Jumblat: Deployment of Security Forces in Dahieh Proves there Can Be No Substitute to State

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat hailed on Monday the plan to deploy official security forces in Beirut's southern suburbs of Dahieh.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa website: “The deployment demonstrates that there can be no substitute to the state, which protects all Lebanese, especially in light of the mounting political, security, economic, and social challenges.”

“Bolstering security is not limited to extraordinary security measures, such as the recruitment of 5,000 soldiers to the army, but it takes place through forming the appropriate political atmosphere to control security,” he added.

Moreover, he stressed the need for factions to end the political deadlock in Lebanon that will also further bolster security.

The PSP leader noted that regional and international powers are preoccupied with more pressing matters than Lebanon, which presents a “rare opportunity for the Lebanese to prove to themselves and the world that they have reached political maturity and have the ability to manage their own affairs without foreign meddling.”

This therefore calls for the need to form a new government in order to avert political vacuum ahead of next year's presidential election, Jumblat said.

A task force that includes 100 General Security members, 300 soldiers and 400 Internal Security Forces personnel is set to deploy in Dahieh on Monday.

The step is aimed at ending Hizbullah's measures of self-security following two deadly explosions that targeted its stronghold in the suburbs.

Among the measures taken by Hizbullah was setting up checkpoints inside and at the entrances of the suburbs.