12 May 2005

BEIRUT: Former army commander General Michel Aoun said Wednesday he does not accept the "folkloric meetings and tricks and excuses" used by some opposition members to further "their own interests."

Aoun spoke after a short surprise visit to Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir.

He said: "There is a deception taking place in collaboration with some opposition members to waste the time needed to come up with a new electoral law and thus put the people under the mercy of the situation so as to promote their interests."

Aoun added these opposition members are from both the Christian gathering of Qornet Shehwan, as well as outside it.

Aoun, who returned to Lebanon after 15 years in exile in France, is pursuing his efforts to build bridges with former foes in a bid to reform Lebanon.

He said: "There is no such thing as opposition or loyalists any more. From now on, there are reformists and traditionalists."

Aoun explained that he constitutes one of the reformists who will try their best to "eliminate the corruption and deterioration in the public administrations and ministries."

With talks of conflict between Aoun and key opposition leader, Chouf MP Walid Jumblatt, Jumblatt said he had no disagreements with Aoun, revealing he had called him Wednesday.

Jumblatt added that a group from the Democratic gathering, which is led by Jumblatt, will visit Aoun on Thursday.

Among the officials he met with Wednesday were former Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh and current Defense Minister Elias Murr, as well as former Interior Minister Michel Murr.

This visit constitutes the first such meeting between Franjieh and Aoun.

Franjieh spoke of former Premier Omar Karami's visit to Damascus with former General Security chief Brigadier General Jamil Sayyed, and their meeting with former head of Syrian Intelligence in Lebanon Brigadier General Rustom Ghazaleh.

Franjieh said: "The discussions between them didn't include the elections."

On Wednesday, Sayyed denied allegations made by local pan Arab newspaper An-Nahar regarding his meeting with Ghazaleh on Tuesday.

In a statement, Sayyed denied the An-Nahar reports, saying he was preparing with Karami and Ghazaleh and their allies to do electoral battle in the Bekaa and the North of Lebanon.

Sayyed said: "The news is absolutely untrue."

Tripoli MP Jihad Samad also denied reports by An-Nahar  that he had gone to Syria with Karami.

On the other hand, Elias Murr said he had known Aoun since 1980 and was not conducting mediation between Aoun and President Emile Lahoud.

He said: "I can't see why there couldn't be a relationship between both of them based on mutual respect that ensures the country's best interest."