Some Parties Purposely “Nationalize” External Conflicts to sustain stalemate
March 14 General Coordinator Fares Soueid told LBCI television on Saturday that “external complications negatively affect Lebanon,” stating that some parties “nationalize” external conflicts with the intention of maintaining the country’s current political impasse.
Soueid asserted, “In light of our past common struggles, we do not agree with the political conduct of Democratic Gathering bloc leader MP Walid Jumblatt.” He also said “Christians do not need protection from anyone.”
According to Soueid, the Lebanese Forces are a “peaceful and democratic party,” and LF leader Samir Geagea’s adversaries tend to unfairly “distort” his image.
With regard to Hezbollah, Soueid said that the party’s “calculations are different from other parties’,” and that “its illegitimate weapons and power enables the obstruction of any decision that threatens the party’s interests.” He said Hezbollah operates independently of state authority and wants “a passive official state” –Lebanon—to cover its activities.
As such, he stated, Hezbollah “is unilaterally blackmailing the government.”
Soueid said, “There are two Arab perspectives, one that tolerates Iranian influence, and one that considers Iran a threat,” adding that regardless of the two, “we must await the outcome of the Iranian-European dialogue.”