Mashnouq, Derbas Reject Self-Security, Urge Bigger Municipal Police Role
Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq and Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas categorically rejected on Friday all calls for self-security in the face of the growing security concerns in the country, urging a bigger security role for municipalities.
“A lot of parties have spread rumors and calls for self-security as an excuse to take up arms,” Mashnouq said at a seminar on the role of municipalities which was organized by the Kataeb Party.
“Such calls and rumors pose threats to all Lebanese and serve the goals of Lebanon's old and new enemies,” the minister warned.
He rejected self-security calls as a “stab against the state's sovereignty and the dignity of security institutions."
“Calls for creating statelets within the state are reviving the dreams of some parties who are seeking dominance and hegemony,” Mashnouq pointed out.
“We always reject any 'alternative state' and any replacement of security agencies,” he went on to say.
“Security coordination between the army, security institutions and municipalities has become a necessity because the distribution of missions would yield positive results,” Mashnouq urged.
Speaking at the same seminar, Derbas voiced support for Mashnouq's call for “expanding the mission of municipal police in order to avoid any attempt at self-security.”
“The government has taken a firm stance and decided that the refugee influx must stop. The interior minister informed U.N. officials of this and the step is now being implemented,” Derbas added.
The conflict in Syria has regularly spilled over into Lebanon, with the border region often particularly volatile.
The Lebanese army fought deadly battles with jihadists from al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State in early August, after they crossed the border and overran the northeastern town of Arsal.
The militants abducted around 35 troops and policemen as they withdrew from the town and have so far executed three of them, which has created a backlash against Syrian refugees in the country.
There are already more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, which has a population of just four million people.
Many are already living in informal encampments on farmland or empty fields in parts of the country.
The refugee influx has put massive pressure on the country's limited resources and contributed to rising tensions in a nation with a delicate sectarian balance and bitter memories from a 15-year civil war.
Security concerns were further stoked after the ruthless Islamic State group seized vast swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory and committed atrocities against minorities.
Y.R.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/151632 |