Jumblat Warns Current Situation Similar to 1982, Stresses Importance of Dialogue
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat said on Sunday that the current phase in Lebanon brings to mind the threats of the 1982 Israeli occupation, calling for dialogue to regulate disputes peacefully.
“We are in a dangerous phase that reminds me of the Israeli invasion in 1982,” Jumblat said, adding that “resolving local disagreements is our responsibility and we must regulate the disputes peacefully, instead of fighting like in Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.”
The PSP leader warned that the continuous clashes between the two northern neighborhoods might expand to other areas.
“It is true that there are many disagreements among parties in Lebanon but we have to peacefully address these disagreements,” he added.
The rival Tripoli neighborhoods have been gripped by frequent fighting, reflecting a split between Lebanon's parties where the March 14-led opposition backs the revolt in Syria while a ruling coalition led by Hizbullah supports the Damascus regime.
Jumblat praised President Michel Suleiman’s call for resuming national dialogue, adding that Monday’s all-party talks will contribute to regulating disagreements away from violence.
Suleiman called for the resumption of national dialogue to defuse mounting tension after deadly gun-battles raged between pro- and anti-Syrian regime supporters in Beirut and the northern city of Tripoli.
10 June 2012, 20:53
02
Ya walid, you can't compare apples with pears. In 1982, the Syrian regime wasn't agonizing. In 1982 the Shia weren't fighting the sunni. Now, it's more like an syro/Iranian axis versus KSA on Lebanese soil among other nations. Back in 1982 it was completely different.
10 June 2012, 20:57
10
Israel will be right along with its invasion as soon as it irons out the details of its "Ultimate Beret" military fashion enhancement software.
There is some question about doctrinal purity in the dangling drawstring question. It is not so much a question of doctrinal requirements as in a vetting process to build confidence throughout the military fashion community.
10 June 2012, 22:34
01
Like 1982?? Israeli Big Pines was in the works then to come in and finish off the PLO. This is 2012 and the PLO is not running a state within a state as it was then. Hezbollah is, but who is plotting internationally for sending a force into Lebanon to undo Hezbollah?
This is more like 1975, but the international effort is not to arm two sides in a Lebanese Civil War, but to do so to prolong this war in Syria.
Syria was part of the international effort along with the US, Israel, KSA and Egypt. Now Syria is the object, but this misery should not be wished upon anyone, not even Syrians.
10 June 2012, 22:49
10
Hezbollah plays a big role in the Syrian situation and so does Iran. If the Syrian situation escalates, the situation here (and to a lesser extent in Iran) will undoubtedly escalate. And if there is foreign military intervention in Syria, most probably Hezbollah will also militarily intervene and if it does, you will see another 2006. But Lebanon will never be in the same situation as Syria because the Lebanese army is still neutral and still strong in the region. As long as it stands, there will no foreign intervention in Lebanon. It will be against Hezbollah, not Lebanon.
But... If the army doesn't stand and cannot keep control (and this is a big probability), the story changes.
11 June 2012, 11:26
00
I wish the president would have 1 brilliant idea: make the national dialogue in a circular room and lock all participants in until they find the corner...
Amen!
