Suleiman, Charbel Stress Army Role in Preventing Blocking of Airport Road

Lebanon’s Central Security Council held an extraordinary meeting on Friday in order to tackle measures to prevent the blocking of the airport road in compliance with a cabinet decision following its session on Thursday.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, who headed the meeting, said that the gatherers agreed to task the army and security forces with preventing the closure of the road, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

“The measures needed to fulfill this plan are now in the hands of the security forces,” he revealed.

These measures include setting up checkpoints and deploying patrols in the area, he added.

President Michel Suleiman told reporters on Friday: “The army alone cannot build the state.”

“The state is built by the people and the agreement they reach among each other,” he continued.

“Peace is not reached by the army, but the people along with the various authorities in the country,” he said.

“The army cannot attack people whose son has been kidnapped, but the army had bolstered its presence at the airport road to prohibit its closure,” stressed the president.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Najib Miqati declared before reporters that the airport road will not be blocked again.

The airport road has repeatedly been the target of angry protesters demonstrating against various issues, such as frequent power cuts and, recently, the ongoing abduction of 11 Lebanese pilgrims in Syria.