March 14 Rejects Security Coordination with Syria
The March 14 alliance on Wednesday rejected security coordination with Syria prior to establishing diplomatic ties and building confidence between the two states.
March 14 general secretariat, in a statement, stated that "there is no point in security coordination under the umbrella of the higher Lebanese-Syrian council."
It urged Premier Fouad Saniora”s cabinet to "refrain from adopting any decision in this regard pending the regaining of confidence and completion of procedures to set up diplomatic ties and the assigning of ambassadors."
The statement also criticized a defense strategy blueprint that had been proposed by Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun.
"Spreading of weapons outside the framework of constitutional institutions leads to domestic wars, from which the Lebanese people have suffered a lot," the statement said.
"As March 14 forces are trying to restrict weapons to regular state forces, others are trying to spread them across Lebanon under the slogan of the resisting people."
Aoun”s defense strategy blueprint "contradicts UNSCR 1701," it stressed.
"This would strip Lebanon of international protection and puts it in confrontation with the international community," the statement noted.