Soaid Announces Jbeil Candidacy, Lashes Out at Hizbullah
March 14 general secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid announced his candidacy in the district of Jbeil reiterating that the June 7 polls singling out Hizbullah”s campaigning in the area as an attempt to control decision making.
"Those who prevailed in the face of the Syrian intelligence services and Lebanese-Syrian security apparatuses will not be intimidated by your attempt to take hold of decision-making" in the district of Jbeil, Soaid told a press conference in the city. He was referring to Hizbullah”s electoral campaigns in the Metn, Kesserwan, Jbeil and the Batroun over the past ten days
"We welcome you in our area as a Lebanese. We welcome you as a peacemaker. Jbeil, and especially its Shiite residents, do not tolerate your weapons or your foreign commitments," Soaid told Hizbullah.
Soaid was careful to exclude Jbeil”s Shiite community from his tirade on Hizbullah.
"To our brothers in the land of Jbeil: You are a pivotal and indispensable part of our area”s (social) fabric," he said.
"Here in Jbeil you are not dhimmis (non-Muslims enjoying Muslim protection). You are not a Trojan horse here. We both believe in coexistence, which distinguishes our area and transcends all else," Soaid said.
Soaid then addressed President Michel Suleiman describing him as Jbeil”s "gift to all of Lebanon."
He recalled Suleiman”s inaugural speech, which called for Lebanon to be governed "by the rule of law and the Constitution. The state will not be built on compromises and settlements that violate civil peace."
"The upcoming elections are critical and fateful," Soaid said.
"The elections will either pave the way for the transition to an effective state or they will allow the hell of mini states to continue," he warned.
Depending on the outcome, Lebanon will either become "a state of peace and stability or a state of open war," Soaid said, warning against "sacrificing Lebanon for the sake of this or that alliance which favors a never ending war."
He called for Lebanon to be "neutralized" in the midst of the region”s armed conflicts by the "full and strict implantation of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701."