Geagea to Nasrallah: You Won’t Achieve Anything
| Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Geagea on Friday urged Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to call off the nearly two-month protest, predicting it would fail to achieve its declared objective of toppling Premier Fouad Saniora’s majority government. Addressing Nasrallah during a news conference, Geagea said: “If you proceed with your protest through democratic means it wouldn’t lead you to achieving results because you cannot alter the balance of power.” “If you go beyond democratic means, that would lead you to civil war in which, also, you will not achieve your declared objective,” Geagea added. He said the attempt on Tuesday by the Hizbullah-led opposition to block roads “was the beginning of a coup to be carried out by the opposition throughout Lebanon.” Such an alleged coup, Geagea said, “failed because the Lebanese forces intervened and reopened roads.” He set the basis for a deal between anti and pro government factions, telling Nasrallah: “You want to change the government and we want to change the president” Emile Lahoud. “Let’s sit and talk,” Geagea added. Geagea also lashed out at Gen. Michael Aoun, saying His Free Patriotic Movement was trying to carry out a plot in cooperation with Hizbullah and other factions of the opposition to “topple the regime” in Lebanon. That plot, Geagea stressed, was “foiled by the Lebanese Forces … that is why they called off the move in order to re-plan and repeat what they have started doing, but couldn’t complete.” “If they repeat the attempt we’ll interfere again,” Geagea pledged. “Lebanon was facing a real threat on Tuesday.” At least eight people were reported killed and more than 300 wounded in violence between pro and anti-government factions on Tuesday and Thursday. |
| Beirut, 26 Jan 07 |
