Sami Gemayel & Kataeb Party - Parliamentary elections

[X]

هؤلاء هم مُرشّحو الكتائب للانتخابات

هؤلاء هم Ù…Ù�رشّØ*Ùˆ الكتائب للانتخابات | جريدة الأخبار

ثائر غندور


أعطت عودة حزب الكتائب إلى الحكومة، على النحو الذي حصلت به، جرعة معنويّة لهيئات الحزب وقاعدته الشعبيّة.
فبدأ البحث الجدي في أسماء مرشّحي الحزب للانتخابات النيابيّة، انطلاقاً من أن تحديد المرشّحين يُسهّل المعركة لسبيين: الأول، عبر وضع هؤلاء تحت دائرة الضوء باكراً، مما يُعرّف الجمهور بهم ويتيح لهم القيام بـ«واجبات المرشّح»، والآخر إحراج الحلفاء بعدم تبنّي مرشّحين آخرين لهذه المقاعد، إضافة إلى حسم النقاش داخل الهيئات الحزبيّة والتنافس بين الطامحين إلى النيابة.
ولهذا يُعِدّ المكتب السياسي في الحزب لإعلان عدد من هذه الأسماء في الأيام العشرة المقبلة.
ويُركّز معركته في أربع دوائر انتخابيّة، مما يؤدّي إلى استياء الكتائبيين في الدوائر الأخرى، وهم يرون أن رئيس الهيئة المركزيّة، سامي الجميّل، الذي يمسك بملف الانتخابات، يميّز بين إقليم وآخر، فيما يقول مقرّبون من مراكز القرار إن الاعتماد على هذه الدوائر الأربع سببه قوّة الحزب فيها، فضلاً عن شبكة التحالفات.
إذاً، تتركّز ترشيحات الكتائب في المتن، حيث سيترشّح سامي الجميّل ورجل الأعمال سركيس سركيس (صاحب سركيس غروب) وعضو نقابة المحامين جورج جريج أو وديع الحاج.
وتتحدّث معلومات عن مساعٍ كتائبيّة للخروج بثلاث لوائح، بحيث يترك العونيون مجالاً لمقعدين كتائبين وواحداً للنائب ميشال المرّ، ويواجه سامي مشكلة في المتن حيث لا يزال أصدقاء شقيقه الشهيد بيار الجميّل أقوياء، وهو يخوض معهم معركة داخليّة في الحزب.
والدائرة الثانية التي يسعى الكتائبيون للحصول على مقعد فيها هي دائرة زحلة، حيث سيترشّح الوزير إيلي ماروني، الذي جاء توزيره دعماً لترشيحه في هذه الدائرة. كذلك يعمل الكتائبيون بجدّ في دائرة الشوف، حيث سيترشّح المحامي ساسين ساسين، وفي بيروت حيث للكتائب مرشّحان هما ألبرت قسطنطين عن المقعد الأرمني، وهو نائب رئيس جبهة الحريّة، ونديم الجميّل نجل بشير الجميّل عن مقعد والدته صولانج توتنجي، الماروني، ومبدئياً هما متحالفان حتى اليوم مع النائب ميشال فرعون عن المقعد الكاثوليكي والزميل غسّان تويني أو حفيدته نايلة عن المقعد الأرثوذكسي.
أمّا في الدوائر الأخرى، فإن الكتائب لا تعتقد أن معركتها ستكون رابحة، لكنها ستخوضها من منطلق إثبات وجود الحزب، وهي سترشّح توفيق غانم نجل الشهيد أنطوان غانم في بعبدا، وقد تُرشّح الصحافي سجعان القزّي في كسروان وسامر سعادة أو ميشال خوري في البترون، إذا ضُمّ مقعد طرابلس الماروني إليها، وهو أمر مستبعد.
في أي حال، يسعى الكتائبيون لنسج شبكة تحالفات تُعيد لهم 3 أو 4 نوّاب إلى ساحة النجمة، ومن يُتابع حركتهم يعرف أنهم لا يربطون أنفسهم بمجموعة مرشّحين ربطاً نهائياً. ويقول بعض من في مراكز القرار عندهم إن الأمور غير محسومة لجهة التحالفات.
ويسعى الكتائبيون إلى إعادة وصل العلاقة مع العونيين. ولا يأتي تسليم ملف الانتخابات إلى سامي الجميّل من فراغ، فهو الذي حاور شباب التيّار (على موقعه الإلكتروني) ليلة انتخابات المتن ليؤكّد لهم أن النضال مشترك، وأن من واجهوا الوصاية السورية معاً يجب أن لا يتعادوا بسبب انتخابات نيابيّة.
كما أن سامي أقام علاقة جيّدة ببعض رموز التيّار في المتن، وهو يعرف أن التحالف مع التيّار سيوفّر له مقعداً أو اثنين في المتن، ومقعداً في زحلة وآخر في بعبدا.
وتشير آخر استطلاعات الرأي في المتن إلى أن تحالف الكتائب مع ميشال المرّ ونسيب لحود وسائر أفرقاء 14 آذار لن يخرق العونيين إلّا بمقعدين، واحد أرثوذكسي وآخر ماروني. لكن أمر هذا التحالف متروك لميشال عون وحده، الذي يقول بعض المقرّبين منه إنه يريد خوض الانتخابات للحصول على كتلة متجانسة ومستعدّة لمعركة سياسيّة محدّدة، وليس همّه زيادة عدد النوّاب فقط.


