Mustaqbal: Policy Statement Should Not Disregard Baabda Declaration
The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc stressed on Thursday that the new government should protect Lebanon from the impact of the Syrian crisis and be able to stage the presidential elections in May.
It said after its weekly meeting: “The policy statement must not ignore the Baabda Declaration.”
“It must also disregard outdated equations that have only negatively affected the state's sovereignty and civil peace,” it noted in reference to Hizbullah's insistence on including the “army-people-resistance” equation in the statement.
“The statement must not ignore the importance of resisting Israel, but this should take place under the authority of the state that represents all of the Lebanese people,” added the bloc.
“The bloc considers that the one-month deadline designated by the constitution for the government to complete its statement should be used to persuade the parties to fulfill this mission, not topple the cabinet,” it stressed.
The main dispute on the resistance clause erupted after the March 14 camp stressed that the actions of the resistance should be put under the authority of the state.
Several alliance officials called for “the right of Lebanon as a state and not the right of the Lebanese to resist Israel.”
But the Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance, including Speaker Nabih Berri, want to legitimize Hizbullah's arsenal by holding onto "the right of Lebanon and the Lebanese” to liberate the remaining territories occupied by Israel “and to resist any Israeli aggression.”
According to the constitution, the ministerial committee has until Monday to complete its work and transfer the policy statement to parliament for approval or else the cabinet would be considered resigned and President Michel Suleiman would have to call for new binding parliamentary consultations to name a new premier.
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