By-election shows success ‘for the people,’ and Free Patriotic Movement may be
preparing to play role in 2005 polls

Elie Hourani
Daily Star staff

Exiled former army commander Michel Aoun on Thursday welcomed the results of Sunday’s Metn by-elections, describing the ordeal that left the country on edge for two days as a “victory for the people and a liberation from fear.”
Aoun made the statements during an interview with the French-language weekly Magazine, where he spoke candidly about his decision to end his boycott of post-war parliamentary elections.
“Although my attitude has not changed (regarding the electoral process), in previous elections there has not been a candidate who met our expectations,” Aoun said.
He added that his attitude with regard to Syria “was now better understood abroad.”
Aoun complained about the “continuing Syrian occupation of Lebanon” during a visit to the United States last month, where the exiled army commander met with top officials in Washington.
Aoun maintained that he in turn received pledges of “political support,” from prominent officials during his US visit.
Asked why he had changed his mind about working with the Qornet Shehwan Gathering after accusing it of “functioning under a Syrian-set political ceiling,” Aoun said that he was ready to join the group, “if we share the same objectives.”
Aoun has said in recent days that he was considering endorsing participation by his Free Patriotic Movement in the 2005 polls, but has yet to commit to the idea.
In a related development, the Maronite League called for the overlooking of recent tensions which were brought forth by heated Metn by-elections.
In a statement issued Thursday following their weekly meeting, the league commended the statements issued by several opposition leaders calling for turning the page on the ordeal.
But the group condemned the participation of “naturalized citizens” in the much-contested elections.
“The league could not but notice the participation of naturalized people in the electoral  process,” the statement said, referring to the televised scenes of voters bused in from the Bekaa by the Michel Murr campaign machine.
It pointed to the challenge it lodged at the Shura Council against the 1994 Naturalization Decree.
The statement also argued that the developments that followed the by-elections provided a suitable background for kick-starting political dialogue between Lebanon’s Christian community and the state.
Meanwhile, the National Bloc on Thursday congratulated the Lebanese people on the results of the by-elections.
In a statement issued after a regular meeting, the bloc congratulated the Metn residents “on the democratically-run by-elections.” The statement also congratulated winner Gabriel Murr on the trust he earned and received from Metn voters. The bloc and its leader, Carlos Edde, supported losing candidate Ghassan Mokheiber.
The bloc also lashed out against Elias Murr for the curtained voting booth fiasco on Sunday, for which the interior minister came under fire for implying that voting in private was optional.
The bloc also criticized the minister for what it said was his long delay before announcing the election results.
The group asserted that the by-elections “increased people’s confidence” and “decreased their despair.”

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