عدد الأربعاء ٢٣ تموز ٢٠٠٨

[Zouxi]

رد حزب "الكتائب اللبنانية" على ما نشرته صحيفة "الأخبار" في عددها الصادر يوم في مقال تحت عنوان "هؤلاء هم مرشحو الكتائب للإنتخابات" حيث تداولت الصحيفة أسماء قياديين في الحزب تكهنت أنهم مرشحون في الانتخابات المقبلة. فأوضح في ما يتعلق باحراج الحلفاء أن هدف الاعلان عن المرشحين باكرًا لا يصب في خانة احراج أحد خصوصًا الحلفاء إذ ان هذه الذهنية غير موجودة عند الحزب ولا تمت بصلة إلى الأسلوب الذي ينتهجه في تعاطيه السياسي والاخلاقي مع الحلفاء وغير الحلفاء.
كذلك بالنسبة إلى تركيز المعركة في أربع دوائر انتخابيّة، مما يؤدّي إلى استياء الكتائبيين في الدوائر الأخرى، أكد الحزب انه حاضر ومنتشر على امتداد مساحات الوطن لذلك لن يقتصر وجود مرشحيه على أربع دوائر انتخابية بل وسيأتي ترجمة عملية لانتشارهم الوطني.
وأوضح مجلس الاعلام في الحزب أن سامي أمين الجميل هو منسق اللجنة المركزية في الحزب وبالتالي ليس ممسكًا بملف الانتخابات إذ أن المكتب السياسي الكتائبي هو الذي يتولى تحديد المرشحين طبقًا للهيكلية الحزبية.
كما اعتبر مجلس الاعلام في "الكتائب" ان تداول "الأخبار" الاسماء المرشحة عن الحزب مجرد تكهنات لا تمت إلى الحقيقة بصلة، كون المكتب السياسي الكتائبي لم يصل بعد الى مرحلة البحث في الانتخابات النيابية طالما أن القضايا الوطنية الطارئة في البلاد من صياغة البيان الوزاري وطاولة الحوار.
وختم بيان مجلس الاعلام في "الكتائب" بالرجاء من جريدة الاخبار التأكد من اسماء الكتائبيين الواردة عبر صفحاتها وعدم الاعتماد على مصادرها الخاصة. إذ ورد على سبيل المثال لا الحصر، أن ألبرت قسطنطين نائب رئيس جبهة الحريّة مرشح الحزب عن المقعد الارمني ، والصحيح أن لا وجود لهذا الحزبي بل القيادي ألبرت كوستنيان عضو المكتب السياسي الكتائبي.

elnashra.

