The Lebanese government disclosed that a secret underground telecommunications network has been set up by Hezbollah throughout south Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh revealed that the installation of underground cables, which run parallel to the state's phone system, had been "discovered by chance and following ample rumors" in the southern town of Zawtar al-Sharqieh in the Nabatiyeh district.
Hamadeh said authorities would launch a "speedy" probe into the set up of a new phone line networking by Hizbullah in south Lebanon. Hamadeh said that Defense Minister Elias Murr, Justice Minister Charles Rizk and Interior Minister Hassan Sabaa will join in efforts to look into the matter immediately. "(The ministry) has discovered by chance that a new telephone network is being created along that of the state in Zawtar al-Sharqieh," Hamadeh said in a radio interview.
He said that "technical reports" later showed that the work has expanded to reach Yohmor in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, with another wireless networking being set up between the port city of Tyre and Abbassieh as well as in other regions of the Tyre province. Hamadeh also uncovered similar works are underway in Beirut and the southern suburbs (Dahiyeh).
During a cabinet session on Monday, the ministers discussed what Hamadeh termed a "violation of the Lebanese sovereignty" and called for setting up a ministerial committee to investigate and settle the issue. Meanwhile, residents of Zawtar Sharqieh issued a statement attacking the cabinet's move regarding their village. Given the vast influence of Hezbollah, the tone of the village residents sounds all too familiar. "Residents of Zawtar al-Sharqieh were surprised by the government's measures designed to sidetrack the citizens from the real crises they are facing," the statement said. |