Gemayel Slams Hizbullah's Actions at USJ: We Won't Remain Silent against Those Who Provoke us
Phalange Party MP Sami Gemayel slammed on Monday the actions of Hizbullah supporters at Universite Saint Jospeh, questioning the purpose of the party's provocations at the campus.
He declared: “The identity of USJ will not be altered and we will not remain silent against those who provoke us.”
He made his remarks during a press conference to address recent developments at the university's Huvelin campus in Beirut on Monday morning.
He revealed that Hizbullah supporters had written graffiti on the walls of the university hailing Habib al-Shartouni, who was convicted with the assassination of former President Bashir Gemayel in 1982.
“The graffiti provoked all students at USJ regardless of their affiliations,” added Gemayel.
Moreover, he said that the Hizbullah supporters continued on provoking the students for several hours until the security forces and army intervened.
He criticized the security forces' late response in containing the tensions, warning that the situation could have gotten out of hand.
“A major problem was averted in Ashrafiyeh today,” he stated.
“The situation could have been contained as soon as the tensions began, but for some reason the security forces took at least four hours to intervene,” remarked the MP.
“The army only intervened when it seemed that a clash was going to take place, which demonstrates that the state does not take immediate action to contain any tensions. Why do we leave matters to reach such a tense stage?” he wondered.
“We thank the army and security forces for containing the situation, but they could have been faster in doing so,” he noted.
Addressing Hizbullah, Gemayel asked angrily: “Why are you creating hate among the people against you? What do you have to do with Habib al-Shartouni? What are the purposes of your provocations? What is the reason for this spite?”
“Do you seek to separate yourselves from the rest of the state? You must state your intentions openly,” he demanded.
“Do we provoke you when it comes to your resistance and martyrs?” he added.
“Why are you provoking and challenging us?” he wondered.
“I do not understand how Hizbullah is allowing its supporters to create such divisions among the people, instead of working on uniting them,” he said.
“USJ is a symbol of civility and Lebanon and we will not allow anyone to alter its identity. We urge the administration to also preserve its identity,” urged Gemayel.
“We will no longer remain silent over any provocation,” he warned.
Later on Monday, the Army Command issued a statement clarifying that "the dispute that erupted at one of the universities over student elections did not involve any violation of security that requires the intervention of army units," noting that "the army's entry into any university requires a prior request from its administration or from the security forces tasked with protecting it.
“Although this did not happen, an army force arrived on the scene to prevent any escalation,” the statement added.
Earlier on Monday, media reports said that the tensions at USJ were a result of Hizbullah students' protests against recent student elections.
They said that the students had surrounded the USJ campus at Huvelin neighborhood, resulting in a standoff with rival March 14 students that could have escalated into a clash had it not been for the intervention of security forces and the army.
The student elections were held at USJ last week.
An alliance between the Lebanese Forces and March 14 forces won the majority of seats at three of the campus' four faculties, while independent students swept the last faculty.
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