[X]

Here is a copy of what Samy said after the Maten by-elections last summer:

Message from Samy Gemayel

Dear all,

Thank you for your replies and messages. My first message was a spontaneous one, as I have said I was really astonished by the language that some persons in this forum used towards me, especially that I would never allow myself to say that about any FPM member, before or after the Metn election. I always try to stick to structural beliefs and even though I oppose many of your late stances I will always consider you as “brothers in arms”, dynamic and nationalist people. It’s a question of personal ethics and intellectual honesty.

Before elaborating on the questions that were raised by some of your replies let me first reassess my conception of politics as I think that we are today in Lebanon in a “pre-political stage” meaning that we, young Lebanese, tend to idolize too much our leaders and to sacralize our parties to the point of “no dialogue”. This creates an unacceptable Assabyia that isn’t fuelled by an opposition of views on how to achieve common welfare but that is based on the tribal behaviours that we are all responsible for. I’m very much worried by the intestinal divisions of the Christians that are going far beyond politics to spread into the “Human” domain. Every party has for now its exclusive color, its exclusive semi-god, its revealed truth and it’s identified devils. We are building our society on the hatred of the other and this alone could doom our future as Lebanese and our survival as the last free Christian community in the Middle-East.

This message is from my part a pledge to the “objective debate” policy that I’ve always tried promoting. Even though I was very much hurt by personal attacks that were aimed at me, my immediate family and the party that gave so many martyrs to Lebanon, I was much more hurt by the state of incomprehension between Christians and the “low end” debate that prevailed lately. Instead of engaging in a serious policy making process on the future of our existence, the institutional and economical problems, we finished labelling each others by “traitors”, “puppets” and other shameful qualifications. So those who expect me to pursue in this stance to reply to some of the messages of this room will be deceived and please take it as a political decision not a tactical one: I have a lot of grief’s toward FPM as you may have a lot of grief’s on the Kataëb, but I don’t think they are structural enough to be highlighted especially in this bad timing. I am a rational type of person, focusing on the structural political questions to try elaborating a common framework between us all. I’ll focus though in this message on political questions you previously rose trying to be as synthetic as possible. In fact, this might not be the proper place and the proper manner to engage in a serious debate, so after this message please feel free to contact me directly for any constructive debate instead of doing it here.

Concerning my position towards FPM

I consider that FPM members were the driving force behind the students upsurge during the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. I have a great admiration for the nationalistic stance of FPM members that were the first although not the sole Lebanese to sacrifice themselves in favour of an ideal during the Syrian era: independent and civilized Lebanon.
Concerning politics, and to be very schematic and simplistic, I do agree fervently with the quasi-totality of FPM values and positions ….that were prior to 2005. It’s when FPM got into politics that things got messy for me, call me idealist, but I’m very attached to the resistance philosophy, a philosophy that the FPM used to have. In my point of view, resistance is a state of mind and an ethic of politics that drive people to get in communion around the defence of the very essential of their common heritage. This implies an unflexible attitude toward those essentials and prohibits any “political power gaining” moves or objectives made at the price of fundamentals principles and realities. Résistance is also a framework of common work and unity in which individualistic motivations are replaced by the motivations of the society you defend. In my sense and in a few words, FPM leadership has abandoned or was forced by the events to abandon your resistance spirit for much more “political” objectives. This might be legitimate but it is not my way of seeing things in this period. To be more concrete, I will highlight in a few words some of the main disagreement topics with FPM that illustrate my stance:

