BEIRUT: An MTV crew was assaulted Tuesday in a village in north Lebanon, several days after locals from the same village accosted a delegation from the Maronite Patriarchate preventing it from carrying out a land survey.
A number of individuals in the predominantly Shiite village of Lassa in the district of Jbeil smashed a camera belonging to an MTV crew, which was reporting from the village, forcing it to halt its work.
Last week, locals from the village confronted a delegation from the Maronite Patriarchate, accompanied by topographical experts, who were surveying lands belonging to Jounieh’s Maronite archdiocese in line with a judicial order.
The delegation’s visit came following news that illegal structures were being built on archdiocese property.
The residents made insults against the delegation, preventing it from surveying a certain area, which prompted security forces to step in.
Fares Soueid, the general coordinator of the March 14 General Secretariat, said that Tuesday’s incident was “political par excellence,” accusing Hezbollah of responsibility by allowing some people to infringe on the property of others.
“Rudeness has reached a level by which they assaulted the press today,” Soueid told the Central News Agency.
“Condemnation is not enough in this regard and authorities are invited to take measures, chief among them is the arrest of those who assaulted reporters on orders by Interior Minister Marwan Charbel,” Soueid added.
Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun said that municipalities and the Interior Ministry have to step in to resolve the disputes.
“As for the incident of Lassa, we have given a chance for relevant authorities to survey [the land]. The Interior Ministry bears responsibility because a skirmish has broken out, but this does not prevent a meeting to resolve the dispute,” Aoun told reporters, after chairing the weekly meeting of his Change and Reform bloc.
“The law and the government are the judge, every person has his papers and arguments,” Aoun said.
Separately, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai held talks with committees from the endowment of the district of Jbeil.
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