As efforts have been intensified to arrange a rare meeting between the two Maronite rivals, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, The Daily Star has obtained a copy of a joint working blueprint to be discussed by the two sides. The blueprint underscores the importance of electing a president and improving Christian participation in the public administration.
Political sources following up reconciliation efforts between the FPM and LF said the planned meeting between Aoun and Geagea could be held before New Year’s Day after the two sides have agreed on the main items for discussion which constitute common goals of various Christian groups and reflect their concerns.
These common goals were outlined during a meeting between MP Ibrahim Kanaan, secretary of Aoun’s parliamentary Change and Reform bloc, and Milhem Riyashi, head of the LF’s media and communication section.
The two sides have agreed on a joint working paper to be discussed during the upcoming meeting between Aoun and Geagea, expected to be held at the FPM leader’s residence in Rabieh, north of Beirut.
Among other things, the blueprint emphasizes first of all the need to hold the presidential election in order to restore balance to the work of the executive and legislative branches of power, while stressing that the next president should be strong and capable of steering the country to safe shores.
Second, the blueprint calls for the approval of a modern electoral law that takes into account Christian concerns over a fair representation in Parliament.
Third, the working plan calls for holding parliamentary elections on the basis of this law, while Parliament’s extended mandate can be shortened following an agreement with the country’s Muslim leaders on this matter.
Finally, the blueprint calls for improving the Christians’ status in Lebanon by energizing the community’s participation in the state and public departments. This can be achieved through several means, such as the adoption of administrative decentralization and encouraging Christians to enter some of the state’s administrative, security and diplomatic agencies, according to the blueprint.
Hence, an agreement on the agenda for the proposed Aoun-Geagea meeting has become easy, while topics to be discussed by the two leaders would be followed up by joint committees from both sides, the political sources said.
The sources added that these topics constitute a road map to expand the two-party Christian meeting into an all-embracing gathering that would include the Kataeb Party, the Marada Movement and some independent Christian organizations.
Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai is pinning great hopes on the expected Aoun-Geagea meeting in a bid to break the 7-month-old presidential deadlock, sources at the Maronite Church in Bkirki told The Daily Star.
The inter-Christian meeting will reaffirm the need to elect a president, the sources said, while expressing regret over certain alleged remarks that suggested the Maronite president could be dispensed with.
On the prospect of Rai bringing the four top Maronite leaders – Aoun, Geagea, Kataeb Party leader Amine Gemayel and Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Frangieh – together in a bid to break the presidential stalemate, the sources said this depended largely on the outcome of meetings the patriarch was holding separately with each of the four leaders.
The political sources said a meeting of the four rival leaders would definitely leave a positive impact on the entire situation in the country, at both the national and Christian levels.
“Matters are taking a positive path and have become more favorable concerning the election of a president,” the sources said.
Despite the conflicting interpretations of the planned Aoun-Geagea meeting, a source close to Aoun said the FPM leader was attaching great importance to this meeting in order to bridge the gap among Christian parties and regain the initiative after these parties were beset by divisions.
Furthermore, a meeting between Aoun and Geagea has been backed by the Vatican, the United States and France after a delegation of archbishops that visited Lebanon recently signaled its support for such a meeting in view of the changes in the region.
The U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale has also advised Maronite leaders to hold such a meeting quickly to conform with efforts underway to facilitate the presidential election.
Therefore, the same political sources said that in light of the inflammable situation in the region and the inter-Muslim dialogue that kicked off last week between the Future Movement and Hezbollah, the need has become urgent to revive the work of state institutions with the election of a president in the first place.
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