 The continuity of the war with Syria: like GMA used to believe that “Following a Syrian withdrawal, it is quite conceivable that the Syrian regime will leave behind many of its instruments of terror and destruction as well as its paramilitary/intelligence apparatus. Therefore, it is imperative that Syrian withdrawal be accompanied by a complete disarmament of all armed elements” (Congress hearing of 18 sept 03) I am firmly convinced that the Syrian regime is trying to destabilize Lebanon by all means, including military and popular insurgencies, regional wars, internal turmoil, Palestinian camps unrests, terrorist attacks… One must often adopt a “helicopter view” in order to catch realities. Forget the details and catch the fundamentals: since the Syrian withdrew from Lebanon the seven plagues have fallen on our country and especially on the first non Syrian government since decades (I do not say perfect or free government as this would take years to achieve in terms of professionalism and representation). Lebanon have been confronted since the 14 march 05 with: impossibility to form a government; terrorism; Shiites ministers boycott; Assassinations; July war; ministers resignation; Nahr el bared and so on. I don’t think that this is some kind of hazards in those events chronology nor that Nahr el-Bared weapons came from Cyprus. Syria is clearly behind all of that and its not by given them a “good conduct” testimony and repeatedly claiming that Syria has fully withdrawn from Lebanon like GMA is doing that we will consolidate our position against Syria. Shockingly enough, I don’t hear any condemnation from FMP of all Syrian behaviours and speeches interfering with Lebanese sovereignty anymore. Don’t understand me wrong, I’m not in favour of escalation with Syria with whom we must entertain friendly relations but there are lines that we must not cross because they attempt to our dignity. At war times there are priority issues and blocking Syria’s return is on the top of that.

 The agreement with Hezbollah: from where to start! I strongly disagree with FPM new positions concerning Hezbollah. Hezbollah’s ideology is in contradiction with all my personal values and I believe it do not fit with its Lebanese environment nor with the pluralistic Lebanese society. Having studied in depth its ideology in the context of Loubnanouna’s research, I can also assert that Hezbollah is in sharp contradiction with traditional Shiites values, religious and political one as it is following the Imam Khomeini teachings (especially the Wilayat el-Fakih) that none of the 13 grand Ayatollahs of Qom ever accepted. I also deny any right to Hezbollah to be armed under any circumstances, including the liberation of Chebba farms or the 2 Lebanese hostages held in Israel. I also fully endorse the responsibility of the last war to Hezbollah and say very loud that their immediate demilitarization is the mandatory first step toward a modern Lebanon. We must not forget that 14th March, ours, not the political movement, was a reaction to the 8th of March in which Hezbollah tried to impose us silence by organising the first half million demo. I’ll not be long on Hezbollah, I encourage you to visit instead the research we have done on the subject on http://www.loubnanouna.org/bulletinpics/B001.pdf . My reproach to FPM is mainly that they extracted Hezbollah from the corner in which it was after 14 March and history could prove that it was a rare occasion in which we could have reached an agreement to disarm a weak Hezbollah. Instead, FPM supported the Hizb and its allies giving them a Christian cover that they never dreamt of. The agreement between the Hizb and FPM is formally a practice to be encouraged (written agreements), but I sadly cannot accept to label the Hizb arsenal by “sacred” and to link his weapons to the cessation of Israeli threats.

 The absence of institutional vision: for a party that has summoned others about political programs, I’m afraid that FPM has not so much to propose except electing the president for a single exceptional time from the Lebanese! The FPM is treating its institutional policy with an incredible amateurism, as the parliament should not be closed by Berry, elections should be organized 3 month at max after vacancies, cabinet representation should not be proportional to the house of deputies ect. Believing in a stable philosophy for Lebanon and proposing new institutions that could resolve our governance problems is in my eyes a must for anyone wanting to be credible in reforming Lebanon, not for a single exceptional time, but in a durable manner!


Some would argue that FPM was forced to adopt this policy, the 14 march being predisposed to oust GMA from its ranks in order to corner him or to weaken the Christians. This question is like the famous chicken and egg story, the who started the hostilities first and I refuse to engage in it, being much more interested by the finality, the positions adopted on various national subjects. Some people disapprove my hard-line stance but I strongly believe that Lebanon is at a turning point in which we must all speak loudly what we really believe in, without compromise and the package of lies that we were used to during the last decades. We cannot afford politics today, Lebanon is on the verge of disfigurement and the resistance purity is the only path toward a clear vision of the solutions and their implementation.

