Mansour Refuses to be a False Witness, Warns Syrian Fire Could Enflame Lebanon
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour rejected to be a false witness in the meetings of Arab foreign ministers, warning that Lebanon would be harmed if Syria was engulfed by fire.
In an interview with the Kuwaiti al-Rai daily published Sunday, Mansour said: “If we have remarks then we will say them boldly particularly if that decision would threaten the security and stability of Syria.”
His comment came after he was asked if he would heed the call of Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat to keep his “silence” during the meeting of the Arab League foreign ministers that will be held in Cairo to discuss their next move over the Syrian crisis.
“We won’t remain silent; we are not false witnesses as we have the right to express our opinion openly and frankly,” he stressed.
The Cairo meeting comes after Gulf Cooperation Council states said they would withdraw their envoys from Syria and expel Damascus' ambassadors, joining mounting international pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad over the killings of civilians.
Asked about the GCC move, Mansour said: “That’s the issue of the Gulf countries. What we want to do is to help Syria in finding a solution and ending its crisis and not to complicate things on the ground.”
“The security of Lebanon and Syria are interconnected and if fire engulfs Syria then its flames would reach Lebanon,” he warned, saying “what happened in the north is a proof.”
Gunbattles between the dominant Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen and mainly Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh in the northern city of Tripoli have left at least three people dead.
The fighting underscored how the Syrian regime’s 11-month-old crackdown on protestors, is enflaming emotions in Lebanon. Alawites make up the majority of the Syrian regime's leadership and to which Assad himself belongs.
Mansour reiterated on Saturday that Lebanon rejects “to shove itself in the decisions taken by the Arab League on Syria given the special ties between the two countries.”
Lebanon should continue to adhere to its policy of steering itself clear of the developments in Syria that Premier Najib Miqati had called for, he said.
12 February 2012, 08:45
01
He is so funny, rather than distancing himself, he is still supporting the Assad regime, you are a traitor to the nation, a low-life uneducated piece of crap. Its our foreign minister and he speaks only Arabic. How amazing and flattering. And you say look at the north, well yes lets look at the north , if your governement was strong enough, they would send the army to flaten Jabal Mohsen and Bab el tebaneh, destroy all those baathistes and Salafis all together rather than trying to negotiate a cease-fire. Keep a little of honour to our country. You and march 14th arent so different. One selling to Syrians and Iranians, the others to the US and KSA. Repulsive....
12 February 2012, 09:37
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What do you call what is going on in Syria you jackass and poor excuse for an FM...? Lebanon has become a failed state because of you and your handlers in Both Damascus and Beirut...
12 February 2012, 10:02
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Seriously, this guy has to go down as one of the least smart ministers to ever occupy a senior ministry in modern time lebanon..
12 February 2012, 10:36
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What hope does a Lebanese citizen have when his Foreign Minister warns that the Syrian fire could enflame Lebanon. He should sit down with the Defense Minister and find ways to alienate Lebanon from the crisis, such as not allowing the flow of arms "BOTH WAYS", strengthening the control on the border, placing security forces in sensitive areas (i.e. Bab-el-Tebbeneh/Jabal-Mehsen). He could just start by not defending the Syrian regime's crackdown.
By far the worst minister Lebanon has ever seen, along with the other moron Marwan Charbel.
12 February 2012, 12:16
01
it will enflame lebanon if your hezbi friends and psns take the streets to defend bashar s regime :) , but your gvt said they will not interfere right? thus accept the outcome of this revolution, right?!
let s see if your gvt is lying or not!
12 February 2012, 14:27
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You are a false witness to your own country
You Syrian bootlicker
Greater Syria is a myth
12 February 2012, 20:15
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Man-sewer you are a gutless trator, you speak about distancing Lebanon from Syria but all you do is defend Syria. Just how many country's do you collect a pay check from?
12 February 2012, 21:07
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The filthy zionest information.... ah wait... i forgot im halucinating again...
12 February 2012, 21:39
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yes you do...you work for them...don't byte the hand that feeds you.
12 February 2012, 21:42
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the filthy zionist media war terrorists are hallucinating that patriotic lebanese are syrian bootlickers.
that's because they are slaves of usa military industrial complex. they think everybody else is slave also.
12 February 2012, 23:39
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jabalahbal the red nosed zionist is doing his comedy show, but no one is listening, poor him
13 February 2012, 08:08
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jabalhabal... please tell me.. why do you sound like a 60's robot when you talk..? You must be made of iranian technology to counteract the usa military industrial complex... whenever the iran processor cannot compute.. it automated to say "filthy zionist media war terrorists are hallucinating"
13 February 2012, 08:55
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He should have elaborated as to who will set the fire in Lebanon. This statement was more of a threat than it was a warning
