April 30, 2002

The Daily Star

Sabine Darrous
Daily Star staff

Karim Pakradouni assumed the presidency of the Phalange Party on Monday in an inauguration ceremony that included both caveats and kudos for the country’s political authorities.
In his address at party offices in Saifi, Pakradouni said the country needed radical political reform, singling out the “failure” of the current “political crew” to affect needed changes, but offering his full support for President Emile Lahoud.
Former President Amin Gemayel and the former Phalange Party president Elie Karameh, whose opposition to the present regime is stronger, condemned the inauguration as a “takeover” of the group.
Pakradouni echoed a party hallmark by calling for greater representation for the country’s Christian communities. He blamed the Christian community for not making enough effort to participate in politics.
“The Christians themselves should take a courageous decision to participate in the government,” he said.
Mounir Hajj, who left office under distress and was unable to complete the four-year term stipulated by the party’s by-laws, handed over his position to Pakradouni and wished him a full and successful term.
The ceremony was held immediately after the party’s 24th general conference, which ended with a statement on the party’s positions toward a number of political, economic and social issues.
First Vice-President Rashad Salameh read the statement, which received support from all members of the conference.
The statement was critical of “conflicts of authorities,” an apparent swipe at Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who has been feuding with Lahoud. The statement said officials were not respecting the prerogatives given to them by the Constitution and were going beyond their powers.
It also said that Lebanese governments since 1992 “have never taken into consideration” political balance, and that the Christian community was never represented properly in successive governments.
It also said that the public administration was “ruled by corruption and paralysis” due to continuous political interference and the lack of proper organization and structure.
The statement also expressed support for the activities of the Islamic resistance in the Shebaa Farms, but warned that escalating tensions along the border might give Israel an excuse to carry out an attack.
As for Syria’s role in Lebanon, the party called for eliminating errors in relations between the two countries and said that both Syrian President Bashar Assad and Lahoud were capable of “purifying the relations from the errors that have accumulated over the years.”
However, the party warned that some were taking advantage of special relations with Syria to serve their own interests, stressing the need to keep relations on a state-to-state basis.
In response to the inauguration and the announcement of the party’s platform, Gemayel and Karameh, both leaders of opposition factions, issued a joint statement denouncing the new leadership and its policies.
“There is no handover,” but a “surrendering” of the party’s  principles, the statement said.
They said the party was always opposed to linking Lebanon’s future with the prospects of a regional settlement and “the idea of offering the Palestinians a substitute homeland in Lebanon was consistently rejected by the Phalange party.”
The statement indirectly accused the present leadership of “providing a cover” for attempts to sacrifice national interests.
It also said that there was no “outgoing leadership” to “hand over” to the “incoming one,” because the outgoing leadership “was paralyzed for three years.”
It added that the outgoing leadership had not been “holding regular meetings.”
“This handover ritual, including a general assembly meeting, resolutions and final communique,” the statement said, are all part of an effort by the new leadership to “steal the name (of the party).”
The statement accused the authorities of “helping to patch up the Phalange party under government sponsorship.”
“This falsification (of the Phalange) has been going on for 10 years,” the statement said. It added that Gemayel had lodged lawsuits against the leadership on more than one occasion.
The statement also called on party followers to understand what was taking place and act accordingly.

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