Feudality

Reading some of the posts, I feel I should excuse myself for being a Gemayel. Or, that my surname should prevent me from having any sincere engagement toward my country. Or, that it should stop me from proposing something new to try to take Lebanon out from its “permanent crisis” situation. I forgot that I was doomed to be a feudal to the eyes of the most enlightened ones! The fact is that a lot of people are genuinely attached to my family and I am very proud of the reasons of that attachment because its motivated by a national fight for clear principles and by the profound sense of responsibility and sacrifice of my family, the last one being my beloved brother Pierre. Apart from being proud of that, this do not grant me any other privilege except to be surrounded by proud people too, each one on his way, that share the quest of a better Lebanon. The logical next step would be to talk about myself, my personal identity and path to show you how I forged my way and didn’t get any unmerited reward and how insulting it is to be denied the right of individual existence, but my personal decency refrain from doing that!


Loubnanouna and the Kataeb

To start, what Loubnanouna stands for? First and having already written 3 pages, I will invite you to listen to the long extracts of the announcement maid in November 5, 2006 (YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.).

Loubnanouna stands for the following:
• The acceptance of Lebanon as a pluralist state
• The belief that the institutional renewal is the gateway to a global solution in Lebanon and a concrete institutional proposal based on federalism, mainly non confessional state institutions, strong parliamentary system and vertical democracy.
• A code of ethics in political exercise, namely in electoral alliances, in relations with other parties, and in internal decision making
• A fight for the consecration of the right of citizens, with their freedoms, cultures, believes, expressions and dreams
• A prioritization and a precise stance on structural Lebanese problems as Palestinian refugees, South unrest, Hezbollah’s weapons, Emigration, Economical reforms, Environment disaster

Following the deteriorating political condition in the country after the withdrawal of the Shiite ministers, all the way to our present time, we realized that the country is at a juncture or at a crucial turning point. We fear that we’re heading towards civil war or towards a settlement, like that of 1943 or 1989. We became aware that we need to promote our ideas through a wider scope, since time might run against us and we’ll move from bad to worse. Loubnanouna in this sense is not equipped to be a political party/movement, for we don’t have the (human, technical and financial) resources that other parties possess.

At the same time, four months ago, Kataeb initiated a series of meetings with al-mou3arada al kata2ibiya (Dr. Elie Karameh) and alliance Loubnanouna. The meetings (as a first step) tackled several issues, starting from the future of Lebanon and specially Christians, the ongoing situation and its hazards (the division in cabinet, the parliament’s inactive status, the paralyzed presidency) the Christian’s current worrying status, to opening dialogue with other sovereign forces at a later stage.

More so, The Kataeb today is seeking rejuvenation; rejuvenation following 70 years since its formation. In return, Loubnanouna is seeking an established platform to disseminate its thoughts, ideas and beliefs.
A complementary role emerged here. I decided to handle my new assignment at Kataeb following lengthy consideration. For me, and many of my colleagues, the grave situation we’re passing through necessitated that we act from a political scope of some sort. The integration to the Kataëb party offered us an important platform to develop the experience and ideas of Loubnanouna in a party that we view as an example of resistance and a school of patriotism.

Loubnanouna is today a think tank that will pursue its activities as a generator of ideas and a lever of on-field actions. Loubnanouna had and still has within its ranks, people who are not affiliated with political parties. These are in their entirety independent activists, from sociologists, lawyers, economists to human rights defenders who don’t like the practice of political parties but believe in the ideas we’re promoting and would like to give an academic contribution. Our political action is today within the larger framework of the Kataëb party that I integrated with the majority of Loubnanouna members. Loubnanouna is one evolution of the Kataëb spirit of the origin. It adds modern formulas and processes to help realize the same ideal. I will never stop being a Loubnanouna in that sense also and the political agenda I advocate is inspired by my experience and the experience of our team that did a great work in the past years without any resource, even feudal ones!

