfortunately, the previous generation of political leaders did not care about the conditions for implementing the idea, which seems impossible at the present time, especially because the people continue to vote on a sectarian basis. But we must take the first step, and the dynamic will continue. In the meantime, we must preserve what remains of our institutions, and implement the Taif Agreement, and the state.

October 17 Revolution

This is, of course, the discourse that the popular revolution expresses, which It was right to demand accountability for those responsible for the situation, but unfortunately, it was unable to achieve its goals, partly due to some of the political classes that did everything in its power to make it fail,

He is reportedly referring to what the Iranian backed Hezbollah and Amal supporters who repetedly attacked their demonstrations of the October 17 , 2019 revolution.

Jumblatt also claims that thhe Revolution made 2 mistakes:

• Raising of the slogan “All of them means all of them”. He called this unfair because ” it calls for a radical and immediate change for all the political class, and this is not possible”,

• Did not succeed in presentinga united front . He compared their situation to the Cedar Revolution which erupted following the assassination by Hezbollah opetatives of formmer PM Rafic Hariri in 2005 and the disintegration of the March 14 alliance

Franjieh

In response to a question, he denied that the Progressive Socialist Party would vote for Suleiman Franjieh when the time comes. He replied: “With all due respect to him, of course, he has many good qualities, such as his sincerity, and he recognizes his friendship with the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad. But I must listen to my cincious and the concious of the people I represent . The people I represent do not want Assad’s friend as a president . Our people want new faces that will implement the required changes . Based on this , we and other political forces and personalities supported his candidacy of Jihad Azour , and we will not take any other step except after consultations with him, as we did with MP Michel Moawad.

Doesn’t want to be compared to his ancestors

He added, “Many claim that there is a discrepancy between my father and me regarding the presidential issue. But this is far from the truth. Although there are generational discrepancies. I am proud of my heritage and my father and all that he has achieved and I know that he carries heavy responsibilities, but I do not want to always be compared to my ancestors, who used to exercise their duties in different circumstances. For example, Arab nationalism was one of the main issues of previous generations, but now we rarely hear about this subject. As for the presidential elections, The entire party is on the same wave, the democratic Gathering will have a unified position, and its votes will not be divided during the election.

He stressed, “We live in a democratic country, and we have the right to be in opposition or to have different positions, especially since the dialogue continues with Hezbollah, and we were able to manage the differences between us in order to avoid obstruction and solve problems through institutions so that the people do not pay the price. We are also in good relations, especially with Speaker Nabih Berri, and he knows very well our position towards his presidential candidate, and he never interferes in our decisions and did not ask us for anything. I do not think that anyone has any interest an armed confrontation.”

Dialogue

Regarding France’s proposal for a Lebanese dialogue and the possibility of its participation, he replied: “We are in favor of dialogue and believe that it is impossible to overcome this crisis except through it. However, it must be noted that there are some parties against this matter, such as the Lebanese Forces and the Representatives of the Revolution. Therefore, even if a call for dialogue is made, the initiative is doomed to failure due to the absence of key elements . Although dialogue remains the best way to reach a moderate or consensual candidate, especially since the natural mechanisms of democratic voting process have been set aside.”

Army chief

Jumblatt revealed, “The army commander, General Joseph Aoun, was one of the names put forward by the Progressive Socialist Party to try to break the stalemate and get out of this presidential crisis, along with Jihad Azour and Salah Hanin. Therefore, of course we do not oppose his candidacy, although there are several obstacles in front of him. But some say that his election is not possible because it requires amending the constitution (first-class state employees cannot assume an advanced position, unless they step down from it no less than two years earlier ). However, The constitution has been amended several times, so this is not the main obstacle, but Gebran Bassil is the main obstacle because he strongly opposes Aoun’s nomination.

Translated from Arabic El Nashra /”L’Orient-Le Jour”