Kataeb Slams Ministerial Portfolio Spat, Says Dissociation Policy 'Protected Lebanon'
The Kataeb Party on Monday called for “resolving the obstacles that are hindering the formation of the government,” noting that the new cabinet must shoulder the responsibility of “addressing citizens' affairs and preparing a new electoral law.”
“The scramble for ministerial portfolios under unconstitutional excuses is obstructing and threatening the parliamentary elections, especially that the new government will only serve for a few months,” Kataeb's politburo warned in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.
Separately, the party responded to recent remarks by Syrian President Bashar Assad about Lebanon's so-called dissociation policy.
“One of the most important achievements of the successive governments was the adoption of the dissociation policy, which is in line with the party's struggle for neutralism that has been running since the 1950s and was enshrined in the Baabda Declaration,” Kataeb said.
“This policy is what has protected Lebanon from the regional blazes,” the party noted.
In an interview with Syria's al-Watan newspaper, Assad has noted that “Lebanon cannot dissociate itself from the blazes that are raging around it.”
“It cannot endorse 'the policy of no policy' or what has been called the dissociation policy,” Assad said.
Although the Lebanese state has officially adopted the dissociation policy, Hizbullah has sent thousands of fighters into the neighboring country to help Assad fight an Islamist-led uprising.
The party has argued that its controversial intervention was necessary to protect Lebanon from extremist groups.
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