The Daily Star - Metn villagers rap Kanaan over electricity grid - August 12, 2011

BEIRUT: Local committees from several Metn villages responded Thursday to Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan’s comments on the controversial project to install a high-tension electricity grid in Metn, the Central News Agency said.
Mansourieh residents demonstrated Wednesday against the government’s decision to approve the completion of a controversial high-tension electricity grid in the village. A meeting to discuss the issue was held between opposition lawmakers and representatives of the residents in the town of Ain Najem.
After residents condemned Kanaan for not attending, the MP said: “I wasn’t notified of the meeting that took place in Ain Najem … but I will support any solution that preserves the health of families and guarantees the availability of power in the country.”
In response to Kanaan’s statement, local committees from the Metn villages of Ain Najem, Ain Saade, Beit Mery, Dayshounieh, and Ailout issued a statement Thursday, saying “residents and their representatives have attempted several times in the past six months to contact [Kanaan] but His Excellency was not available.”
“So what’s the use of inviting [Kanaan] to a conference or a sit-in that [residents] carry out protesting the installation of a high-tension electricity grid in their area,” the statement added.
The statement added that Kanaan had been one of the first officials to oppose the project, and called on him to support the residents, especially as agreement grows on the health risks of electromagnetic fields from high-tension electricity grids.