Now Lebanon - Aoun slams Geagea, defends Karam - September 06, 2011

Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday slammed Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and defended former Brigadier General Fayez Karam, who was sentenced to prison on charges of collaboration with Israel.
“It is not acceptable for a person like [Geagea] to address the public and be ignorant or malicious,” Aoun told the press in a reference to Geagea’s criticism of the energy bill submitted by the Change and Reform bloc to the cabinet.
Aoun also told the press that “no one has the right to say that they did not look over the bill, because it has been discussed in past cabinets and parliamentary commissions.”
He reiterated that his bloc aims to “guarantee electricity for all Lebanese.”
“We defy anyone who tells us that our bill has technical flaws… we will not make concessions on anything.”
Concerning Fayez Karam, –who is a high-ranking member of Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement –Aoun hinted that the Internal Security Forces (ISF) – Information Branch forced Karam to claim that he leaked information to Israel.
“The law was not respected [during Karam’s investigation] and the attorneys did not take part in the probes,” Aoun said.
“[The ISF –Information Branch] said that all of Karam’s investigation was recorded. Here is the contradiction. Who had the right to destroy the transcripts [of Karam’s statements] before his trial had ended?”
Lebanon's military court on Saturday sentenced Karam to two years in prison for leaking information to Israel.
Meanwhile, the cabinet is expected to address on Wednesday the bill proposed by Aoun’s bloc to transfer $1.2 billion in funds to the Energy Ministry. The western-backed March 14 parties have opposed the bill.