The head of the Lebanese Kataeb party, Sami Gemayel, has threatened to disrupt presidential elections if other parties attempt to elect a president who would provide cover for Hezbollah’s weapons.
Speaking at the party’s general conference on Friday, Gemayel, an outspoken opponent of Hezbollah, said what was happening was an attempt to change the face of Lebanon.
The opening session of the General Conference was attended by anti-Hezbollah political figures, who also expressed opposition to the party’s recent actions.
Gemayel’s parliamentary bloc is the third largest Christian bloc after the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces party.
They are trying to kill our country by killing freedom, cooperation, democracy, a strong and free economy and Lebanon’s openness to the world.
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“They are trying to kill our country by killing freedom, cooperation, democracy, a strong and free economy and Lebanon’s openness to the world,” he said.
Gemayel said the fight today is not against a certain category of Lebanese people, but over Christian and Muslim coexistence.
“However, there is a large group of Christian and Muslim Lebanese, and of all sects, who believe that Lebanon is a beacon of civilization and development.
“They too believe in freedom and were born clinging to this freedom.
“Whoever is trying to eliminate the Lebanese spirit is not a Lebanese group, but an armed party that is holding its sect hostage and trying to turn the conflict in Lebanon into a sectarian one,” They said.
Gemayel spoke of questionable land purchases, demographic change, institutional crippling and a systematic assault on free media.
He said: “We could not force the Syrian army to retreat unless we stood arm in arm in Martyrs’ Square. Today, we will not be able to preserve Lebanon unless we Not all reunite.”
Gemayel said that under the pretext of protecting Christians, the ruling class handed over the country to Hezbollah.
“We warned against handing the country over to Hezbollah,” he said.
“We warned against economic collapse and international isolation. Some are clearly trying to cut us out of the economic, diplomatic and political equations, but the true will of the Lebanese people was expressed in the Cedar Revolution and the October 17 Revolution.
Gemayel said: “Today, there are two states in Lebanon, the Republic of Lebanon and another state, which is the Islamic Republic of Hezbollah, and each state has its own financing, military, and foreign policy.
“The Islamic Republic is trying to impose its hand on the pluralistic Lebanese Republic, and we need to fight such efforts. We cannot continue to deal with dictatorial practices in the traditional way; We have been dragged into this dire situation.We kept on giving concessions after one, compromising after another.
“From this moment on, we refuse to submit to the will of Hezbollah.”
Gemayel continued: “We call on all Lebanese to assume their responsibilities, and we want Hezbollah to know that we will no longer accept this status quo.
“If divorce is inevitable between the two states, so be it. Hezbollah should announce this, but we will not accept living as second-class citizens. We will not submit; We will protest.
“The Kateb Party is not a fan of war. We support the state and the army, but if someone dares to come to our house, we will defend ourselves.
On the second anniversary of the murder of researcher Lokman Slim, who was known for his outspoken opposition to Hezbollah, Gemayel said: “We know there will never be a trial to shed light on Slim’s murder.”
He added: “Thus we know to what extent the Lebanese who oppose Hezbollah are fearful.”
Slim’s family and friends celebrated the second anniversary of his murder on Friday in the absence of an indictment from the Lebanese judiciary.
Slim had told the public that he had been receiving death threats from Hezbollah prior to his assassination in southern Lebanon.
MP Ashraf Rifi said: “They are once again trying to take advantage of the vacuum and impose threats on the President and the government.
“Lebanon was formerly an icon, but the axis of evil has turned it into a terror camp, a Captagon lab, and the scene of an assassination. They are now trying to elect a puppet to control the country.