DAILY SCOPE: Hariri Insults Geagea Twice in What LF Sees as ’Childish Useless Speech’!
Local Editor
NEWSPAPER HEADLINES on Monday 15-02-2016:
AS-SAFIR:
Hariri Holds on to Franjieh, Moves Away from "Presidential Palace"
"Cold War" Over Syria...Will Remain Cold
AL-AKHBAR:
Hariri Turns His Back to Geagea
AL-BINAA:
Hariri Attacks Hizbullah, Sends Messages to Jumblatt, Geagea and Jemayel
Turkey to Launch Attacks on Refaat Hilltops in an Attempt to Draw Role within the Redlines
Lebanese newspapers on Monday shed light on the different Lebanese files, most important of which is the return of Head of the Future Party Saad Hariri to Lebanon on Sunday morning and his speech on Sunday night at the annual memory of former PM Rafiq Hariri's assassination.
Part of the speech delivered by Hariri, as usual, was dedicated to attack Hizbullah, but the remarkable part of the speech was the "public insult" in content and form addressed to head of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea.
Newspapers considered that Hariri was trying to bring the 14 March lines back together, especially after the clear rift between the Future party and the Lebanese Forces on the one hand, and the Hariri personal dispute with Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi on the other.
AS-SAFIR: Hariri Words out of Place, Lebanon not Ready to Elect President
Member of the Lebanese Forces Party Antoine Zahra told As-Safir newspaper on Monday that the words Saad Hariri addressed to Samir Geagea [during the BIEL event on Sunday] were out of place, pointing out that Hariri, and in defense of his endorsement to Head of the Marada party Suleiman Franjieh did not preserve any respect for neither friends nor foes.
"With all the love to Chief Hariri, but we are not responsible for letting go any chance of unity among the Christians or the Lebanese," Zahraa said.
Moreover, Zahraa told the Lebanese daily "Hariri's words imply that Lebanon is not ready to elect a president yet," adding "Hariri did not put forward any suggestion that can break the ongoing impasse on presidency."
On a related note, high-ranking sources from the March 8 camp told As-Safir that the speech delivered by Saad Hariri on Sunday implies he was returning to Saudi Arabia and not Lebanon.
The sources questioned whether it was common sense that "Hariri insisted on attacking the domestic partners in dialogue and national unity especially in terms of the presidential elections."
The sources also noted that Hariri's attacking of Hizbullah and Iran [like he did on Sunday] does not facilitate his reaching to the Prime Ministry at all.
AL-AKHBAR: Hariri Insulted Geagea, Twice!
March 14 sources told al-Akhbar newspaper that during the memorial photo at the BIEL ceremony on Sunday, Saad Hariri insulted Samir Geagea by turning his back to Geagea and embracing head of the Kataeb party Sami Jemayel.
Sources said this was the second insult during the ceremony to Geagea, where during a previous insult, Hariri [in a direct speech to Geagea] mocked the reconciliation between Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and Free Patriotic Movement founder Michel Aoun saying "We wish it had taken place long ago as it would have spared the Christians and the Lebanese a lot."
Also, sources close to the LF and the FPM told al-Akhbar newspaper that the actions of MP Saad Hariri come in the context of a continuous attempt to cause a rift among the Christians. Yet, the sources assured that the speech of Saad Hariri will have a positive reflection, which will be seen soon in a "positive consequence" embodied in the relations between the two parties in terms of municipal and parliamentary elections.
LF chief revealed earlier that the last call with Saad Hariri was conducted after the nomination of Franjieh, asserting that "their relations have not been so good recently, but he's working on retrieving good relations."
AL-AKHBAR: Childish and Useless Hariri Speech ; Twitter Attacks on Sunday Event
Meysam Rizk in his article published in al-Akhbar newspaper on Monday pointed out to the clear row between the March 14 political parties.
"The vicious attack launched by the Lebanese Forces supporters through social media after the speech delivered by Saad Hariri yesterday was not the only indication to the blow that hit the March 14 bloc on its 11th year of alliance. A few scenes in the BIEL ceremony [on Sunday] were enough to demonstrate the cracked image on the political, organizational and popular levels."
"The size of the hall that encompassed the event this year is half the size of last year's," Rizk wrote, noting to the diminishing size of audience.
Also, the author noted the "warm welcoming Samir Geagea and his wife usually receive was altered this time; they did not hear the cheers they would usually hear when received by the Future party audience."
There were tremendous mistakes by the organizers and ushers, said the article, with one blatant flaw: the representative of Sayed Ali Fadlallah left quickly when he found there is no chair reserved in his name.
Hariri neglected the ongoing dialogue between Hizbullah and the Future party which aims at finding solutions and common ground between the two poles in the country, and launched the regular attacks on Hizbullah and Iran instead. Also, in a regular step, he praised Saudi Arabia and its role in Lebanon and the region.
According to Rizk, the March 14 alliance realize after 11 years that they reap nothing but loss, with the first reflection of such conviction seen in the tweets of some Lebanese Forces leaders who said that the Hariri speech was "a Childish and useless speech".
Some LF leaders even slammed Hariri the father, saying that "he arrested Samir Geagea, legalized occupation and ruled under its umbrella from 1990 until 2005.
Source: al-Ahed news
