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BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel
Aoun said he would call for financial
investigations after the conclusion of the
country's parliamentary elections, and if his
political allies turn out to be involved in
corruption, "they will be prosecuted."
Speaking during an interview with The Daily
Star, Aoun was referring to his alliance with
Druze MP Talal Arslan in the Baabda-Aley
district, which surprised many of the FPM
leader's supporters as Arslan was one of the
country's former pro-Syrian figures.
Aoun explained: "He [Arslan] agreed to a
financial investigation while others refused
to. Trial will show if he squandered public
funds or not. If that is the case, he will be
held responsible."
The FPM head added he had failed to reach an
electoral alliance with Druze leader Walid
Jumblatt and son of former Premier Rafik
Hariri, Saad, in the Baabda-Aley district
because "they refused to agree to such an
investigation."
He
said: "We are not protecting anyone and we are
not accusing anyone. All we are saying is that
we will put people under trial and if they are
responsible for squandering public money they
will be prosecuted."
Aoun, who broke away from the opposition
following his return from 15 years of exile,
said his political disagreement with Jumblatt
and Hariri was over two main issues: their
refusal to adopt a clear political agenda
calling for financial accountability and their
insistence on keeping the current framework of
sectarian distribution for parliamentary
seats.
He
said: "We were not allowed to have a say in
any Druze or Shiite seat in the Baabda-Aley
district, and this sectarian system is against
our principles. So we preferred not to ally
with them as long as we don't have an
agreement over these issues [which] we think
are crucial."
The Baabda-Aley district is expected to
witness a fierce electoral battle between Aoun
and the rest of the opposition, united under
the leadership of Jumblatt and Hariri.
But a determining factor in the area's
elections would be the Shiite vote, largely
controlled by Hizbullah.
The resistance party has been continuously
asserting it values its alliance with Jumblatt,
as ties between the Progressive Socialist
Party leader and Hizbullah have been
strengthened over the past months following
Jumblatt's support for Hizbullah against UN
Resolution 1559.
But according to Aoun, who said his
relationship with Hizbullah was "special,"
many of the Shiite voters in Baabda-Aley do
not share the resistance's opinion on allying
with Jumblatt.
He
said: "It is something that's normal. I don't
know if it is going to make a difference, but
this will be shown in the ballot."
Aoun also criticized accusations by opposition
figures targeting him for allying with
pro-Syrian figures.
Aley MP Antoine Andraous had accused Aoun
Monday of "striking a deal with Syria" before
his return.
Aoun mockingly said: "These are people with
very low I.Q. I spent 15 years in exile, is it
sensible that I strike a deal with a country
that just left Lebanon and a regime that is
falling apart. Does it make sense?"
He
added that if it wasn't for the 2004 extension
of President Emile Lahoud's term, no one would
have opposed the Syrian hegemony over Lebanon.
He
said: "Did [the opposition] forget they were
part of the pro-Syrian regime in Lebanon for
15 years? They only disagreed over personal
interests."
The FPM leader also said he was being attacked
by the rest of Lebanon's opposition because he
was "standing up to the electoral law of 2000,
which they are using to strike out any
political competition."
He
added: "This is the way [the former head of
Syrian intelligence in Lebanon Rustom]
Ghazaleh works."
Aoun, who called for people to boycott the
elections in Beirut because it was not a "real
electoral process," said he would not call for
a boycott in the South's second district, but
added his decision to withdraw his candidate
for the area was made "in solidarity with the
people."
The South's second district includes Jezzine,
made up predominantly of Christians who are
expected to boycott the elections because of
their rejection of the disputed 2000 electoral
law.
Aoun said: "I did not want to overlap the
decision of the people of Jezzine to boycott.
They think this law does not guarantee them
the right representation."
However, he added that if it were up to him,
he would call the people in the South to vote
against the power of electoral steamrollers.
He advised: "There are many people who are
running independently, voting for them would
be better than boycotting."
Asked if the Orthodox seat in Metn was being
left open for Gabriel Murr, a member of the
Christian opposition Qornet Shehwan Gathering,
or for Pro-Syrian former Deputy Speaker Michel
Murr, Aoun said: "We left it for Gabriel and
whomever people like."
He
explained: "I did not want to be accused of
marginalizing other existing political powers,
so I left empty seats on my lists."
By
Majdoline Hatoum
Daily Star staff
Wednesday,
June 01, 2005
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