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Excerpts of a televised interview MP Michel Aoun gave to ANB TV Channel 24 December 2007
undermine all efforts have a Lebanese cover but they are not Lebanese. Things have reached a deadlock because the other parties are refusing to negotiate with me after the opposition has mandated me to hold the talks. How are we to solve the problem if the other parties refuse to talk to us and we know that this group has received a veto preventing them from negotiating with us.
ـ I think that when foreign interference stops we would be able to resume the talks and find a solution. Nobody can prevent any solution we would agree on except if they are bound by some promises, but in any case, we are free and the opposition is playing a purely Lebanese card and the other parties refuse to grant us our rights for participation.
ـ What we are asking for is very simple and one of our demands is the revival of the constitutional council. Is this demand illegitimate? All of our demands are purely Lebanese and have nothing to do with other countries. Which one of our demands is considered Syrian and Iranian?
ـ I am not curbing the responsibilities of the future president but we are demanding the respect of the Constitution that was violated and these issues are not for discussion because they are consecrated as rights of the people by the Constitution.
ـ We have lost our trust in the government because it has only brought us problems and trouble. It has stolen the power and the thief cannot accuse the victim.
ـ Those who are boycotting me bear the responsibility of the stalemate we have reached.
ـ It is an honor for me not to be visited by David Welsh because all the diplomats who have come here were trying to find excuses for the Siniora government. The diplomatic presence in Lebanon has become a burden and all they care about is for Siniora to remain in office. They don’t even know how our system works and they call the Siniora government a “democratically-elected” government.
ـ It is Hariri’s problem if he does not want to relinquish the position of prime minister. We have asked for a national unity government, they refused, then we asked for early elections and they also refused; then we asked for the direct elections, they also refused, we proposed the salvation government. They were planning for the void all along. They also refused the interim government. Their position reflects other plans in the Middle East and involves other issues, mainly the settlement of the Palestinians and this is the core of the crisis and all those who they feel cannot be pressured into accepting it are being isolated.
ـ When the participation in power and the balance is not guaranteed the void continues.
ـ I said I agree on the candidacy of General Suleiman on condition that it is done in the framework of my initiative. Our negotiations should happen before the election because otherwise, we won’t be able to achieve any of our demands after the elections.
ـ I am not convinced of international guarantees among the Lebanese and that is why the guarantee has to come with the government, as our demands are rightful demands granted by the laws and the Constitution. If the international party wants to act as a witness then it’s okay otherwise, interim negotiations do not work.
ـ The biggest mistake against democracy is the dissolving of the constitutional council under the patronage of the US and their allies. We tell them about corruption and they find everything secondary and unimportant.
ـ The MPs that are elected by the people do not have the right to betray the will of the people who voted for them in the presidential elections. That is why we asked for direct elections so that the will of the people is respected.
ـ None of the Christian MPs of the majority were voted for by Christians and none of them has gotten the 40% of the Christian representation.
ـ The Constitution currently cannot be amended because the parliament is only an electoral body that does not have the right to legislate. But we said that national consensus is above all laws and if there is national consensus, we’ll amend the Constitution but the ruling parties always find ways to stop any dialogue.
ـ Saad Hariri told me in the negotiations I had with him several times that he does not want to become prime minister and after the 21st, all communication stopped with him. When we met in Paris we said that they have to find a president that has an agreement with Hizbullah because the problem was my understanding with Hizbullah so I told him let’s play the role of Bechara el Khoury and Riad el Solh.
ـ We trust General Suleiman but we do not trust the ministers who might leave him and switch sides as what happened with former president Lahoud. And I have relinquished my presidency for him only and if he decides to withdraw the race, I will be a candidate again.
ـ We have said that the election with 50% + 1 will be considered as a coup and we will deal with it accordingly. But they know their limits and they won’t do it.
ـ I am asking for the respect of the Taef agreement, of what remains of the prerogatives of the president according to the Taef and I am not asking for the amendment of the Taef.
ـ The void was planned for by the majority because they refused all other solutions and we consider that the void is better than a president stripped of his rights. All the solutions have been imposed as such since 1969, now we said we will not submit to any pressure. There is a Christian minority that was aligned with the majority and is covered up by the majority. Participation happens with the true representatives of the Christians.
ـ I didn’t know that Archbishop El Rahi had such knowledge of my relations with Hizbullah. It’s a pity that such a person takes such positions and I advise him to get away from these issues because had he read our demands he would have had another stance and a better reading of the documents and I advise him to read my initiative. What he said is irresponsible and immature and unforgivable.
ـ The assassination of Brig. Gen. Francois el Hajj targeted the man in charge of basically all military operations and he was a key figure in the army. We fear that this is the start of a series of military assassinations and that the security chaos has expanded and we also fear that all the security apparatuses are not carrying out their duties. Until now we haven’t heard of any progress in the investigations and so far everything is unclear. We fear that a certain category of army officers are targeted. Somebody has to bear the responsibility for the crime. The government is now responsible and might be found guilty if a party related to it is involved in the crime. Those who are building up militias do not have an interest in building up a strong army and they don’t want to see it happen. He had the profile of an army commander and gathered in him all the characteristics of a military leader. His assassination is a message, a starting point to undermine the army and terrorize the military. Fath el Islam could have found a better target but they could be used as a cover up for the crime. The government has not implemented any preventive measures against these assassinations.
ـ I think the policy of the international community policy in Lebanon was and still is full of mishaps because they are being disappointed by the reality and even when Bush tells his allies here to go to the elections with 50% + 1, they cannot do it. They asked Syria to interfere in favor of their allies and they accuse us of being pro-Syrian, this does not make any sense.
ـ The position of the US representative to the UN is a heresy. They cannot force us to elect a president we don’t want. The US has already hurt us in the 1990 invasion of Lebanon by the Syrians.
ـ I am the solution, the just solution to the crisis.