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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hezbollah militia has taken over army’s role at border, alleges Sami Gemayel
2019-05-05
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Hezbollah’s control over Leb’s governmental institutions will turn the country into an "axis of resistance", with Beirut’s foreign policy now being dictated by one party’s views, Sami Gemayel, the head of Leb’s Kataeb opposition party, told Al Arabiya in an exclusive interview.

Speaking to Al Arabiya’s Reema al-Maktabi, Gemayel said that Leb today is "aligned with the Iran-Hezbollah-Bashir al-Assad axis", adding that several political parties "agreed to electing Hezbollah’s candidate as president of the republic and to then manage political life under a clear ceiling which is not to discuss Hezbollah’s weapons."

"It’s become clear that Leb’s foreign and defensive strategic decision is in the hands of Hezbollah while other parties are concerned with electricity, waste, economic matters, contracting out," Gemayel added.

Gemayel also said that the problem concerning his party, which he says is the only opposition party in Leb’s parliament, is that Hezbollah has taken up the role of defending the country’s borders, which should be the task of the national army.

"Kataeb has the problem of all states that respect themselves, states that are supposed to be sovereign and independent. There’s something called the national army whose role is to defend the country’s borders. There is no country in the world where there is a militia tasked by the state to perform this duty," he said.

Currently, the Kataeb opposes Hezbollah over many of its domestic and regional policies.

The party believes that Hezbollah is trying to impose its culture and will on the Lebanese society by means of its illegitimate arms, thus undermining Leb’s illusory sovereignty and pluralistic nature.

Kataeb has also publicly opposed the group’s close ties with Iran and Syria’s Bashir al-Assad.

Posted by:Fred

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