Areas Off-Limits To Army No Longer Acceptable
In a press conference on Friday in Sydney, March 14 alliance General Secretariat member Michel Mouawad said that it was not acceptable to transform Lebanon into a rocket launching pad to achieve foreign interests.
He called for restricting arms, including those in the Palestinian refugee camps, to legitimate military institutions, adding the state should be the sole maker of war-and-peace decisions. He noted that the presence of security zones, which were off-limits to the Lebanese army, would no longer be acceptable.
Mouawad added that the upcoming parliamentary elections would be decisive, since the voters would choose between either the state or “the state within the state.”
He criticized the March 8 coalition for criticizing the centrist bloc and, in doing so, indirectly attacking President Michel Sleiman.
“If Hezbollah and March 8 become legitimate, this will present a huge danger on Lebanon,” he added.
Mouawad concluded that emigrants and for the first time would be able to participate in the 2013 elections.