March 14: Participation in Anti-IS Coalition Proves State Alone Responsible for Protecting Lebanon

The March 14 General Secretariat emphasized on Wednesday the role of the state and army in preserving Lebanon's security, rejecting the participation of Lebanese in foreign conflicts.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “Lebanon's joining of the international alliance to combat terrorism and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil's participation in the Jeddah and Paris conferences on terror demonstrate that protecting Lebanon is up to the state, government, army, and international coalition.”

“We therefore reject the fighting of Lebanese in foreign conflicts and reject coordination between the Lebanese army and any military that is not part of the international coalition,” it continued.

“The state alone monopolizes the use of arms in accordance to the law and constitution,” it remarked.

“Any violation of this monopoly diminishes its authority,” said the March 14 General Secretariat.

“Protecting Lebanon is the responsibility of all the Lebanese. It is not the duty of one party or sect. Such a party does not have the right to designate for the Lebanese whom it considers to be Lebanon's enemy and take unilateral decisions to combat it,” it said in a reference to Hizbullah and its weapons arsenal.

“Such actions transform Lebanese into second-rate citizens,” it stated.

Bassil had taken part in September in the Jeddah talks aimed at tackling ways to confront the Islamic State group. A similar meeting was held in Paris five months ago.

During the Jeddah meeting, Lebanon was among ten Arab states that rallied behind Washington in the fight against IS jihadists.

But later top officials distanced themselves from the coalition over fears that it would carry out strikes inside Lebanese territories in violation of the country's sovereignty although IS and al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front terrorists are threatening Lebanon.

The jihadists do not hold territory in the country, but they have established footholds in remote mountains along Lebanon's remote eastern border, from where they launch incursions and clash with the army.

M.T.

H.K.