Mustaqbal Says Hizbullah Protecting FPM's 'Militia-like Practices'

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday accused Hizbullah of “protecting the spiteful, chaotic and militia-like practices, especially those practiced by its ally the Aounist movement.”

In a statement issued after its weekly meeting, the bloc said “the armed invasion of Beirut and several Lebanese areas by Hizbullah and its allies” on May 7, 2008 had “ended the national legitimacy” of Hizbullah’s arms, stressing that “the Lebanese will not regain their normal life without the return of the Lebanese state’s authority and decision over its territory.”

The bloc said Hizbullah “changed the direction of its weapons, which should be pointed at the Israeli enemy, and pointed them at the peaceful residents, killing innocents and torching houses and institutions.”

“This crime committed by Hizbullah and its allies against the residents of the capital and some Lebanese areas pushed the country into a different phase, when weapons and their influence were and are still being used to terrorize the Lebanese and impose political, social and economic domination on them,” the bloc added.

It recalled that back then “the March 14 camp tried to act positively in Doha in order to rise above what happened, but the renouncing of the Doha Agreement and the national unity government and the subsequent practices and stances of Hizbullah and its allies … will lead to deepening the rift with the ‘party of arms and gunmen.’”

The bloc, however, reiterated its support for “dialogue and rapprochement.”

Addressing the latest financial row, the bloc slammed “the state of confusion and deterioration governing the country and its economy due to the government’s worsening failure to perform its basic duties, especially as to finalizing the 2012 draft state budget.”