Mashnouq Says Peaceful Protesters Have Right to Rally, Qahwaji Vows No Leniency with 'Infiltrators'
Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq stressed on Monday that the security forces demonstrated their “high responsibility” towards the “You Stink” protesters over the weekend, reported Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3).
He said: “The civilian campaign has the right to demonstrate, but a group affiliated with political parties had a different agenda.”
He made his remarks after holding talks at the Grand Serail with Prime Minister Tammam Salam in the wake of the weekend's “You Stink” campaign's protests against the current political deadlock, which turned violent on Sunday.
“We informed Salam of the details of the developments and he hailed the security forces on their performance,” added the minister.
“We will not allow anyone to enter the Grand Serail or the parliament building,” he declared.
He said that the security forces fired shots into the air on Sunday to fend off the protesters as they attempted to head to the government building, revealing that 99 security forces members and 61 civilians were injured.
Later on Monday, Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji vowed that “the army will not be lenient with security violators or those who infiltrate the ranks of demonstrators to veer peaceful rallies off their course and legitimate demands.”
Qahwaji voiced his remarks during an inspection visit to the headquarters of the army's Third Intervention Regiment in Beirut.
He called on officers and soldiers to maintain “high preparedness to preserve the stability of the city of Beirut, protect constitutional institutions, and prevent any attacks on the lives of citizens and their properties.”
Qahwaji, however, stressed the need to “protect peaceful demos and the right of everyone to express their stances and opinions under the ceiling of law and order.”
The “You Stink” campaign, which began receiving the backing of Lebanese from across Lebanon, first launched its campaign against the government after the closure of the Naameh landfill caused trash to pile up on the streets.
It had held two demonstrations over the weekend.
Sunday's protest took a violent turn, which the campaign blamed on “political thugs,” who started fighting the police deployed at the scene of the protest at Riad al-Solh Square in downtown Beirut.
The campaign pulled its supporters off the streets once the unrest erupted.
The so-called thugs tried to tear down a barbed wire fence separating the crowds from the Grand Serail and threw rocks and molotov cocktails at security forces.
The violence sparked running battles, which left scores injured.
Workers were seen sweeping glass and other objects that were set on fire from the streets Monday.
The Internal Security Forces stated Monday that 32 rioters have been arrested.
M.T./Y.R.
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