Gemayel Rules Out Govt. Collapse, Warns Lebanese against Interfering in Syria Crisis

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel on Monday ruled out an imminent collapse of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government.

“The issue of changing the government is not on the table at the moment, given the concessions Hizbullah has been making to guarantee the survival of the government, which is vital to its alliance with Syria,” Gemayel said in an interview on MTV.

Gemayel warned that “the countdown for the Syrian crisis has started.”

“We’re not with engaging Lebanon in bloody violence ... We have enough domestic woes and the slogan ‘Lebanon First’ means that we should tackle Lebanon’s needs before anything else,” the former president of the republic added.

And as he expressed “full solidarity” with the Syrian people, Gemayel stressed that Lebanon’s interference in the neighboring country’s crisis would not do the Syrian uprising any good.

“Any attempt to import the Syrian conflict into Lebanon would lead to disastrous consequences,” he warned.

Asked about the latest Syrian “violations” against Lebanon, Gemayel slammed the Lebanese government for “not fully performing its duties.”

“If it lacks the capabilities, it can at least voice a stance,” he suggested.

“What happened at al-Arida is unacceptable and this has always been Syria’s behavior as they don’t value human life,” Gemayel said of a recent incident on the Lebanese-Syrian border in which a 14-year-old Lebanese boy was killed by gunfire coming from across the border with Syria.

He noted that the Syrian crisis was heading towards “internationalization,” after the Arab League on Sunday decided to go to the U.N. Security Council to seek its support for a new plan aimed at resolving the conflict.

“But internationalization would have consequences, and Russia’s stance is strategic in this regard and it is not performing a simple maneuver; it is rather seeking to preserve its interests,” Gemayel said.