Jumblat Warns of Vacuum in State Institutions, Questions Opposition to Extending Qahwaji's Term
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat voiced on Monday concerns over a number of local and regional issues, starting with the vacuum at state institutions, namely the army.
He wondered how some members of parliament's bureau had gone back on the decision to extend the term of Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji.
He added in weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa website that these powers “do not care for the position of the army commander because they are too busy making political theories.”
“It is as if they are seeking to punish the commander for the army's role in maintaining peace and stability,” Jumblat stated.
“We warn of the ongoing campaign against the army and the tarnishing of its achievements in the southern city of Sidon,” he continued.
“We are also concerned with the political and popular campaigns that are seeking to tarnish the city's noble and glorious history in resisting Israeli occupation,” added the MP.
“We fear the spread of extremism at the expense of moderation,” he said.
Last month, Sidon witnessed two-day clashes between the army and Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir that left 18 soldiers dead and 50 wounded.
More than 20 of al-Asir's supporters were killed, according to a security official.
Dozens of them were also arrested, but there was no sign of the cleric.
The Free Patriotic Movement led by MP Michel Aoun has openly opposed attempts to extend the tenure of Qahwaji, criticizing the Mustaqbal Movement for seeking an extension.
Aoun said that since the post was reserved for the Maronite sect, then Christians before others should decide his successor.
Qahwaji's term ends this September when he turns 60, the maximum age for the post of the army commander.
Sharp dispute over this issue emerged between the FPM on the one hand and Hizbullah and the Mustaqbal Movement on the other.
Commenting on Hizbullah, Jumblat said: “We warn of the resistance directing its weapons against any side except for the Israeli enemy that still exists and whose threats persist.”
“We fear that resistance's participation in the Syrian crisis, at foreign orders, will eliminate all of its past achievements,” he noted.
The PSP leader also voiced his concern over the ongoing governmental vacuum and the poor economic situation in the country.
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