Mustaqbal, Hizbullah Begin Discussions on 'National Anti-Terror Strategy'
Al-Mustaqbal movement and Hizbullah announced Wednesday after their sixth dialogue session that they explored means to find a “national anti-terror strategy,” amid a continued dispute between them over the state's role in such a plan of action.
The conferees “discussed the mutual calls for finding a national anti-terror strategy and the debate was launched over its mechanisms,” the two parties said in a joint statement.
The dialogue session comes in the wake of al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri's return to Beirut to take part in a rally commemorating the tenth anniversary of the assassination of his father, former premier Rafik Hariri.
Although Hariri delivered a sharp-toned speech on the occasion, he affirmed that dialogue with Hizbullah will continue in order to “protect Lebanon.”
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah for his part stressed commitment to dialogue during a speech on Monday, endorsing Hariri's call for devising an anti-terror strategy.
Nasrallah, however, responded to Hariri's demand that Hizbullah withdraw its fighters from Syria by calling on all Lebanese to “go together to Syria and Iraq” to combat “the threat of terrorism.”
In an interview on Future TV, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq said discussions over the sought strategy consumed three hours of the sixth dialogue session.
“It is necessary to find a national anti-terror strategy under the sponsorship of the state, and we must exert efforts to combat terrorism on the basis of national consensus, away from some parties' regional alliances and commitments,” Mashnouq, who took part in the session, told the TV network.
Meanwhile, the joint statement said the two parties “positively evaluated the Bekaa's security plan and the steps that occurred to remove flags and pictures from various regions.”
The conferees also called on the political forces and leaders to contribute to the efforts aimed at curbing celebratory gunfire “during all occasions.”
Dialogue between the two parties had kicked off on December 23, 2014.
In previous sessions, the conferees agreed to remove political flags and banners from the streets to “defuse sectarian tensions,” speaking of “clear progress that might contribute to consolidating national stability.”
Y.R.
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