March 14 Criticizes Armed Forces for Failing to Stop Iranian Embassy Crime
The March 14 general-secretariat slammed the security forces and the Lebanese army on Wednesday for failing to stop the murder of a protester near the Iranian embassy in Beirut over the weekend.
“The crime against Hashem Salman was committed under the gaze of security forces and the army, which did not interfere to stop it,” said a statement read by MP Ammar Houri after the general-secretariat's weekly meeting.
It said: “The army's statement was vague to the extent of covering up the crime.”
Salman was killed on Sunday when Hizbullah members wielding batons assaulted protesters from the Lebanese Option Party outside the mission in the neighborhood of Bir Hassan in Beirut's southern suburbs.
The demonstrators had barely time to stage their rally near the mission when they came under attack by the Hizbullah members who were wearing black shirts with yellow ribbons around their arms.
“Who is responsible for preventing the broadcast of footage on the attack on Hashem Salman?” the statement wondered in a veiled reference to Hizbullah.
The general-secretariat also urged President Michel Suleiman and Premier-designate Tammam Salam to form the new government “without procrastination.”
The cabinet should be at an equal distance from all parties and put the nation's interest before any other interest, it said.
Salam visited Suleiman at Baabda palace on Wednesday to brief him on the obstacles preventing the formation of the government.
“We hope the Gulf Cooperation Council wouldn't let innocent Lebanese families working in Gulf countries bear the consequences of Hizbullah's actions,” said the March 14 statement, two days after the GCC vowed to adopt measures against Hizbullah members.
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