March 8, PSP Unite in Rejecting Deal with Islamist Gunmen

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The March 8 alliance and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat completely reject any bargain in the case of the abducted Lebanese security personnel, As Safir newspaper reported on Wednesday.

“No agreement (with gunmen) will be made,” sources close to the March 8 coalition told the newspaper, warning of the risks posed by such a demeanor.

The army command, which isn't interfering in the negotiations with the Islamist gunmen, reportedly expressed belief that the case is “very dangerous” and requires a “delicate” handling.

On August 2, gunmen belonging to the two al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) overran the northeastern border town of Arsal as clashes erupted with the Lebanese army, killing 19 troops.

Several soldiers and policemen were kidnapped as the Islamist gunmen withdrew from the town. Some have been released recently, the latest batch on Saturday evening.

The army command, according to source, had warned of the repercussions of any negative move by the state, expressing concern of the increase of sectarian tension locally.

The source considered that Qatar and Turkey are the most appropriate channels that could negotiate the release of the abducted soldiers and policemen.

Media reports have said that the jihadists have a list of demands, including the withdrawal of Hizbullah from battles in Syria and the release of ten Islamist inmates held at Roumieh prison in return for each captive soldier and policeman.

Judicial sources ruled out in comments published in As Safir newspaper a general amnesty to release the prisoners as it should be issued by either the parliament, which is not convening, or by the president, but the post has been vacant since the end of Michel Suleiman's tenure in May.

The sources said that any general amnesty also requires judicial sentences, but the trials of Islamist inmates haven't been carried out yet.

“The only real solution is to swiftly stage the trials, which is a necessity despite the demands of the abductors,” the sources added.

The March 8 alliance and Jumblat, according to As Safir, would reportedly agree on any sentences issued by the judiciary regarding the Islamist inmates.

In 2012, a new courtroom was inaugurated at Roumieh facility to speed up the trials for the Fatah al-Islam inmates, who are held in the prison's bloc B.

Roumieh, the oldest and largest of Lebanon's overcrowded prisons, has witnessed sporadic prison breaks in recent years and escalating riots over the past months as inmates living in poor conditions demand better treatment.

H.K.

G.K.

Comments 25
Default-user-icon kazan (Guest) 03 September 2014, 08:26

Authorities must understand that non educated people ,unemployed and with less than average intelligence are ideal targets to be manipulated and have nothing to lose to become a time bomb . Fact is in this country ten of thousands of people have this profile .

Thumb _mowaten_ 03 September 2014, 11:10

"the jihadists have a list of demands"... yea right, here's the people's demand, and it's not a list, just one point:

kill them all.

Default-user-icon paraeels (Guest) 03 September 2014, 11:25

and of course your represent the people. The only people you represent are iran and the khomeini doctrine.

Default-user-icon citygirl (Guest) 03 September 2014, 11:34

mowaten you're in no position to tell anyone what they should do. keep your whining to yourself you're just an annoying background noise.

Thumb _mowaten_ 03 September 2014, 12:37

oh here are the fake account trolls!

Default-user-icon cityboy-mowaten (Guest) 03 September 2014, 12:50

you omitted to say you not only live in lebanon,but specifically in dahiyeh.

Default-user-icon joekiserweini (Guest) 03 September 2014, 13:21

mowaten dear living in lebanon does not make you LEBANESE. Being lebanese is something people like you will never understand. If you look in the mirror, you will see an iranian mirror of yourself.

Thumb geha 03 September 2014, 15:49

the stupidity of some comments! kill them all!
yes kill all extremists including hizbushaitan, and to those who wish to defend hizbushaitan, I say: go F--k yourselves.
hizbushaitan is an extremist terrorist iranian entity not better in any way than the sunni extremists.

now to the question at hand: kindly advise why it was OK to negotiate with terrorists to free the nuns, and the so called haj guys.
are our Lebanese soldiers not worth freeing?

Thumb _mowaten_ 03 September 2014, 15:50

censorship hits again. reposting:

and yes, it is the people's wish. unlike you guys in your kibbutzim, i live in Lebanon and hear everyday what everyone thinks of these brainless beheaders.

Thumb _mowaten_ 03 September 2014, 15:57

cityboy-mowaten (Guest): i do not, but i fail to see how that would be relevant anyway (except for binary-minded sectarian simpletons)

joekiserweini (Guest): and who made you the citizenship arbiter? you speak as if you think you have some sort of importance and i should seek your approval for being lebanese. it's actually endearing.

geha: your insults and trashy talk only show how week and bankrupt of arguments you are. you're not going anywhere with your "hizbushaitain this!!!" and "hizbushaitain thaaaat!!!". we got it, you hate hezbollah because they really hurt your ego by busting all your favorite terrorists. but you can either get over it, or choke on it, nobody cares.

Default-user-icon Tchad (Guest) 03 September 2014, 17:18

No the peoples demand is hizbelshaytan out of syria, surrunder ure weapons to the lebanese state and respect the law!!!!

Default-user-icon Tchad (Guest) 03 September 2014, 17:26

And by the way mowaten, don't use the lebanese flag as a picture to hide ure hypocrisy, instead put the flag of the hizb elshaytan, its written on it the islamic state in lebanon.....Or choose the iranian one, ashraflak ya ashraf el ........

Default-user-icon Massoud Dariush Bahadur (Guest) 03 September 2014, 14:56

My brother just called me and said you are back in business. I had to log on and read your comment, flamethrower! Something another

Default-user-icon insane.flamethowr (Guest) 03 September 2014, 15:10

poetry in motion flamethrower, just poetry

Missing ysurais 03 September 2014, 09:18

“No agreement (with gunmen) will be made,” yes LEB should NOT deal with these terrorist syrian based jihadist..and we should start by decapitating some of them as they did to our soldier/s. we have plenty of their relatives in Arsal..

Missing ysurais 03 September 2014, 09:18

“No agreement (with gunmen) will be made,” yes LEB should NOT deal with these terrorist syrian based jihadist..and we should start by decapitating some of them as they did to our soldier/s. we have plenty of their relatives in Arsal..

Default-user-icon illiterate-Southern (Guest) 03 September 2014, 11:04

well said Southern

Thumb _mowaten_ 03 September 2014, 11:06

the only criminal association here is between geagea, hariri, jolani and baghdadi.

Default-user-icon iranian citizen (Guest) 03 September 2014, 11:23

you speak for a criminal terrorist organization, mowaten

Thumb _mowaten_ 03 September 2014, 12:42

oh do i? and who do you speak for, trolling guest?

Missing imperatrice 03 September 2014, 11:27

Waynon fer2et hassabal FT and the guys, wayno roukouz w kahwaji
These were soldiers sent on a mission to defend the country, they had no say jn your freakin political choices and now we have no say to free them from barbarians
Shame on you, you are no better than their assassinators

Default-user-icon roukuz (Guest) 03 September 2014, 14:58

does shamel roukuz take orders from the muslim scholars?

Default-user-icon lou Williams (Guest) 03 September 2014, 15:07

banned again flamethrower.... why!

Thumb _mowaten_ 03 September 2014, 11:39

by bowing to terrorists demands? by letting criminals out of prison and letting the number of terrorists grow?
you know what happens when you give kidnappers what they want? they do it again, and again, and again.

Thumb _mowaten_ 03 September 2014, 12:41

interesting to hear the crushed version of me whining. actually no, not really interesting.