 Chouf MP Walid Jumblatt slammed Prime Minister Omar Karami Friday for his comments the previous day regarding Lebanon's dependence on a Syrian presence in the country. Following Cabinet's weekly session on Thursday, the premier had bluntly said that the Lebanese Army was not yet ready to fill the "vacuum" if Syria withdrew its army and might collapse along the same sectarian lines that triggered off the Lebanese civil war.
| It would seem the government should have to answer for the poor state of the Lebanese army. My guess is that too many resources have been going into maintaining Hezbollah. |
During a radio talk show on Friday, Jumblatt said: "Karami should be brought to justice and tried for his statement." Following his meeting with the Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, Beirut MP Nabil de Freij also had harsh criticism for Karami, and said that the premier's remarks were an "insult" to the Lebanese Army. De Friej said: "What Karami said was first of all an insult to President Emile Lahoud, because he built the army following the end of the war."
| So he's saying the army is up to the task of defending the country without having to salute the Syrian hegemons? |
The Tripoli Gathering also issued a statement Friday criticizing Karami's statement, saying: "The government has crossed all the red lines, to the limits that Karami is threatening to divide the army and create instability in case Syria withdrew its forces from Beirut." Meanwhile, Metn MP Ghassan Mokheiber said he wished that Karami could be more responsible in his statements. Mokheiber said: "I wonder how he sees a possible civil war at a time that is witnessing such high levels of national unity."
| Perhaps because that's what was supposed to come of it? |
However, Lahoud said that the government would not allow any security breaches to take place. Lahoud said: "The passing away of Hariri was a great loss to Lebanon, and his assassination aimed at getting the country into a serious crisis." He added that whatever the result of Monday's Parliamentary session, all political parties in Lebanon would have to discuss the situation. Lahoud said: "Following the extension, I called for a dialogue to take place between all political parties in Lebanon, but unfortunately the opposition did not respond to this gesture."
| Maybe they're afraid somebody's going to try and bump them off? |
He added: "But our differences should not lead to the destruction of Lebanon." The president also asserted that investigations into Hariri's murder would continue until those behind it were known.
| And what're you gonna do if it's pinned on the Syrians? |
He said: "The government will cooperate with the investigators, because it is in Lebanon's best interest that the truth is revealed." Lahoud's remarks come amid a high state of tension in the country, with a public strike called for by the opposition expected to take place Monday when Parliament will discuss Hariri's killing and consider withdrawing confidence in the Cabinet. |