Saniora Rejects Armed Appearances in Sidon, Says March 14 Will Emerge Stronger after Elections

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc head MP Fouad Saniora stated on Saturday his rejection of all appearances of gunmen in the southern city of Sidon, condemning blocking roads and “threatening people's movements”.

“We are against all appearances of gunmen in the city,” Saniora stressed in a speech he gave at Rafik Hariri High School during the commemoration of Sidon's liberation from Israeli occupation, insisting that judicial and security authorities are the “only bodies in charge of assuring security and of restoring people's rights”.

Saniora emphasized on the shared experiences between Sidon's residents and southerners during the Israeli occupation.

He remarked: “The city has always enjoyed openness and Christian-Muslim coexistence and everyone has the right to live here”.

“We'll preserve this,” he confirmed. “We will not, however, ignore injustice as we are against coercion and terrorizing people”.

“The city should not be used to serve plans of regional greed,” he noted. “There are violent intentions but we reject confronting them with internal clashes”.

The former PM called on the legal authorities to enforce the law and to penalize “those committing crimes" without providing any political cover-up on their activities.

Controversial Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir and his supporters rallied for the second day in a row on Saturday in Sidon's town of Abra amid heavy security deployment to protest claims that Hizbullah rented apartments in the vicinity of his mosque in the town.

Last week, the anti-Hizbullah Salafist cleric urged officials and authorities to force the evacuation of the apartments to avert a possible “strife or any dangerous incident".

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned during a televised speech on Wednesday that “some parties are pushing Lebanon in a very rapid manner to sectarian strife and working on that night and day and all the facts verify this issue".

He pointed out that some statements and remarks by some Sunni MPs and clerics are taking a very provocative and seditious course.

Tackling the upcoming parliamentary elections, Saniora said March 14 did have misunderstandings discussing the electoral law, but he insisted that the coalition will “emerge stronger”.

He expressed: “March 14 is not a political coalition but a vision for an independent, free and democratic state”.

“It's March 14's revolution that launched the Arab Spring,” he remarked.

The Mustaqbal MP explained that the bloc's rejection of the Orthodox Gathering's draft electoral law stems from the lawmakers' “belief in a united Lebanon”.

“We will oppose any attempt to divide Lebanon for political gains,” Saniora stated.

The Orthodox proposal which calls for a single district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system was endorsed by March 14's Phalange Party and the Lebanese Forces.

Meanwhile, it has been rejected by al-Mustaqbal, the Progressive Socialist Party of Walid Jumblat and March 14's independent Christian MPs, along with President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati.

Saniora commented on reports saying that Hizbullah fighters are engaged in battles in villages near the Lebanese-Syrian border, expressing his opposition to any armed interference in the neighboring country's war.

“Stop sending fighters to combat alongside President Bashar Assad's regimes,” he stated, calling on the cabinet to deploy army on the border and to seek the help of international emergency forces.

“A neutral cabinet is the answer to face regional developments and to restore economic and political stability,” he said.

Also addressing the council of ministers, Saniora said: “Do not cover-up on fraud cases that involved fake medications, smuggling gas and football match-fixing”.