May Akl, press secretary for Lebanese MP Michel Aoun speaks in Troy on Monday. PHOTO: Khalil AlHajal/TAAN

Dr. May Akl, press secretary for Lebanese MP Michel Aoun, of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), spoke at the San Marino Club in Troy on Monday.
Akl spoke on fighting corruption in Lebanon as one of the key points in the party’s campaign platform. She spoke on relations between FPM leadership and the U.S., Syria, and Hizbullah. Akl also spoke to Lebanese American leaders in Dearborn on Sunday at the Lebanese American Heritage Club.

The Free Patriotic Movement is a largely Christian political party in Lebanon currently aligned with a coalition of opposition parties in parliament. Akl is on a tour of the U.S. encouraging participation among Lebanese Americans in the highly anticipated June 7 Lebanese parliamentary elections.

Tayyar Michigan, the local FPM diaspora chapter hosted the Monday event, attended by Tayyar representatives from Ohio, Windsor and Chicago, as well as several local Arab American organizations.

A Ph.D in Linguistics, Akl is a lecturer at St. Joseph University in Beirut and was a guest scholar at Georgetown University in Washington in 2006.