Aoun: Arrest of Soldiers Linked to Akkar Incident is Unacceptable
Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun slammed on Tuesday the sides that criticized the army’s role in the Kweikhat incident that led to the death of Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahed on Sunday, saying that they will regret their words.
He said after the Change and Reform bloc’s weekly meeting: “It’s unacceptable to arrest the soldiers after the incident.”
They should have instead been summoned for questioning, he remarked.
Abdul Wahed and Sheikh Mohammed Merheb were killed at an army checkpoint in northern Lebanon on Sunday, sparking outrage in the region and clashes in the Beirut neighborhood of Tariq al-Jedideh between Mustaqbal Movement and Arab Movement Party supporters that left two dead.
Aoun said: “The army will remain the only power that we trust. All the officials who criticized the army will regret their words.”
“Who allowed the residents of Akkar to carry arms?” he asked.
“The incident at the checkpoint was premeditated as they want to undermine the authority of the army,” noted the MP.
“Who gave them permission to block roads? Who allowed them to attack the army?” he wondered.
Heavy criticism was issued against the army during Abdul Wahed and Merheb’s funeral, with some officials and Akkar residents demanding the resignation of the army commander and the army’s withdrawal from the North.
“Who allowed them to harm Syria’s security from Lebanon?” Aoun asked.
He then quoted the eighth article of the Arab League charter that demands that each participating country respect the other, which also entails refraining from changing a particular country’s regime.
“The Lebanese government that has chosen to distance itself from the developments in Syria should also make its media distance itself from the Syrian crisis,” he noted.
“The government’s lax approach is what got us here,” declared the FPM leader.
“It’s time for the government to open its eyes otherwise it will face a fate worse than those carrying arms,” he stated.
“To what extent does the army force the residents of Akkar to commit to the national charter?” wondered Aoun.
Source: Naharnet
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