- Aoun: We
freed Hezbollah of our burden; Jumblatt is an empty man
Change and
Reform bloc MP Michel Aoun told
Al-Akhbar Daily on Thursday that the crisis
with House Speaker Nabih Berri starts at the Parliament where many draft laws
prepared by “Aounsits” are stacked, including the old-age pension, the issue of giving
Lebanese nationality for descendants of Lebanese origin, solving the problem of
the Lebanese who fled to Israel, compensating for former detainees in Syrian
prisons. “Berri is hiding our projects”, he said.
Aoun said he
has not yet forgotten the “sacrifices” he made a few months ago in order to
build trust with Berri, most importantly the dismissal of Minister Charbel
Nahas. “Suddenly, we saw the House Speaker besieging the EDL through its
contract workers, and thus besieging the Change and Reform bloc, refusing to
commit to any legal standard to solve their problem”, he said.
On the
understanding with Hezbollah, Aoun advised all those who are concerned with
this understanding to abide by it literally: "In regards to the resistance, i.e.
the weapons used against Israel to protect and defend Lebanon, I am with
Hezbollah. As for the political issues, we agree with Hezbollah on some of them and it was proven that the priorities of the Free Patriotic Movement are
different than those of Hezbollah.
“I am not saying that we separated from Hezbollah;
I am just saying that we have freed the party of a domestic political line that
might weigh it down or that it could not bear”, Aoun said.
On Jumblatt’s
last response, Aoun said “his answer is empty words because he is an empty man;
if he cannot answer the content of our statements, let him keep his mouth shut
forever.”
- Hezbollah promises Aoun to
correct its mistake through Parliament bureau committee meeting
Al-Liwaa Daily reported Thursday that a
meeting was recently held between the political aide to Hezbollah Secretary
General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Minister Gibran Bassil away from the
spotlights. The meeting reportedly tackled the emerging crisis caused by the issue
of EDL contract workers. According to exclusive sources,
Hezbollah promised Aoun to correct the mistake it made "unintentionally",
first of all through the meeting of the Parliament’s bureau committee.
On the other hand, exclusive
sources told the same newspaper that MPs Ahmad Fatfat, Georges Adwan and Marwan
Hamadeh held a meeting to agree on a unified position for March 14 to voice during
the meeting with Berri.
MP Ahmad Fatfat told
Al-Liwaa
that during the meeting, House Speaker Nabih Berri will be given notice of the
joint stance of the Future bloc, the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb party,
adding that consultations were not over on Wednesday night. Fatfat assured that
the quorum for today’s meeting has been reached.
- Free Patriotic Movement sources: We are disgusted by Hezbollah’s behavior
High-level
sources in the Free Patriotic Movement denied that electoral motives were
behind General Michel Aoun’s tough stance on the EDL contract workers law,
adding that those who think so know nothing about the way Aoun thinks.
The sources
told
As-Safir Daily on Thursday that they were disgusted by the behavior of
Hezbollah who played the role of spectator on many occasions, watching the FPM
being harmed and attacked by “supposed allies”. The sources added that
Hezbollah participated in the last attack against the Movement, when it left
its supporters among the EDL contract workers attack the ministry of Energy "which is an ally".
Aounist
sources said Hezbollah must stand by reform, even if it had to stand in the
face of its partisans sometimes, just like the FPM did when it faced its
supporters who were opposed to the high-voltage power lines project.
“It is no
longer acceptable for Hezbollah to remain an observer under pretexts like avoiding
a Sunni-Shiite strife or a conflict between Shiites themselves", he said.
- Jumblatt’s message and fears
Al-Joumhouria Daily reported on
Thursday that despite the relative improvement National Struggle Front leader MP
Walid Jumblatt sees in the relations with Hezbollah, especially after the party’s
stances on the Syrian regime, he is still worried about the situation in the
country which is divided between those who support this regime and those who
dedicated themselves to serve the Syrian people and its claims of democracy.
Sources close to Jumblatt
stressed that his support to the Syrian people did not cause a dispute with the
Amal Movement or Hezbollah, adding that he sought, with the help of the High
Relief Commission, to help the Palestinian refugees "through some friends."
The sources said that the fact
that the Future bloc and the Socialist Progressive Movement are standing by the
Syrian people does not mean that Alawites in Baal Mohsen must be considered as “enemies”
just because they are pro-Syrians. The sources added that the incidents in
north Lebanon are frightening and must be dealt with immediately, "especially since
some security apparatuses are providing some gangs in Tripoli with arms while
Hezbollah is arming residents of Jabal Mohsen".