Michel Aoun on conditions in Lebanon, Understanding with Hizbullah is a "Maronite marriage" (permanent)

Source: Arabic News, 5-5-2006
Lebanese opposition figure and leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, Michel Aoun, justifies his hostile attitude to the Future Bloc and his polemic with Koreytem, noting that "it all started when they replied with insults to my interview with a TV station."
Aoun holds against Saad al-Hariri the fact that "he has contempt for 70 percent of the Lebanese people" who support his candidacy for the Presidency.
Aoun said: "You can`t be silent in the face of insults. Rafic al-Hariri fell as a martyr, but as a martyr of Lebanon, not of his own family, which must not exploit his tragic end."
Aoun was questioned on several subjects:
Would you accept a rival to your candidacy for the nation`s highest office?
You don`t ask a candidate a question like that, because he cannot transfer to another the confidence people have given to him.
The `March 14 forces` responsible...
You are accused of carrying on your presidential campaign on the basis of the slogan "Me and no one else."..
I have at no time uttered such words. But there was an opinion poll which indicated that no less than 70 percent of the people supported my candidacy. It is this that the circles close to the Future Current contest or are unwilling to take account of.
Are all the "forces of March 14" opposed to your candidacy?
I have the impression that these forces comprise a single bloc responsible for the degradation of the situation in the country. They support one another, mutually, without giving any kind of accounting or balance sheet on their management of state affairs so that responsibilities might be determined.
Is the presidential issue the sole problem to be resolved?
The problem goes beyond the Presidency. There are big issues related to corruption that the Future Current has been covering up since it was created in 1992. Of course the Current fears the opening of these dossiers, for which it might be called to account.
Is the focus of the conflict between the Future Current and the FPM the mechanism to be adopted to build a modern state?
We represent the mentality of the state, while they represent that of a firm that they want to exploit for their own ends and interests. This presupposes the dismantling of state institutions. That`s the basis they`re acting on.
In the end the state will win out over the firm. We have from the beginning noted the family monopolization of all the institutions, beginning with the cell phone sector, which we again hear will be privatized, something which goes against the liberal economy.
For example, I can point out that the plans for reform are not aimed at reactivating services or industrial and commercial productivity but instead at levying new taxes in order to decrease the budget deficit, which will increase the public debt still more.
No confidence in the cabinet
But the reform plan is supported by the international community.
If it is, let them pay the debts incurred by the state. If they don`t do that, are they going to sell the country at an auction?
So you have no confidence in the government and its economic management?
None at all. In 1992 Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, may his soul rest in peace, announced the "Lebanon spring." I replied to him then that this spring will not be the work of your hands. These words apply equally well to Saad Hariri because he follows the same policy. That is why I place responsibility on them for the bankruptcy of the country.
Who can give us a guarantee that the situation will be better? How do they propose to deal with the public debt which, we`re told, represents 250 percent of gross national product?
The country is adrift and we cannot expect that privatizing the cell phone sector will provide a solution since it would deprive the Treasury of an important source of revenue.
Will the meeting of the dialogue conference on April 28 be the last? And what attitude will you adopt on the presidential issue?
Another issue no less important is that of the weapons of the Resistance and the defense strategy proposed by Hizbullah. In my view, the arms should be placed in the legal framework so that they may be used advisedly. Now, discussing the defense strategy doesn`t mean giving Hizbullah complete autonomy since the state must continue to assume responsibility for all operations on the ground. The important thing is to ensure the taking of a decision by the central authority for the use of these arms.
Defense strategy
How do you conceive of the defense strategy?
I`ll set out my point of view at the appropriate time. I`ll say this: the Army must assume responsibility for every security decision since it must act on the basis of a political decision.
What might happen if the debate on the weapons of the Resistance reached deadlock, like that on the presidential issue? How do you imagine the situation developing in the time remaining of President Lahoud`s term?
In a democracy there are neither deadlocks nor voids. We must begin by enacting a new election law, which the legislature will be asked to ratify. We will then hold early legislative elections.
Do you envisage ousting the cabinet?
I`m doing my duty as an opposition figure, while they reply to our criticisms with insults, without providing proof for their assertions.
