BEIRUT: Lebanese Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi was quoted as telling visitors that Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun has a problem winning the presidential election, local daily As-Safir said Thursday.
“The problem is not with me,” he was quoted as telling visitors. “Frankly, I tell Gen. Aoun ‘I’m not the one hindering or preventing his arrival to the presidency.’”
“If he [Aoun] was elected [president] I will be at the forefront of the well-wishers at Baabda Palace.”
Kahwagi said the obstacle preventing Aoun from reaching the country’s top seat was “because there are some Lebanese components that refrain from supporting Aoun; and this is not my responsibility.”
“Yes, the Army commander, by virtue of the position he holds, automatically becomes an obvious presidential candidate regardless of his opinion,” Kahwagi was quoted as saying.
The Army chief, however, insisted that he was not running for president.
“I’m not in any way plunged into the presidential battle.”
“When I meet political or diplomatic figures I avoid raising the presidential issue, and if the topic was raised, I discuss it generally in terms of the national interest, without personal considerations,” he told visitors.
But Kahwagi said he would not shy away from his “national responsibility” if consensus was reached on his name.
“I will not run away from taking national responsibility. At the same time, I would not object any other selected name that may be agreed upon.”
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