March 14: For a Neutral, Salvation Govt. that would Launch Dialogue on All Illegal Arms

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

The March 14 forces on Thursday called for forming a “neutral, salvation government,” revealing that they will “very soon submit an initiative” to President Michel Suleiman that is “aimed at confronting the attempt to ruin Lebanon.”

“The Syrian regime wants to destroy the temple over everyone's heads and it is depicting Lebanon as an incubator of terrorism,” said a statement recited by former premier Fouad Saniora following an emergency meeting for the March 14 forces at the Center House in downtown Beirut.

“If the state's resignation from its duties in 1975 had led to a war that lasted several years, it is today urged not repeat the bitter experience,” March 14 said.

“Today, the government is complicit because it did not dare to respond to the Syrian regime's claims at the U.N. and we laud the president of the republic for categorically denying the claims,” added the statement.

The March 14 forces stressed that the army is “the guarantee for civil peace,” stressing that they “will not let Lebanon descend into civil war.”

“We, Muslims and Christians, are full partners and do not want to live under the mercy of weapons,” they added.

The March 14 forces noted that “confronting the conspiracy of ruining Lebanon and the collapse of its state requires the resignation of the government and the formation of a government of civil peace, a neutral salvation government that would help the president relaunch dialogue over arms -- all arms -- implement the national dialogue table's resolutions and oversee free elections.”

They also called for the creation of a “national safety net by all the faithful and from all sects and regions in Lebanon and the diaspora in order to prevent civil war and build Lebanon's permanent peace.”

The March 14 forces warned that “the dangerous events the country has been witnessing indicate that the Syrian regime has taken the decision to blow up the state and reignite war.”

“March 14 cannot remain cross-handed, that's why it calls for forming a neutral salvation government in order to launch a national dialogue conference that would spare Lebanon the threat of collapse and disintegration.”

“We announce that we will very soon submit an initiative to the president aimed at confronting the attempt to ruin Lebanon, which will be based on: the adherence of the Lebanese to the state project, legitimate institutions, the Taef Accord and the Constitution; a salvation government; resuming dialogue over all weapons; stressing the role of the army as the institution which is the guarantee for national unity; and keeping Lebanon away from the policies of regional and international axes,” March 14 added.

March 14’s emergency meeting follows the weekend killing of two clerics at an army checkpoint in Akkar, a mainly Sunni Muslim region whose inhabitants are hostile to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The killings ignited street battles in the capital Beirut overnight Sunday-Monday that left two people dead and 18 wounded.

On Wednesday, multiple violent incidents took place in several areas of the capital, which officials said were non-political in nature.

They included a shootout in the Caracas neighborhood in west Beirut, which left two people dead and six police and army troops injured.

Late last week, the Qatari, Emirati, Bahraini and Kuwaiti authorities issued warnings against travel to Lebanon.

Comments 12
Missing allouchi 24 May 2012, 21:35

The Lebanese need to be united right now...This is a positive move, let's see if M8 reciprocates.

Default-user-icon MUSTAPHA O. GHALAYINI (Guest) 24 May 2012, 23:54

M8 has to wait for the nuclear negotiations

Missing helicopter 25 May 2012, 04:16

Karim.... your pro Syrian/Iranian tilt never stops to amaze me either. You love those 2 countries more than you love your Lebanon. You can deny this accusation all you want, but it is very apparent in every comment you make.

Thumb lubnan_awalan 24 May 2012, 22:11

If not they would undermine the last oppurtunity to prohibit civil strife :/

Missing ulpianus 25 May 2012, 01:53

Nice words. Abscence of action. Furthermore there is much missing in sanyouras programs.

What is he going to do for corruption for example?

I´d say let this government sit until the next elections and stop playing with the country by changing government every 9 months...

Even if the gov is not effective, changing it now would just add confusion and waste time.

Default-user-icon Haifa (Guest) 25 May 2012, 02:02

Where from Seniora is going to get a neutral government? March 14 or March 8 would not accept a government unless they are part of it.GOD HELP LEBANON AND PROTECT LEBANON FROM ITS POTICIANS.

Thumb geha 25 May 2012, 06:22

the problem with this government is that it is one sided, and you can expect allsorts of issues during the elections that would lead to a major meltdown of the state.
hizbushaitan is afraid that should elections happen today, they would not have the majority, which is what these power hungry militia men cannot accept.
furthermore, mikati has lost any credibility left after not replying firmly to the al jaafari's letter: he is simply a syrian executor, against his own country.
so this cabinet needs to go if stability is what they want.

Thumb geha 25 May 2012, 10:50

to manage the upcoming elections in a fair manner (if you care about fairness) and to make sure the cabinet is not one sided, this government is not suitable.
as well an m14 cbinet at this stage is not good too.
what is needed is a centrist cabinet that would really dissassociate lebanon from what is going on in syria and manage fair elections.
the alternative is to go towards a civil war.
if you undertstand these comments then fine, if not, then I expected too much of you.

Missing ulpianus 25 May 2012, 12:21

I think I would in principle agree with FT here as a one sided government is something unsusual in Lebanon and we "had" hopes that it would for once take decisions and actually do something.

SO what are we afraid of? give them the rest of the time before elections, and if they did not manage doing anything this will result in people electing other more effective politicians.

For Gehas concern about distancing ourselves from what is happening in Syria: Don´t you feel that is actually what this government officially(!) is doing. Even though we know (?) that Hezb, Amal and tayyar leaderships support bashaar, the gov has openly in official situations distanced itself while the opposition clearly supports the revolution.

even though we might like that on a personal level, it´s not healthy for a country as small as Lebanon to leave the path of neautrality.

Thumb geha 25 May 2012, 12:45

ulpanius,
this government never distanced itself from the events in syria:
- al aysameh
- syrian abductions returned to syria
- mansour comments at the arab league in favor of the syrian regime.
- al jaafari letter to the UN and no response from this government
- ...
things cannot wait till next year while civil war is at our door.

Missing ulpianus 25 May 2012, 13:39

Geha,

I understand your points as I´m of the same opinion. They should be tackled and solved.

Even if they are connected with Syria though, I find them disconnected from the syrian revolution.

By distancing, I mean mikati that clearly and several times said that Lebanon is to be neutral.

Add to that, we never had a government that tackled the "syrian issues".

Hm. Delicate problems here. The only thing I´m sure about now, is a changing of government will not be a smoothly done thing and in these sensetive times, Stability is important. Thus the idea of waiting!

Missing peace 25 May 2012, 13:55

if the gvt resigns it will be adding a crisis to the crisis.