MP Ibrahim Kanaan of the Free Patriotic Movement announced Thursday that the so-called “Christian agreement” between the FPM and the Lebanese Forces “has established a new balance and a new equation” in the country, as LF official Melhem Riachi noted that Christians “have regained their strength.”
“Accept the fact that we have agreed and that there is no turning back, that Christians are an essential component of the system and that they have their role, presence and representation,” Kanaan said, addressing whom he called “the partners in the country.”
“We want the Lebanon of pluralism, partnership and democracy… and in order to realize this everyone must accept the Christian agreement, which is not a bilateral sharing of power but rather an agreement on a national vision that represents a boost for everyone,” Kanaan added during a seminar at the Antonine International School in Ajaltoun.
He noted that nowadays “all parties have started sensing, even if they don’t admit it, that the president is a guarantee for all Christians and all Lebanese.”
Riachi for his part pointed out that “whenever Christians become weak, others would split their shares.”
“When they regained their strength, others started asking for shares from Christians, after Christians begged others for shares in the past,” Riachi added.
“It is our responsibility to protect the agreement and confront anyone seeking to undermine it,” he went on to say.
The LF-FPM rapprochement agreement and LF leader Samir Geagea’s key support were behind boosting the presidential chances of FPM founder MP Michel Aoun, who was elected as Lebanon’s 13th president on October 31.
