Aoun: Opposition Agreed on Mechanism to Settle Jezzine Issue

The head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun criticized on Monday Sunday's visit to the tomb of slain former premier Rafiq Hariri by visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"When foreign official visitors come to Lebanon they usually go and place a wreath on the tomb of premier Hariri. They have the right to honor him, but they cannot sum-up thousands of martyrs with the Hariri tomb," Aoun told reporters following his bloc's weekly meeting. "There is the tomb of the unknown soldier that represents all those martyrs," Aoun recalled, adding that foreign dignitaries should inform their government of this. He went on to stress that placing a wreath on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier honors the people of Lebanon.

The General further tackled the Clinton visit saying: "her surprise visit to Lebanon was a sort of political indication that says, she does not support our policies. However, this does not bother us."

Aoun accused an un-named parliamentary candidate of pulling all American cigarettes out of the market to raise prices adding that he is going to inform public prosecutors about this development.

The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader said that his party is under attack in various regions as aggression is reaching party centers and the forceful removal of party posters. "The individuals who are doing so are well known, even those who fire their guns, they are arrested for a few hours and then turned loose. If we are going to begin the elections this way, what would happen later?"

The General affirmed to reporters that he has no difference with his political ally parliament Speaker Nabih Berri over parliamentary seats in Jezzine saying: "We, Speaker Berri and Hizbullah all agreed on a mechanism for settling this issue."

"In the past it was said that General Aoun cannot be president because he has a parliamentary bloc; today they want the president to have a parliamentary bloc saying he is a centrist, this contradiction bothers me," Aoun said regarding political centrists.

He expressed his support to women right to vote saying "in the west they have a saying sois belle et tais toi (Be Beautiful and Shut Up). I say sois belle et vote (Be Beautiful and Vote), this is an invitation to women to express themselves."