Aoun promises to reduce US influence if he gets the chance

Source: Daily Star, 08-05-2008
BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun said Wednesday that Syria had dominated Lebanon as a United States proxy. "But when the Syrians withdrew from Lebanon [in 2005] the US direct hegemony was put into effect and it is a much bigger burden on us," Aoun told Qatari daily Al-Rai.
"I don't say that we [the opposition] would defeat the US" if it gained power, he said. "But US influence in Lebanon would certainly decline"
Aoun also said that he was facing threats to his life, but did not say who was responsible for the threats.
The MP defended Hizbullah's communications network and pointed a finger at Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government, saying: "This network is as old as the resistance is. Why did they discover it now?"
Hizbullah's weapons are "pointed at 'Israel'. But who is luring them into the domestic arena? This is the question."
He also accused the ruling coalition of importing weapons through Beirut's airport.
On Monday, Aoun said calling for the immediate electing of a new president without agreeing on a new electoral law for the 2009 parliamentary elections was against the interest of Lebanon's Christian community.
Aoun accused the parliamentary majority of not wanting to draft a new electoral law.
"They don't want to discuss the electoral law with us because they prefer to stage the next elections under the 2000 electoral law," Aoun said.
The FPM leader also warned the parliamentary majority against electing a new president with a simple majority quorum.
"Such a move is equivalent to a coup and will definitely be faced by another coup," he said.
On the issue of Hizbullah's private telephone network, Aoun said that Hizbullah was not the only group that had such network, arguing that the opposition group was facing security threats and needed to protect itself.
Aoun also defended Hizbullah's possession of arms and said that Hizbullah arms have deservedly earned a "certificate of good conduct."
Aoun added that Hizbullah's alleged setting up of cameras to monitor the Beirut International Airport was not a breach of the country's security.
"Everybody has cameras. The road to the [Metn town of] Bikfaya is full of cameras and so are other areas in the country," he said, hinting that leaders of the ruling majority were also using cameras for security purposes.
The FPM leader also lashed out at the Lebanese An-Nahar daily, arguing that the newspaper has "lost its ethical principles and deserves not to be read anymore."