Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
leader MP
Michel Aoun...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
slammed on Tuesday the Internal Security Forces, describing them as an armed gang.
He said after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: "If only it were a militia because it is an armed gang that is working against the laws."
On Minister of the Displaced Akram Chehayeb's statements on state appointments, he noted: "They are waging a preemptive war against us and others."
According to media reports, the minister had said: "A certain faction among the Lebanese is seeking to hoard all the appointments and shape administrative and electoral issues to its liking in order to eliminate another political camp and assume power."
Addressing the dispute between Change and Reform bloc MP Nabil Nicola and Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, Aoun remarked: "This is an individual incident, but it may affect our ties with the minister."
"Why should the MP be blamed? Is it because he labeled the ISF as a militia?" he wondered.
"They are an armed gang working against the laws," he noted.
"If only they were a militia, because a militia liberates land, but the world has wronged militias," Aoun said.
"Militias have a national goal to confront an occupier," he stressed.
Nicola had told al-Jadeed television on Tuesday that Charbel "is ignorant of Lebanese laws."
"I had hoped that the interior minister would have been more aware of the laws," he added.
Furthermore, he urged him to "perform his duties in protecting the citizens and implement the laws."
On the investigations with retired Brigadier General Fayez Karam, Aoun said: "We have spoken of flaws in the investigation and we have concluded that there is no evidence."
"They have spoken of recordings but we have not been shown anything," he added.
"They are pressuring the judiciary and violating its jurisdiction," stressed the FPM leader.
Addressing former Premier Fouad Saniora's comments on the Appeals Court's approval to review the verdict in Karam's case, Aoun said: "Saniora is not being accused, but he is being condemned."
The ex-PM had recently voiced fears that the acceptance of the appeal is a precursor to politicizing Karam's case, noting that this would harm the credibility of the judiciary.
Addressing the call to resume national dialogue, Aoun said: "We have spent years discussing Hizbullah's arms. This is not a real issue."
"I have presented a defense strategy. Let them study it and present their own," he added.
"The greatest mistake lies in saying that the decision of war and peace lies in the hands of Hizbullah, whereas Israel holds this power," he noted.