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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Aoun threatens with street protests |
| 2007-10-06 |
| Free Patriotic Movement leader Michen Aoun threatened that his supporters would take to the streets if fellow partisans detained by police on charges of paramilitary training were not released. The FPM also denied Friday that some of its members were undergoing paramilitary training, but rather "having fun." "They were just out having fun with real weapons but not undergoing any military training as such," said FPM spokesman Alain Aoun. His comments came after security officials on Thursday announced that two FPM members had been arrested for undergoing paramilitary training, fanning tension ahead of a delayed presidential vote. The security forces also released photographs of uniformed young men and women armed with automatic rifles. Authorities said the group was receiving instructions on the use of weapons in the Jbeil region north of the capital. The FPM spokesman said the group had been in charge of protecting residence of the movement's leader outside Beirut in 2005 and that the photos released by the authorities were taken at least 18 months ago. "These kids made a mistake," he said. "But we're not talking here about combat units as the ruling majority is claiming." But Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Fatfat, a member of the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora, said the government could not tolerate political parties each having their own security forces. "Such a situation could lead to a new civil war," he warned. Under the Taif agreement that ended Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, all factions disarmed their militias with the exception of the Shiite militant group Hizbullah which fought last year's war with Israel. Aoun, a candidate in this month's vote for a new president, is allied with Hizbullah and the Amal movement of parliament speaker Nabih Berri, which are backed by Syria and Iran. The two sides have been deadlocked over the choice of a new president to replace pro-Syrian incumbent Emile Lahoud and a first parliamentary session convened last month to elect a successor failed to achieve a quorum. |
| Posted by:Fred |