Mustaqbal bloc MP Nohad al-Mashnouq noted Friday that the recent clashes in Borj Abi Haidar have removed all reasons for maintaining weapons in Beirut and have stripped the arms of their "holy" label.al-Mashnouq is neither the first nor only Lebanese official to publicly state that there is a need to make Beirut weapons-free.
He told the daily Asharq al-Awsat: "We will not back down from our peaceful and civil resistance and our demand that Beirut be devoid of weapons."
"This is our right and duty and not a sectarian or confessional demand," he added.
"This is a natural right for all residents of administrative Beirut regardless of their sects," the MP stated.
Though the cause of Tuesday's clash is not known for sure, some suggest that it is related to opposition to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, investigating the possibility that Hezbollah was behind former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination.
How ironic that just as the assassination triggered the short-lived Cedar Revolution, efforts to thwart the investigation into that assassination may unify Lebanese and bring about some small level of change.
Technorati Tag: Lebanon and Hezbollah and Rafik Hariri and Special Tribunal For Lebanon.
1 comment:
Hezbollah has always been pro-Syrian but now the Syrians have made clear their support for Hezbollah is conditioned on the latter following the Syrian line. If Hezbollah goes out of bounds, it can expect to suffer a more than a few dead gun men in a mosque shoot-out.
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