Mustaqbal Rejects FPM Proposal, Warns against 'Implicating Army in Hizbullah Battles'
Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday warned against “implicating” the army in “Hizbullah's battles” in Syria, rejecting the Free Patriotic Movement's recent proposal on the election of the president by the people.
“The national confrontation against terrorism can only take place through supporting the state and its institutions, especially the army and security forces,” the bloc said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.
After jihadists overran Arsal on August 2 and killed and abducted dozens of security personnel, campaigns started on social networking websites to urge the army to continue the fight and eradicate the “terrorists.” Meanwhile, the FPM demanded an “official” clarification of Arsal's incidents.
In its statement, Mustaqbal said calls by “some fanatic and reckless extremists for taking up illegitimate regional, sectarian, partisan or militia arms, under the excuse of self-defense in the face of terrorism, are condemned and rejected calls.”
It also warned that “encouraging such acts opens the door to great dangers that the Lebanese people had experienced and suffered in the past,” stressing that “only the legitimate arms of the army and the Internal Security Forces should defend the Lebanese.”
“Illegitimate weapons breed counter-weapons and tyranny breeds extremism and terrorism, which in turn breed counter-extremism and terrorism,” the bloc noted.
Responding to what it called “oriented and paid media campaigns to pressure the Lebanese army into getting involved in the Syrian regime's battles against its own people,” the bloc warned “those behind suspicious intents and plots against implicating the army in battles that are being fought by Hizbullah to serve its interests and those of the Syrian regime.”
Such battles could “jeopardize the relative stability that Lebanon is enjoying," the bloc cautioned, stressing that “no one has an interest in that.”
Mustaqbal also commented on “rumors about violations and practices by gunmen in the Arsal region,” saying such behavior is “condemned and rejected if the reports are correct.”
Accordingly, the bloc called on the government to “task the Lebanese army with preserving security in the town of Arsal and its surroundings in order to protect its residents and strike with an iron fist anyone committing a security or legal violation regardless of their identity.”
“The release of the captive army and ISF members is a noble mission and is the national priority during this period,” Mustaqbal added.
But it warned of “incitement campaigns that some are promoting with the aim of justifying reckless acts under the excuse of securing the release of the abductees.”
Separately, the bloc called for electing a new president and ending the presidential vacuum, describing that as the top priority needed to safeguard Lebanon during this period.
Commenting on the FPM's draft law on electing the president by the people rather than by the parliament, Mustaqbal said the suggestion is not an “appropriate solution in this stage, neither in form nor in content, as it represents an intention to modify the entire Lebanese political system.”
It cautioned that such a move would only lead to “further disagreements and disputes.”
However, the bloc noted that “under appropriate circumstances, such a proposal would require extensive and calm debate as well as the consensus of the Lebanese,” stressing that that could only happen “after implementing the pending articles of the current Constitution and the Taef Accord.”
Turning to the regional events, Mustaqbal described the practices of the ruthless Islamic State jihadist group as “crimes against humanity that have nothing to do with Islam or Muslims.”
But it rejected calls for “cooperating with Iran and the Syrian regime in combatting” the extremist organization.
Y.R.
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