Mustaqbal Says Hizbullah Stances Prevent 'Any Useful Dialogue'

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday described Hizbullah’s latest stances on the issue of arms as a “negative approach” that would prevent any “useful dialogue” over the issue of the national defense strategy.

In a statement issued after its weekly meeting, the bloc lauded “President Michel Suleiman’s responsible and valued remarks on Army Day in which he clearly and categorically stated that it is unacceptable to have a partnership between the state’s arms and the illegal arms in the issues of security and sovereignty.”

“On the same night, these remarks were met by the statements of Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in which he announced his insistence on the current status of his weapons that are outside state control and outside any understanding or dialogue that abides by the constitution,” the bloc added.

Mustaqbal warned that Nasrallah’s remarks would prevent any “useful dialogue,” noting that “Hizbullah’s stances and practices are a negative approach that requires further consultations among the components of the March 14 coalition, in order to agree on the appropriate decision concerning the call for dialogue.”

Turning to the issue of the 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims who were abducted in Syria on May 22, the bloc stressed its “condemnation of the kidnap of any Lebanese or non-Lebanese, especially the abducted Lebanese who are being held in Syria.”

Mustaqbal called on the captors to release the abductees and “stop this painful drama which does not serve any cause, but rather harms the cause of the Syrian and Lebanese peoples who are struggling to achieve freedom, independence, dignity and progress.”

The bloc, however, condemned the blocking of the Beirut airport road on Monday night by the abductees’ families who were protesting the Lebanese state’s failure to secure the release of the 11 men.

“The bloc -- which had rejected the blocking of roads in Sidon and the rest of the regions – categorically rejects the blocking of the vital airport road under any excuse.”

Mustaqbal stressed that the responsibility of following up on the case falls on the Lebanese government, “which has been absent and negligent in addressing this issue, although several media outlets have managed to build ties and communicate with the abductors and the abductees.”

The bloc called on the government to “immediately form a crisis cell that would work night and day to unveil the circumstances of their abduction and make all the contacts that would be useful in securing their release and safe return to their families.”