March 14 Slams Attacks on Iraqis, Christians, Says 'Hariri's Roadmap Most Suitable for Lebanese Endurance'
The March 14 forces on Wednesday noted that the roadmap proposed by al-Mustaqbal movement leader MP Saad Hariri is “the most suitable” for Lebanon's endurance in the face of the current developments, stressing that the election of a new president has become “more than necessary.”
“In the face of the rapid developments in the region, from the battered Gaza that is standing tall against the Israeli killing machine to Iraq that is reeling under the hammers of terrorism and dictatorship, not to mention Syria, the (March 14) General Secretariat underlines that the election of a new president according to the Constitution and the Lebanese political system's mechanisms has become more than necessary to foil the impending threats,” it said.
In a statement issued after its weekly meeting in Ashrafieh, the general secretariat added that this election would be “the strongest symbolic manifestation of the Lebanese people's adherence to their coexistence formula in the face of the disintegration of societies and countries in the region.”
“The roadmap devised by (former) Premier Saad Hariri is the most suitable for securing the requirements of Lebanese endurance” during this period, the general secretariat added.
On Friday, Hariri had proposed a “roadmap to protect Lebanon” that is based on rejecting any extension of the parliament's current term, electing a new president, holding parliamentary polls and laying out national plans to combat terrorism and address the Syrian refugee influx.
The General Secretariat condemned the ongoing practices of the jihadist Islamic State group in Iraq, “especially against Mosul's Christians,” saying “these acts are an insult to Islam, human dignity and personal and public freedoms.”
It urged all Muslim figures and organizations and all political forces in the Arab and Western worlds to “openly and clearly deplore these practices which do not honor all the monotheistic religions.”
Describing the persecution of Mosul's Christians as “a crime against humanity,” the General Secretariat called for immediate action aimed at “putting an end to the tragedy.”
Hundreds of Christians have fled Mosul following an ultimatum from the IS, which is spearheading a militant offensive in vast areas of northern and western Iraq.
Chaldean patriarch Louis Sako said there were still around 35,000 Christians in the city before the IS launched its sweeping offensive on June 9, proclaimed an Islamic “caliphate” straddling Iraqi and Syrian regions, and made Mosul their main Iraqi hub.
Y.R.
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