On Tuesday, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea criticized the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, Mohammad Raad, without directly naming him, for calling for dialogue on the presidential election while insisting on Sleiman Frangieh’s candidacy. “What’s the point of a dialogue with a known outcome?” Geagea asked in a meeting organized by the party’s schools’ department in Meerab.
Geagea added, “The ears of the Lebanese have been filled with calls for dialogue. This is despite the fact that everyone knows that those who issue these invitations are not suited for dialogue. The proof is in their determination to remain in a situation of illegality, despite repeated calls from a majority that insists on the need to find a solution to this situation, but to no avail.”
The LF leader recalled that “the dozens of dialogues held over the past 15 years have come to nothing,” adding, “The last achievement of the parties calling for dialogue was the Baabda conference in 2012, which resulted in the Baabda Declaration [which calls for Lebanon to distance itself from regional conflicts],” he said.
At the time, the Amal-Hezbollah duo stressed that this document was obsolete.
“After eight months of a presidential vacuum, how can this party call for dialogue with the hope of finding a consensus candidate, when it keeps reiterating that its only candidate is former MP Sleiman Frangieh?” Geagea asked.
“Therefore, what would be the point of a dialogue whose outcome is known in advance?” The LF leader concluded.
