Saniora: Those Accusing Mustaqbal of Armament Trying to Justify Their Own
Head of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, ex-PM Fouad Saniora, on Sunday strongly condemned the latest deadly clashes in the northern city of Tripoli, stressing that the Mustaqbal Movement rejects “any act that could lead to unrest or a civil strife among the Lebanese, from whichever side it comes.”
Hitting back at those accusing Mustaqbal of arming itself, Saniora said “those voicing these remarks are trying to justify their armament and possession of arms,” noting that the movement is “against any form of armament” and that it wants the state to be in full control of security in the country.
“The possession of arms must be exclusively limited to the Lebanese state, and when we demand that we are also practicing it ourselves and we call on others to practice it,” Saniora told a Mustaqbal delegation at his Sidon office.
A ceasefire was announced on Saturday between the rival Tripoli neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen under the army’s sponsorship after fierce clashes that erupted Friday killed and wounded a number of civilians and troops.
The Sunni-majority coastal city has in the past few years been the scene of intense clashes between Sunni supporters of the anti-Syrian opposition and Alawite Muslims loyal to a Hizbullah-led alliance backed by Iran and Syria.
Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is fighting an unprecedented revolt against his regime, hails from the Alawite community, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
Also on Saturday, Rifaat Eid, deputy head of the Arab Democratic Party which is politically and militarily in control of Jabal Mohsen, accused Mustaqbal of operating an arms depot in the Tripoli neighborhood of Abi Samra which saw a deadly accidental blast on Friday.
In remarks to An Nahar daily on the seventh anniversary of ex-PM Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination and a year after former PM Saad Hariri’s government was toppled, Saniora said: “The March 8 experience in power led to a failure after another.”
“The experience with the government of Hizbullah says that it succeeded in spreading misery, poverty, confusion, economic regression, political failure and nothing more,” he said, adding “the Lebanese want results.”
He also accused the Hizbullah-led March 8 coalition of being involved in several scandals such as alleged violations carried out by the energy and telecommunications ministries and the rejection of Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas to sign the transportation allowance decree linked to a recent official wage hike.
Saniora said the red diesel scandal filled the pockets of those involved in it while people suffered at their homes over the lack of the household heating supply during the winter season.
The scandal erupted last month after people throughout Lebanon began complaining of a red diesel shortage during a one-month government subsidy.
Complaints were also made that huge amounts of red diesel were sold to oil distribution companies by the Deir Ammar refinery in northern Lebanon on January 18 -- the last day of the government subsidy of LL3,000 per jerry can.
The oil companies have reportedly made millions of dollars in profits after selling an alleged 8 million liters at a nonsubsidized price.
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