Franjieh Attacks Sfeir and ‘Allies’
Ex MP Suleiman Franjieh on Wednesday said Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir is not the person authorized to decide on the election law, stressing that “the Christians have real representatives” who can take such decisions.
“The patriarch adopts a political stand. We talk to him when our political interest requires that, and we don’t talk to him when our interest doesn’t require it,” Franjieh told a news conference at his residence in north Lebanon.
Franjieh said the 1960 election law provides for “consensus” among the Lebanese.
Sfeir and the March 14 majority have separately rejected demands by the Hizbullah-led opposition for re-adoption of the 1960 parliamentary election law.
Franjieh said he prefers that “Christian voters elect Christian MPs and Muslim voters elect Muslim MPs,” noting that adopting such an approach would not be possible.
He urged Sfeir to “convince his allies, including MP Walid Jumblat and Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri” to divide Beirut into five electoral constituencies and “we’ll accept that.”
That, however, contradicted with the 1960 law that divided Beirut into three constituencies.
Franjieh said Lebanon’s invitation to the forthcoming Damascus summit should be relayed via the secretariat general of the Arab league and the Saniora Government would be able to represent Lebanon at the summit, only if it resigned.
“The atmosphere in Lebanon is ready for war. Any major assassination would lead to war. To avoid this we need national unity,” he concluded.
