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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Aoun will no longer listen to Lebanon's clerics |
| 2007-08-25 |
| Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun criticized Lebanon's clergymen, including the Christian Maronite Patriarch and the Sunni Grand Mufti, for their "dreadful" silence regarding the heated political bickering, threatening that he would no longer listen to them. Speaking to his supporters, Aoun demanded a response from deputy Saad Hariri's Al-Mustaqbal Movement as to whether the group supports partitioning Lebanon. "And if they are against partitioning, do they endorse a call by MP Walid Jumblatt and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea which is aimed at disuniting Lebanon? Aoun asked. "Â… Is this a Sunni policy?" He urged Hariri a swift response "because the situation is no longer bearable." Aoun assured Lebanon's Sunnis that "no one wants to wipe them out." "This principle should be applied to everyone," he told fans who visited his residence at Rabieh on Thursday evening. "I will not ask whether or not Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir is with or against this policy," Aoun went on. "He is free to voice his opinion or refrain (from expressing his opinion)." "I will not ask the Grand Mufti (Sheikh Mohammed Qabbani for his opinion). I am not going to listen to clergymen who daily interfere in politics and give their views. But then again, their silence is dreadful," Aoun said. "Let it be known to everyone that from now on we will not hush up and we will not accept anyone to hide behind silence," Aoun threatened. Addressing the pro-government camp, Aoun said: "They want partitioning, let it be. Why should we kill one another? Let us divide! They want unity? Unity cannot be established by (violent) means Â… We do not dread any settlement. But we refuse to reach any deal through bloodshed." Aoun's agreement with Hezbollah according to analysts is the main wedge that has weakened the Christian community by dividing it the right in the middle and has led to the current political crises in Lebanon. The agreement gave Hezbollah the Christian cover he needed to divide the country starting with the summer war and ending in the protests that paralyzed the country. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Translated: I'd kill my granny to be President. |
| Posted by: Thomas Woof 2007-08-25 04:09 |