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L'Orient-Le Jour
09-05-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Frangieh: Assad regime was a dictatorship, but it protected minorities
Thursday evening, in an interview with the Al Jadeed channel, the head of the Marada movement, Sleiman Frangieh, spoke for the first time after several months of silence on the situation in Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, his historical ally, whom he considered a "friend." "I tell you that the regime that was in place was a dictatorship, that's true. We never defended it by saying it was a democratic regime," acknowledged the Maronite leader, while emphasizing that it is now necessary to "give the new regime time to see what happens" and his wish to see "Syria stabilize." 'I don't know a Christian who does not want to leave Syria' Frangieh was nevertheless alarmist about the fate of Syrian minorities, particularly Christians, estimating that they were safer under the Assad regime's rule than since its overthrow by the coalition of Islamist rebels led by the current interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa. "Under Assad, there were two million Christians. Then, after the war started in 2011, they were between 500 and 600 thousand in the regions held by the regime. Now, they are only 100 to 150 thousand, and they all want to leave. I don't know a Christian who does not want to leave Syria," he said. "In Assad's time, no one was targeted for their religion. Someone could be targeted politically, but not for their religion, and that is no longer the case in Syria today," he added. Former President Hafez al-Assad and his son Bashar come from the Alawite minority. Under the father's dictatorship, the regime bloodily suppressed a Sunni Muslim Brotherhood uprising in the city of Hama in 1982. Under Bashar al-Assad's regime, thousands of opponents, mostly Sunni but also from other minorities, notably Christian, languished in the regime's prisons. Frangieh mentioned the communal tensions in Syria. In recent months, massacres have targeted the Alawite and Druze minorities in the country. "The other day, in the heart of Damascus, Sharaa's men killed, massacred people and they destroyed everything. A man in Hama was assaulted because his fiancée was with him in his car," he cited haphazardly to support his claim. "What is happening is not reassuring for all minorities in the region," he repeated. 'Signs of Syria's dislocation' The former Lebanese presidential candidate and favorite of the Shiite tandem Amal-Hezbollah also addressed Sharaa, while the latter was in Paris on Wednesday for an official visit to the Élysée Palace, to meet with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron. "I expect President Ahmad al-Sharaa to implement his words. There can no longer be elements out of control [among Syrian security forces]. After a month, two months... six months, when will he discipline them?" he questioned. The head of the Marada, however, called for continued bilateral relations between Beirut and Damascus: "With whom should the Lebanese state speak on the subject of Syrian refugees or borders? With the Syrian state. There must be peaceful relations between the two countries," he said, before reiterating his doubts about the neighboring country's near future. "I do not see signs of a division of Syria, but rather of dislocation. And that would be very dangerous, as it could provoke a civil war that would make all minorities flee and destroy the country," he concluded. Historical ally of Bashar al-Assad, constantly repeating the "familial" nature of his relationship with the former Damascus ruler, Frangieh saw his presidential ambitions buried in the aftermath of the fall of the former Syrian regime, the main pillar of his regional support, after his ally on the Lebanese scene, Hezbollah, was significantly weakened by the war against Israel last year in Lebanon.
Nahar Net
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Franjieh: Hezbollah has not ended, disarmament must be through dialogue
by Naharnet Newsdesk 8 hours Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh said that the so-called Axis of Resistance is not in its best situation today, but added that 'it is premature to say that it has ended, even if it has been dealt a very strong blow.' 'My only choices are Lebanon's unity and Arab identity and unified living in a unified country, and it is not in our habits to flip-flop,' Franjieh added, in an interview on Al-Jadeed TV. 'When any side weakens, everyone weakens, whether inside a certain sect or inside the country,' Franjieh went on to say, noting that 'Israel occupied the five points in south Lebanon after the ceasefire agreement, which gave the impression that it triumphed.' 'Our enemies' bet on civil war in Lebanon is a dangerous and destructive bet and we have always warned against it,' the Marada leader added. Acknowledging that 'illegal arms must be removed,' Franjieh added that 'that must take place through dialogue, discussions, logic, realism, reassurances and confidence.' 'This is what President Joseph Aoun is doing, and that's why some are attacking him,' Franjieh said. Noting that 'Hezbollah has not ended and is showing flexibility today,' the Marada chief said Hezbollah's supporters 'need to be reassured.' 'We have reached a point when there is a wounded sect, and whether we like it or not it, it is resentful, that's why the time has come to restore our coexistence,' Franjieh added, calling for 'benefiting from the war to unite.'
MTV Lebanon
13-03-2025
- Politics
- MTV Lebanon
Frangieh Challenges Moawad and a Conspiracy Against Lebanon
MP Tony Frangieh considered that "Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, once he secured confidence, "no longer cared about anyone" and cannot deal with the Lebanese as if he were Rafic Hariri." In an interview with MTV, Frangieh said: "If Salam is with the revolution, that doesn't mean imposing his conditions on everyone, and Sleiman Frangieh did not accept all the temptations for not supporting Joseph Aoun for the presidency." He confirmed that "the relationship with President Joseph Aoun is good and ongoing, and the doors of the Arab countries were closed to us after Michel Aoun's election; I am surprised at how the Lebanese authorities allowed our Arab relations to deteriorate." Frangieh also noted that "the appointments that took place today are not encouraging, were not made in a clear manner, and several ministries were offered to us, including the Ministry of Information, but we did not express interest in any of them." Regarding the municipal elections, he stated: "I am ready to reach an agreement in the municipal elections with Michel Moawad or "sit aside" and leave the choice to the people, otherwise, we will challenge him if he challenges us." On another note, he considered that "the Syrian regime has made many mistakes, and I call on the new Syrian authorities to strike with an iron fist and protect everyone." He also pointed out that "there are many gaps in the electoral law, and we have reached a catastrophic outcome, as the principle of justice is not present in it, and we must move away from the logic of exclusion." On the economic front, Frangieh said: "What led us to this economic stage was a conspiracy against the country, and the Marada ministers objected in the Cabinet to defaulting on the Eurobond payments."
