Geagea Says March 14 to Take Unified Stance on Miqati Govt

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Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Wednesday lauded Speaker Nabih Berri's remarks made earlier in the day from the Baabda Palace about the participation of all political parties in the new cabinet without prior conditions on the shares of each side.

Geagea said Berri "has always been courteous," but wondered whether the house speaker was the one who has the last word among his allies in the March 8 camp.

He noted that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun is the one who usually expresses the point of view of the March 8 forces. Aoun "was clear yesterday when he said that any party willing to be part of the government must adopt March 8's principles and beliefs."

As to Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati's ongoing efforts to form a new cabinet, Geagea accused the rival camp of "complicating the mission of the PM-designate," describing the Hizbullah-led coalition as "totalitarian."

The LF leader stressed that "the March 14 forces have a unified opinion and share the same stance on all national issues."

He accused the March 8 forces of attempting to mislead the public opinion by circulating "false" news about alleged conflicting standpoints among the March 14 forces regarding participation in Miqati's government.

"Our stance as March 14 forces, after several meetings, is that we either unanimously participate or none of us does."

"There are constants which we cannot renounce, topped by (our stance) on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and illegal weapons," he added.