Suleiman promises military will prevent outbreak of civil war
The commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces vowed Wednesday that civil war will not take place in Lebanon, adding that while the LAF was working to keep the situation under control, “politicians manage to stir tensions.”
“There will be no returning back to the 1975-1990 Civil War because the LAF will not remain passive,” General Michel Suleiman told An-Nahar Youth weekly supplement in an interview to be fully published on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Lebanon braced on Wednesday for a mass rally by supporters of the Western-backed government to commemorate the third anniversary of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri”s 2005 assassination.
Pro-government leaders have called on hundreds of thousands of demonstrators to converge Thursday on Martyrs Square in central Beirut, near the seafront site of the car bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others on February 14, 2005.
Premier Fouad Siniora, in a televised speech on Wednesday, urged the Lebanese to take part in Thursday”s mass rally, “to pay tribute for a man who fought for Lebanon”s democracy.”
“We ask our fellow Lebanese to join us tomorrow so as to vanquish hegemony and promote democracy and sovereignty,” Siniora added.
Also Wednesday, Hariri”s son Saad leader of the parliamentary majority, urged the Lebanese to “participate massively in tomorrow”s gathering.”
“Lebanon”s sovereignty and democracy are targeted, therefore all Lebanese groups – including [opposition] MP Michel Aoun”s Free Patriotic Movement – ought to join us,” Hariri told LBCI television in an interview.
The rally is to be held on the same day that Hizbullah is to bury one of its top commanders, Imad Mughniyeh, who was assassinated by a bomb late Tuesday in Damascus. The resistance has accused Israel of the killing.
The Hariri anniversary protest comes amid high tension in Lebanon which has been without a president since November, in its worst political crisis since the end of the 1975-1990 Civil War.
Scooters have been banned from traveling in and around Beirut on Thursday and civilians have been ordered not to carry weapons through Friday, even licensed ones.
An army spokesman told AFP that “troops will be deployed throughout the capital to ensure security.”
Concern of unrest have also prompted many foreign embassies in Lebanon to urge their citizens to observe extreme caution and avoid travel in the capital on Thursday.
“The US Embassy encourages American citizens in Lebanon to limit all but essential travel on February 13 and 14,” a statement issued by the mission said. “Americans who absolutely need to travel on these days should maintain a heightened level of awareness.”
Vans mounted with loudspeakers criss-crossed Beirut and other cities around the country, urging people to join the rally, while posters calling for mass participation were also in evidence in many areas.
“In 2005 you took to the streets to force them out. In 2008 you must do the same so that they don”t come back,” read the messages on large billboards in and around Beirut, referring to Syrian troops
Hariri”s assassination sparked international outrage and was blamed on Syria, which has denied any involvement.