The president of the ‘Independence Movement’ Michel Moawad declared that what the head of the ‘Al Marada’ movement, MP Suleiman Frangieh, stated, constitutes in the part related to Zgharta a blow to all the efforts and dialogues that have taken place since the period prior to the Municipal Elections till this day, with the aim of sparing Zgharta-Zawiyat from the countrywide conflicts.

Moawad in a reply statement to Frangieh, said: “All the efforts and dialogues were based in their core on the foundations that President Suleiman Frangieh and President Rene Moawad had established, which is to build on common denominations in Zgharta while preserving the diversity, particularities and independence of each of the two parties.”

He added: “The paradox is that MP Frangieh, on one side insists on trying to monopolize the Zgharta political point of view using the slogan ‘We reach an agreement with Michel Moawad regarding the elections, therefore he has to follow our political views’, and on the other side asks for the diversity of opinions at the Christian level in the country to face the Christian Agreement, and announces his alliance with MP Boutros Harb and the ‘Kataeb’ party in the Batroun ‘even though they don’t follow our political views’. Frangieh also expresses his readiness to meet up with the ‘Lebanese Forces’ under the slogan “Common misfortunes can bring together”.

Moawad also asked: “Why is there such a flagrant contradiction between Frangieh’s approaches towards alliances, within and outside of Zgharta? Did everything become permitted outside of Zgharta, allowing him to try to exert political elimination within Zgharta?”

He concluded: “Finally, I won’t comment on what he tried to insinuate about offers he presented to me, as what is needed first is to respect the past and publicly known commitments, which include the understanding we have regarding the presidency of the Zgharta-Zawiyat municipality. Suleiman Beik knows very well that the basis of any understanding in Zgharta cannot be through offers or luring, but by respecting diversity and co-partnership and the fundamental constants of each party.”