Aoun: Syria the closest example of democracy, without shame

Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun said on Saturday that "Syria is the closest example of democracy, without shame, whether at the social or religious level."

During a ceremony in Sahel Alma on the seventh anniversary of his return from the exile,  Aoun said that the Lebanese people want to build a state that is capable of fighting against corruption "which has become an integral part of the state’s structure."

Aoun said that he had understood that there was "an attempt to ‘contain me’ after holding talks with a Jumblatt delegate prior to leaving Paris.” “The 2005 government was sedentary”, he said, adding that “we made the then prime minister understand that the FPM is out of the cabinet but not out of the country and that he must engage in dialogue with us.”

Commenting on his alliance with Hezbollah, Aoun said that “when the U.S. embassy was notified on our meeting with Hezbollah, we started receiving U.S. messages with threatening rhetoric, we have kept these messages.”

As for the row over an electoral law based on proportional representation, Aoun addressed PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt, saying “go tile the sea”; proportional representation reflects your true dimension."