Bishop Samir Mazloum has denied that a conference of Maronite MPs that was set to be held in Bkirki next month was postponed to avoid a meeting between Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea.

In remarks to Akhbar Alyawm news agency on Monday, Mazloum stressed that the April 3 meeting was postponed after the committee tasked with drafting a law on the parliamentary elections failed to complete its mission.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday accused Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun of waging a “campaign” against him personally and his party because of “the LF’s central role at the domestic and regional levels,” and to “deviate attention from his ministerial team’s catastrophic failure.”

“The other camp’s stances on Bkirki and the patriarch are well-known by all the Lebanese, as it has never cared for (Bkirki), especially that it has a lot of irreligious people among its ranks,” Geagea said in an interview with the privately-owned Central News Agency.

Lebanese Forces MPs are mulling to boycott a meeting of Christian lawmakers in Bkirki next month over their dispute with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on his stance from the Syrian revolution, sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Monday.

But the Phalange party, which is their ally in the March 14 opposition coalition, believes that there is no excuse for not attending the April 3 meeting, the sources said.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi arrived on Saturday in Egypt on a four-day pastoral visit that will also include talks with Egyptian officials and clergymen.

“The latest developments in Egypt had postponed our visit, but I insisted on traveling during this critical situation to express solidarity with the Egyptian people,” al-Rahi said from the Saint Joseph Cathedral.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed on Thursday the need for the Lebanese authorities to remove all arms within and outside Palestinian refugee camps.

He told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3): “If we are forced to wage a battle similar to the one at Nahr al-Bared, then so be it.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea criticized on Wednesday Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun’s statements, saying that his “disastrous” tenure in rule has been rife with corruption.

He told Free Lebanon radio: “Aoun is the last person who is entitled to speak about honor.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday slammed Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s stances on the Syrian crisis, saying his remarks “put all the Christians in the region in danger.”

“I can’t hide the fact that his statements had infuriated me, as they support the regime and contradict with our entire history and I cannot be proud of this rhetoric,” Geagea said in an interview on MTV.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea praised on Saturday French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe’s recent message to Christians in the east, saying that it reflects France’s history and values.

He said in a cable to the minister: “Some tyrants’ claims that they are protecting Christians are in fact a cover for forcing the Christians to submit to their will.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea noted on Sunday that the longer the Syrian crisis lasts, the greater the chances of extremists coming to power should the current regime be overthrown.

He said: “Those fearing the rise of extremists should quickly end the Syrian crisis.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea held talks on Saturday with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani during his ongoing trip to the Gulf state, announced the LF in a statement.

The talks focused on the situation in Lebanon, as well as the Syrian crisis and regional developments.