Mustaqbal Holds Hizbullah Responsible for Salman's Death: Its Practices Model Iranian, Syrian Regimes

Al-Mustaqbal bloc on Tuesday held Hizbullah responsible for the death of Lebanese Option Party member Hashem Salman, expressing that the party's practices are a “simulation of the Iranian and Syrian regimes.”

"The crime of killing Salman should constitute a call that mobilizes the Lebanese people to defend their freedom of expressing themselves peacefully,” a released statement stressed after al-Mustaqbal bloc's weekly meeting at the Center House.

It elaborated: “Defending public freedoms in the country is the battle of the democrats and the free people against Hizbullah's executions of the Lebanese youth just because they had a different point of view from that of the party.”

The MPs warned that Hizbullah's practices “indicate that it decided to adopt policies and steps to suppress public freedoms and frighten the Lebanese, similarly to the practices of the Iranian and Syrian regimes.”

They also criticized the security forces' performance during the incident.

“Why didn't the security forces prevent the aggressors from attacking the protesters near the Iranian embassy? Did the judicial system do anything regarding the killers whose pictures have been published and shown in the media? Were any arrest warrants issued?,” the bloc asked.

"We call on the judicial and security authorities to identify the criminals and try them in court.”

Salman was killed on Sunday and at least eleven others were wounded in a scuffle between supporters of Hizbullah and protesters near the Iranian embassy in Beirut.

The Demonstrators were holding a sit-in near the embassy in the Bir Hassan area south of Beirut, to protest Hizbullah's involvement in the war raging in Syria.

According to LBCI television, all the wounded belong to the Lebanese Option Party, which is led by the March 14 Shiite politician Ahmed Asaad.

Regarding the latest developments in the Syrian border town of al-Qusayr, al-Mustaqbal said what happened revealed that “Hizbullah is a militia working for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.”

The lawmakers expressed: “The party's headquarters is in Lebanon but it gets involved in fights following orders coming from Tehran.”

“Hizbullah no longer has a national project for Lebanon and for the Lebanese people's interests.”

The bloc warned against the repercussions of “Hizbullah's practices on the economic situation in Lebanon and on the Lebanese people's interests.”

"We call for the immediate withdrawal of Hizbullah's militia from Syrian territories to avoid further losses before it is too late.”

Hizbullah fighters spearheaded a devastating 17-day assault on the Syrian town of Qusayr near the Lebanese border which culminated on Wednesday with its recapture from the rebels.

The party's chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah had previously justified the group's involvement in Syria by saying they were defending Lebanese-inhabited border villages inside Syria and Shiite holy sites.

But during a May 25 speech marking the 13th anniversary of Israel's military withdrawal from Lebanon, Nasrallah said the Takfiris are the “most prevailing group in the Syrian opposition,” warning against a defeat against them in the ongoing war in Syria.

As a response to the party's involvement in the Syrian war, several Gulf nations announced adopting measures against Hizbullah members.

The Gulf Cooperation Council on Monday decided to adopt several measures against Hizbullah members in the council's member-states.

These measures will affect their stay permits and their financial transactions in GCC countries.

Tackling the situation in the northern city of Tripoli, al-Mustaqbal lawmakers revealed their satisfaction regarding the implemented security plan, stressing that they support the state's authority.