Geagea Says New Hegemony Would Lead to 'Countless Cedar Revolutions'

If the practices of the first tutelage authority had led to the Cedar Revolution, the mere signs of the emergence of another tutelage authority "will lead to countless Cedar Revolutions," Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea vowed Monday.

"They are trying once again to restore hegemony and we will confront them once more, but this time, we have learned from our mistakes and we will not fall into their trap again," Geagea added.

Speaking at a ceremony organized by the March 14 forces to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri, Geagea added: "I say to all the martyrs … that we have had shortcomings."

Hariri and 22 others were killed in a massive Beirut bombing on February 14, 2005, an event that sent shockwaves through Lebanon and eventually led to the pullout of Syrian troops after 29 years of domination over the country.

The commemoration of Hariri's murder comes amid a deep political rift between the March 14 camp and the Hizbullah-led coalition as the Netherlands-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon readies to issue its indictments.

"We have not been always up to the expectations of those who were with us," Geagea told a rally of several-thousand people at the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Center (BIEL).

"If people are destined to learn from their experiences, then we are destined to learn from ours as well," he pledged.

Recalling a quote by slain Druze leader Kamal Jumblat, Geagea went on to say that "life is the triumph of those who are powerful through their spirits," not through their weapons.

"Now more than ever we should seek the rise of a real Lebanese State with one actual authority and one side in possession of arms through the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions 1559, 1680, 1701, and 1757," Geagea stressed.

"We won't be able to live in peace and security without a state that has demarcated its borders, collected (illegal) weapons, and achieved justice," he added.