Do you intend to step up your campaign against the cabinet?
It`s only beginning. I`ll keep it up because I`m convinced of the cabinet`s inability to do useful work.
I am not the ally of the Syrians
You are suspected of cooperating with the allies of Damascus.
I am not their ally. In Lebanon there are Lebanese divided into two camps: one has a flexible approach to relations with Syria, the other vows hostility to that country. The latter consider their adversaries as allies of Syria, something that will certainly lead us to ruin. At the worst moment of the war, when the Syrian tanks attacked Baabda Palace, I kept repeating: When Syria leaves Lebanon, we`ll put an end to our conflict with it to establish better relations between us.
I have not heard any of those who are described as allies of Syria express a desire for the return of Syrian tutelage over Lebanon. In my opinion, we must have relations of good neighborhood with Syria and eliminate all feelings of hostility in our relations with it.
But Syria is refusing to implement decisions of the national dialogue conference.
We can`t show ourselves hostile to it and at the same time ask it to establish normal relations with us. Certain people want to implicate it in the assassination of (former) Premier Rafiq Hariri even before the inquiry has completed its work.
Leaving your residence in Rabiyé, Georges Adwan stated that the tendency at present is to maintain President Lahoud until the end of his term. What is your comment?
Why don`t the "forces of March 14" acknowledge their error and pay the price for it by supporting my candidacy for the Presidency?
I am not in the service of the Hariri family, nor am I in the pay of this or that embassy or consulate. My position is clear: if it is the resignation of President Lahoud that is desired, guarantees must be provided concerning the prerogatives of his successor. We must also lay down conditions in order to ensure a normal succession at the headship of the state. The future president must enjoy the support of the Lebanese people and a wide popularity.
Some people talk about scandals without deciding to open dossiers, beginning with that of the Al-Madina Bank.
Siniora`s visit to the US
Do you think that the visit of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to the United States has marginalized the president?
We must do all we can to eliminate the noose that certain people are trying to impose on the Presidency of the Republic.
Aren`t you concerned that, in acceding to the office of president, you may be constrained by certain provisions of the Taef Agreement?
From the moment the president takes the constitutional oath, he becomes more important than any politician, for the simple reason that all the attributions are laid down in the Constitution and emanate from it. Thus, the president cannot tolerate an electoral law that transgresses the fundamental law, as is the case today. The Constitution stipulates that any initiative is illegal if it goes against harmonious coexistence. It`s the same in the case of the blockage of the Constitutional Council. The government cannot therefore act as a mafia and the head of the state can correct many errors on the basis of the authority given him by his constitutional oath.
Would you lose popularity if you were elected president?
It would rise from 70 to 80 or 90 percent.
Are you sure of being able to achieve your plan of reform?
Naturally, because I don`t joke about serious matters. The fact is that I am serious about everything I undertake.
My `presidential` ideas
What are your ideas concerning the Presidency of the Republic?
Some of them address the need for liberation from the feudal mentality, be it in political, financial or communal terms. Then, the president is required to elaborate certain long-term policies. I will deal with all parties on a basis of equality regardless of the religious or political affiliation of anyone.
What do you expect from those who fear the opening of dossiers on corruption and squandering?
The Court of Accounts will be tasked with ruling on each case, and whoever has a clear conscience need not fear the inquiries. When I was in exile, I was myself accused of having stolen public funds. I bore it all, and on my return it was apparent after the investigations that I was innocent. Those accused of corruption have an interest in seeing the dossiers opened so that their innocence may be proved.
Do you still enjoy French and American support?
I can do without that support.
Might Lebanon not be isolated internationally?
Not at all, since its neighbors will take it upon themselves to protect it against that danger.
Has your rapprochement with Hizbullah compromised your relations with the outside world?
Hizbullah has good relations with France, where its emissaries frequently go. And why should the Americans be troubled by my agreement with the "Hezb," which was the ally of the "forces of March 14" in the last legislative elections?
How do you evaluate your agreement with that party?
It is in fact a "Maronite marriage" (permanent).
What will be the fate of the "forces of March 14"?
They will disintegrate because of their errors and their ambiguous stances. That`s why they no longer enjoy the confidence of public opinion.