SAMI GEMAYEL From Mukhtara: Political Settlement Was Intended to Put a Hand on The Country

16 Jun 2019

Lebanon - "Democratic Gathering" Chief, MP Taymour Jumblatt, met this evening with Kataeb Party Head, MP Sami Gemayel, accompanied by his wife Karin and a group of partisans, in the presence of Industry Minister Wael Abu Faour and Deputies Henry Helou, Faisal Sayegh, Bilal Abdullah and Hadi Abul-Hassan.

Following a luncheon held in their honor by Jumblatt, Gemayel expressed his gladness to visit Al-Mukhtara, deeming it "an important opportunity to conclude our Shouf visit and for our cadres to get acquainted with each other."

"What matters to us is that the reconciliation of the Mountain is not only between leaders, but also between people in every town and village, within the notion of uniting leadership, coordination and joint action together to maintain said reconciliation, which we consider the cornerstone for preserving Lebanon," Gemayel corroborated.

He thanked MP Jumblatt, the Democratic Gathering and the Progressive Socialist Party for the warm reception, hoping for recurrent meetings in the future "so that Lebanon will remain a land of love and openness, preserving its nature and environment."

Asked about the possibility of forming a coalition in the face of the Free Patriotic Movement and Minister Gebran Bassil, Gemayel said "the problem is not with Bassil himself but with those who stand behind him and determine the country's fate."

"There is a political settlement that took place...Some understood that it was a huge mistake, and we perceive that it was intended to put a hand on the country, whereby it was based on quotas and cannot build a state of law," Gemayel went on.

He added: "After three years, I think that people are acknowledging our stance from the beginning."

Gemayel concluded by hoping "to reach with the Democratic Gathering, which shares many of our convictions, a day when we will work as one hand to mobilize the nation and get it out of this swamp in which some have plunged it!"