Kataeb Urges Unity against Extremist Threat: Releasing Captive Soldiers Must Be Daily Priority
The Kataeb party expressed on Monday its fears over the spread of Islamist extremism in the region and Lebanon, stressing the need for internal unity to face this threat.
It added after its weekly politburo meeting that the release of captive soldiers and policemen held by Islamists should be a “daily priority.”
“When faced with these existential threats, we have no choice but to unite, even if out of necessity, to save the country and citizens before it is too late,” it remarked.
“The case of captive soldiers and policemen is a national duty that requires political and popular consensus,” it noted.
It urged the authorities and citizens against falling victim to “blackmail that may threaten the morale of the army and security forces, which may lead the country towards the unknown.”
“We should not rest until the captives are released and we should not abandon our national and judicial sovereignty,” said the Kataeb party.
The government should be given the opportunity to determine the best strategy to ensure the release of the soldiers and policemen, it added.
It therefore stressed the need to return to the state, respect the Baabda Declaration, and adopt neutrality, “without which Lebanon's salvation cannot be achieved.”
“Officials should overcome petty interests and stage the presidential elections and later parliamentary ones to safeguard democratic practices,” it continued.
A number of soldiers and policemen were abducted in August following clashes between the army and Islamists in the northeastern border town of Arsal.
The five-day clashes erupted after the army arrested a member of the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front.
Five of “Sunni” captives were released over the weekend, while the sides behind their arrests have laid down conditions for the release of the others.
The Islamists on Sunday linked the release of the Shiite captives to Hizbullah refraining from intervening in clashes in Syria's al-Qalamun region.
M.T.
Y.R.
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