Loyalty to Resistance Says Policy Statement Possible if Parties Pacify Rhetoric

Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc on Thursday noted that there is still a chance to reach consensus over the policy statement of the new cabinet if the wrangling parties pacify their rhetoric.

“The interest of the Lebanese lies in clinging to the equation that is the guarantee for their state and one of its most important pillars,” the bloc said in a statement issued after its periodic meeting.

“The agreement that is needed to kickstart the work of the government can boost the chances of holding the elections on time," it noted.

"There is a chance to reach an acceptable and satisfactory ministerial policy statement should everyone pacify their rhetoric," the bloc added.

Addressing Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi's decision to refer an editorial deemed insulting to President Michel Suleiman to the public prosecution, Loyalty to Resistance said it rejects any attack on the press with the aim of "settling personal scores."

"We stand by freedoms and voice solidarity with the targeted journalists," it said, referring to al-Akhbar newspaper editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Amine.

The bloc called for cracking down on terrorist networks in the country, stressing the importance of "cooperation and coordination" among all the relevant authorities.

Commenting on the issue of the closure of two gas distribution firms over fears they may be targeted by suicide bombers, the bloc called for urgent steps to address the impact of Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq's decision on the impoverished employees of the companies.

Earlier on Thursday, Suleiman reiterated that the Baabda Declaration holds greater political significance than the new government's policy statement.

He told reporters in Paris: “A flexible phrasing of the statement will be drafted in order to resolve the dispute over the resistance.”

The panel drafting the policy statement has so far failed in its mission after eight meetings due to an ongoing dispute over the role of the resistance in Lebanon and the equation of the “army-people-resistance.”

Suleiman had stated over the weekend that the panel should steer away from “wooden equations” to which Hizbullah responded that the president “does not distinguish between gold and wood.”