Druze overlord and Chouf MP Walid Jumblat called for balanced and equal relations between Lebanon and Syria stressing that the democratic system in Lebanon is withering away, An Nahar reported Monday.

Speaking Sunday at a local reconciliation gathering in the Druze village of Aramoun southeast of Beirut, Jumblat said: "We hope the banner of the Arab and democratic Lebanon, which we all love and respect, would fly everywhere... We want a stable, prosperous, independent and Arab Lebanon, but free in making its own choices. We want clearer, more frank and more guaranteed relations with Syria based on mutual and equal respect... This for the sake of an Arab democratic system and for preserving freedom and for a better future in which no one would feel subservient," Jumblat said.

Jumblat, whose Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) fielded the mightiest militia for the Muslim camp during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil strife, brushed aside rumors that Lebanon's minority Druze community was in danger. "The Druze are not in danger, but the entire Lebanon is in danger... We don't want Lebanon to melt out or to lose its democratic system... We don't want to become like the others (in the Arab world)... We also don't want to interfere in others' affairs and not have others interfere in our own affairs," Jumblat said. "I believe that freedom is the most precious thing in the world and each has the system that suits him better... So let's stay Arabs, free and with equal relations with Syria and no subservience in the relationship," he added.

Jumblat also snapped at his Druze rival, Talal Arslan, accusing the man's followers of having accepted bribes from the former Iraqi Baath regime saying "they are swimming in Iraqi money." Arslan's Lebanese Democratic Party was quick in snapping back accusing Jumblat and his followers of "swimming in multinational funds." A Party statement said: "For 25 years, MP Jumblat has been swimming in multinational funds, starting from Iraq, to Libya, and Palestine -- both its Palestinian and non-Palestinian part -- under the pretext of raising funds for the handicapped."

The statement also accused Jumblat of having embezzled the funds of the ministry of the displaced, which he and his supporters held for more than a decade. "Everybody knows that there is only one mercenary among the Druze who stands every night at the door of the 'nouveau riche' to sell his own community, at a time all the Druze have no more resources because of his erroneous policies," the statement said.