FPM Still Preparing for Street Protests despite Hariri's Presidential Efforts
The Free Patriotic Movement is still preparing for street protests despite the latest political developments and ex-PM Saad Hariri's return to Lebanon that has given a new impetus to efforts aimed at ending the presidential void, a media report has said.
“Preparations for rallying on the streets are still ongoing and were not called off after the latest presidential developments, because the FPM's demands are legitimate and cannot be overlooked or ignored,” FPM sources said.
The sources also rejected any attempt to “besiege” FPM founder MP Michel Aoun should he be elected president.
Aoun “does not accept any preconditions that a certain group might try to impose, because that would weaken the president and encroach on the presidency's jurisdiction, not to mention that that would be an unacceptable violation of the Constitution,” the sources added.
The FPM founder “is committed to what the Constitution stipulates and he will not accept that he be besieged by unconstitutional and illegal demands,” the sources said.
The FPM has recently suspended its participation in cabinet and national dialogue meetings, threatening street protests and a “political system crisis” over accusations that the other parties in the country are not respecting the 1943 National Pact that stipulates Christian-Muslim partnership.
Hariri's return to Lebanon last week has triggered a flurry of rumors and media reports about a possible presidential settlement and the possibility that the former premier has finally decided to endorse Aoun for the presidency in a bid to break the deadlock.
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.
Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.
Hariri's move prompted Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea to endorse the nomination of Aoun, his long-time Christian rival, after months of political rapprochement talks between their two parties.
The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.
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