Bahia Hariri to Qahwaji: You're Entrusted with What's Left of Lebanese State
Al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Bahia Hariri on Saturday told Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji that he is entrusted with "what's left of the national Lebanese state," during an iftar banquet she threw in Beirut on the occasion of the 68th Army Day.
"You are now entrusted with what's left of the national Lebanese state and through your patriotism, sacrifices and keenness on all citizens, through your martyrs and firmness, you can rescue the dream of all the Lebanese who want a just and capable state," Hariri said addressing Qahwaji, who represented President Michel Suleiman at the event.
"It is your destiny to bear all these pressures from all the Lebanese because you are their last hope in the survival of their state," she added.
Hariri said some parties want to use the army "against the weak," stressing that the military institution is "not a party, but rather a country."
The Sidon lawmaker said several figures whom she met in the past few days have advised her not to leave her house because her life is "in danger," noting that several security officials have also warned her in this regard.
"The enemy is not only on the border. The enemy is in every field and inside every human. Ignorance, disease, unemployment and poverty are our enemies. No one can be strong if we are not all strong ... We need defense strategies in every field," Hariri added.
On June 23, gunmen loyal to Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir attacked an army checkpoint near the Islamist cleric's mosque in Sidon's Abra. Eighteen soldiers were martyred and 20 others were wounded in the attack and in the fierce clashes that ensued.
At least twenty of Asir's gunmen were also killed in the battle that ended when the army stormed Asir's headquarters on June 24.
In the wake of the clashes, two videos showing army troops abusing detainees allegedly linked to Asir were circulated on social networking websites. Human Rights Watch also urged an independent investigation into claims that a man identified as Nader al-Bayoumy had died under torture while in the custody of the army.
The army referred the troops who appeared in the videos to the Military Court and launched a probe into the alleged abuses, amid an outcry led by MP Hariri, Sidon MP Fouad Saniora and the Jamaa Islamiya.
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