Well my friends from FPM,

What counts for me is for one to be held accountable on account of his performance and on the outcome of his activities. I always believed that one should be evaluated on what he delivers, in terms of content (political platform), and not in terms of who he is. That is, content bypasses the source here.

For me, the biggest gain from this forum chat is that we managed to correspond and talk honestly on how we view each other. I care a lot knowing on how the “citizens” think and see things, and not the leadership. For me, “citizens” are far more important than “leadership.” At the end of the day, we need to talk ‘with’ the people and not ‘to’ the people. And I guess we talked “with” each other here, to a certain extent.

I’m sure the events will reunite us under the same banner again. We have a strong tie.

Regards to you all,
Samy Gemayel

[X]

The question to Sami is, in 2005 you confronted Michel el Murr outside the church and told him he is not welcomed around, so now in 2008 (and 2009) is he welcomed? What did change from 2005 to today?

I am very much interested in knowing your personal position about Michel (and his son Elies) el Murr and i also want to know what is your answer to the rumors and stories that are saying Kataeb party will ally with the Murrs in Maten?

[Rye]

I am happy Sami Gemayel is getting closer to FPM and i think FPMers should consider him seriously in out Meten list for many reasons:
1- He is very close in his thoughts to FPM's
2- He represents the new mentality in Lebanese politics (just like FPM)
3- He was never involved in any bloody actions or corruption matters (unlike LF)
4- he will definitly make a change if he entered the parliament and this is exactly what we need

in other words i think we should consider a serious look at Sami Gemayel's candidacy and adopt it straight into our FPM's list in Meten. not as an open seat!

[Venom]

I don't know which is bitter to Samy to ally with Michel Murr or Michel Aoun for winning in the elections.
I know his father would sell everything to win in the next elections. So basically Samy will be forced to run with Michel el Murr or Michel Aoun will leave and empty seat for him like how he did with RIP Pierre Gemayel.....

Personally, with all the harm that Kataeb did against FPM in last year elections, I still respect them more than Geageaists....

The guys were present with us to support SOLIDA 2 days back....unlike Geageaists....and this is something good that would remind me of the old times.....

[CPL]

Or maybe, the good salary of a depute for a boy with no professional accomplishment is the whole story.

The most likely story is to be the true one. Samy Gemayel got a free pass into a good salary... unlike most of the boys his age who have to kiss the dirt to make something out of themselves.

[SeekNirvana]

Originally Posted by Rye

[b]1- He is very close in his thoughts to FPM's
2- He represents the new mentality in Lebanese politics (just like FPM)[/B

In what sense has FPM deteriorated that much?

[ranbib]

Originally Posted by Venom

I don't know which is bitter to Samy to ally with Michel Murr or Michel Aoun for winning in the elections.
I know his father would sell everything to win in the next elections. So basically Samy will be forced to run with Michel el Murr or Michel Aoun will leave and empty seat for him like how he did with RIP Pierre Gemayel.....

Personally, with all the harm that Kataeb did against FPM in last year elections, I still respect them more than Geageaists....

The guys were present with us to support SOLIDA 2 days back....unlike Geageaists....and this is something good that would remind me of the old times.....

-If kataeb became murr allies it is a relief for us since finally we will get rid of el -murr , we might loose few seats but we won't see murr sitting next to honest people in the C&R reunion.

-For the one that said that sami should be considered by FPM in the next elections , if we vote for him and he wins , he will finally be a kataeb deputy , obeing his father that obeys money in his turn so ............. he won't do anything but hurting FPM'ers morally (we didn't forget the last three years, how they accused us of the killing of pierre and ghanem...............)

_ venom : you can never compare a geageaist to a kataeb, the geageaist are a bunch of people that would adore to make war so they could steel and buy drugs

i wonder how will sami be on the same list with the gangster eddy abi lamaa

[GMA forever]

Well Sami Gemayel is a young man just starting his political career, the choices he will make today will define his future path in politics. He can choose to go the thugs way (ally with LF), or he can choose to go the straight and clean way (ally with FPM).

It is your choice Sami, be wise in your decision.