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March 14 Slams 'All Extremist Movements', Including 'ISIL, Hizbullah'

The March 14 forces on Wednesday voiced their rejection of “all extremist movements,” reiterating the call for “building the state and the immediate election of a new president.”

“Today, more than ever, the (March 14) general secretariat announces its rejection of all extremist groups, whether they resemble Hizbullah or the ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant),” the secretariat said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting in Ashrafieh.

Militants spearheaded by the ISIL, an al-Qaida breakaway group, have made stunning advances in Iraq, seizing control of vast swathes of territory in a span of few days. Hizbullah has openly declared sending fighters to Syria to assist the embattled regime against “takfiri” groups seeking to topple it.

The general secretariat stressed that its project “was and will always be struggle to cross into a complete civil state that would be a role model for the countries of the region, which has entered a long travail.”

“These are the beliefs of March 14, which have not and will not change regardless of any developments in the region,” it added.

The secretariat reminded of the stance of al-Mustaqbal movement, “which on February 14, 2014 reiterated its keenness to clearly and openly reject extremism, whichever side it may come from.”

The March 14 General Secretariat also noted that it is “continuing meetings in the regions and political activities because coexistence in Lebanon is a common national responsibility.”

But it warned that “tyranny only breeds tyranny and violence only breeds violence,” pointing out that “Lebanon, which had experienced sectarian polarization and killing before anyone else, is urged today to be an example for coexistence and respecting diversity.”

To this end, the general secretariat called for “completing the process of building the state, the immediate election of a new president and creative interaction among the components of the diverse Lebanese social fabric.”

Y.R.

M.T.


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