After 15 years of exile in France since the end of the civil war, Michel Aoun has returned promising an end to “political feudalism.”

Gen. Aoun pledged to struggle for a new Lebanon free of rampant political feudalism upon his return Saturday from 14 years of exile in France.
“The era of unchecked political feudalism is over. I promise you change will come soon. It is inevitable,” said Aoun from a bullet proof podium set up at Downtown Beirut’s Martyrs Square.

Thunderous chants of ‘freedom, sovereignty, independence’ rang out from hundreds of thousands of welcomers celebrating the return of the general who snuck out from Beirut aboard a French submarine after the collapse of his liberation war against the Syrian army in 1991.

The crowds waved hundreds of life size portraits of Aoun amidst a sea of Lebanese flags as he climbed to the podium from a tribute he paid at the graveside of slain ex-premier Rafik Hariri.

“It was said when I left you 14 years ago that the world can stamp out anyone and force him to sign surrender,” Aoun orated. “Now I have returned to you with the world never able to crush me or stamp me out or force me to sign.”

He said he would begin as of Sunday laying down a proposed platform for the opposition with which to contest the May-June elections for the first parliament after the termination of Syria’s 3-decade domination of Lebanon.

This follows parliament clearing him of all charges against him. The return of Aoun has been on of the main demands of the opposition. and this fulfills it. The last main demand of the opposition, besides free elections according to a new law and Syria’s withdrawal, has been the release of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. Between this, the adoption of the 2000 elections law (which I will have an in-depth post on tomorrow), and another bombing in a Christian district, parliament has been once again thrown into disarray with just about everyone calling for President Lahoud’s resignation.

Prominent Lebanese opposition lawmakers have demanded President Emile Lahoud’s resignation, with at least one directly blaming him for an overnight bombing in a Christian area north of Beirut that injured 24 people.

The calls followed a parliamentary session during which Lahoud, in a message read by the speaker, urged lawmakers to draw up an election law acceptable to all Lebanon’s disparate factions for polls that are supposed to start on 29 May.

Opposition lawmakers, led by Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, accused Lahoud of presiding over security agencies that they blamed for Friday night’s bombing in the Christian port city Junyah, 15km north of Beirut.
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Jumblatt said he had warned Christian opposition partners to force Lahoud, a Christian, to resign, but his call had been previously rejected. “He (Lahoud) stayed and now he is playing with us by outbidding on sectarian issues and by bombs,” Jumblatt alleged.

Opposition lawmakers from across Lebanon’s religious divides backed Jumblat’s call.

“We consider him (Jumblatt) a principal partner in the building of a new state, which should be bringing down Emile Lahoud after the parliamentary elections because he is the head of the security regime,” said Christian lawmaker Nayla Muawad, widow of President Rene Muawad who was slain in 1989.

Shia Muslim opposition lawmaker Basim Sabai said Lahoud
“must bear the political and moral responsibility” for Lebanon’s crisis. Walid Eido, a Sunni Muslim opposition legislator, also said the president should resign and face trial.

Here is another account of what exactly happened.

Parliament failed in a stormy session Saturday to write a new law to govern the May-June elections and to vote on a draft bill to amnesty Lebanese Forces Commander Samir Geagea.

The session was called by Speaker Berri to act on an 11th hour letter from President Lahoud to hold the elections based on a law ‘acceptable to all.’

The parliament near unanimously rejected Lahoud’s message and held him directly responsible for sabotaging the promulgation of a new law in time for fair elections for the first legislature that would be free of Syrian control.

Many lawmakers demanded that Lahoud be impeached outright. Druze leader Walid Jumblat, spearhead of the opposition drive to oust Syria, said “there is an imperative need to oust the president and the election by parliament of a new head of state to steer Lebanon out of its current crisis.”
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Even one of the staunchest loyalists of Syria, former Vice Speaker Elie Firizly, shouted during the debate that a committee representing all blocs in parliament should go to the Baabda Palace and demand from the president to resign.

Several members of Hariri’s bloc in parliament were also exceptionally outspoken in favor of dethroning Lahoud, demanding that he be tried before the nation’s Higher Constitutional Council for lurching Lebanon from one crisis into another.

As the debate was about to draw to a close, a shouting match broke out between opposition legislator Fares Boueiz and Berri’s supporters in parliament.

Local TV stations said the quarrel was about to develop into a fist fight when Berri suddenly gaveled an indefinite adjournment, blocking a vote on Geagea’s parole and the promulgation of a new electoral law.

Opposition legislators then announced that they were staging an open-ended sit-in at parliament hall demanding that Berri returns to begin a new session devoted for paroling Geagea.

The termination of the session meant the elections would be held under the existing law which was drawn up in 2000 under Syria’s tutelage.

As the article notes, the president cannot be impeached by parliament. I’m not sure of the chances that he’ll be tried at the constitutional court, but given that the presidential elections are far off and nobody wants him, everything is possible. This is no doubt lined up with Michel Aoun’s return, who is seen as very likely to be a reconciliation president of sorts. Lahoud’s potential ousting could make this election season all the more interesting, even with all the drama over the election law.