Naharnet - March 14: Delegation Will Visit Arsal to Defy Govt. Decision to Distance Itself from Syrian Refugees, May 9 2012

The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday the government’s failure to cater to the needs of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, accusing it of imposing a military and security siege against them.

It announced in a statement after its weekly meeting that it will lead a delegation to visit the town of Arsal later this week “in order to break the siege and reject the government’s decision to distance itself from the refugees’ needs.”

The delegation will be comprised of political, civil society, and media officials.

It is aimed at “guaranteeing the dignity of the refugees in line with constitutional and humanitarian demands,” explained the general secretariat.

Syrian refugees had flooded northern Lebanon to escape the Syrian regime’s crackdown against protests that began in March 2011.

Addressing Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun’s recent statements on Saturday and Tuesday, the March 14 General Secretariat deemed his remarks as “civil war rhetoric.”

It accused him of seeking restore the atmosphere of the civil war, holding him responsible for the deterioration of the political rhetoric in Lebanon, which started upon his return to the country from exile in 2005.

“Aoun has turned against his Lebanese identity,” it declared.

The general secretariat accused the MP of abusing his power when he headed a transitional government in 1988, saying that he waged “futile wars that toppled state institutions, wasted the lives of youths, and created spite among the Lebanese.”

“His statements are clear reflection of his moral bankruptcy,” stated the March 14 forces.

A dispute has erupted between Aoun and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat over the former’s insistence to adopt proportional representation for the parliamentary electoral law, which the latter has rejected.

Aoun said on Saturday that proportional representation would reflect Jumblat’s real political weight.

“Jumblat considers himself the only logical person… But the proportional representation would reflect his real political weight,” he remarked in a ceremony marking the 7th anniversary of his return from exile in Paris in May 2005.

The FPM leader noted that he will not surrender to Jumblat’s false threats as “all your threats are lies, do whatever you want.”

He later threatened on Tuesday to strip the MP of his immunity and put him on trial.

Jumblat had said on Friday that the “irrational movement led by Michel Aoun is paralyzing everything.”

The Druze leader accused Aoun of “seeking to control all the organs of the state: judiciary, security, politics, administration and elections.”

A dispute has also erupted between Aoun and President Michel Suleiman with the MP accusing the president of disrupting executive power for the first time in the country’s history.

“The president has a problem with himself,” he added.

The FPM leader has been at loggerheads with Suleiman over several issues and mainly the appointment of the head of the Higher Judicial Council. They took their dispute to the social networking sites last week when the FPM chief accused the president of begging for his seat.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/39650