Soaid Expresses Concern over Lassa Dispute, Refuses Any Settlement

March 14 general secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid said on Monday that the Jbeil District town of Lassa is worried after the assault on a Maronite team tasked with surveying lands and reporters.

Soaid told Free Lebanon radio that the statements of the deputy leader of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council, Abdul Amir Qabalan, proved that this issue is bigger than a dispute over land.

Qabalan said during Friday prayers that documents prove that the land in and around Lassa belongs to its residents. Lassa’s population is mainly Shiite.

“The only solution is to preserve coexistence, the issue is neither to provoke (anyone) nor to create a sectarian division,” Soaid said.

He told the radio station that the state gave up on its tasks to implement the law when it met with Hizbullah’s representative and dragged the Christian church into settlement.

“We understand that the (Maronite) patriarch is keen on preserving the Lebanese and especially the Christians’ rights, and the committee that met at my house on Sunday will visit him to clear things up,” he said.

The official slammed Hizbullah’s attempt to control the area, saying that “the president has to realize the depth of the problem, and Hizbullah that “controlled Lebanon will not stop the attempts” when it comes to Jbeil.

A meeting was held on Sunday at the residence of Soaid in Qartaba in the presence of officials and figures from Jbeil District.

The conferees agreed that the solution is “in implementing the law and rejecting any settlement” over the issue.

They formed a committee to contact President Michel Suleiman and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.

An Nahar newspaper reported that Soaid contacted several officials in the March 14-led opposition especially, Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel, LF leader Samir Geagea and MP Butros Harb, in which a joint stance will be announced by the officials.

Over the past two weeks, Hizbullah members prevented a Maronite League team from surveying a land owned by the Maronite Patriarchate in Lassa and broke the cameras of an MTV crew stopping them from carrying out their tasks.