Charbel: Lebanon must end rifts to withstand Syria turmoil

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Lebanon risks being sucked into a worsening spiral of violence that has already begun to spill over from neighboring Syria unless its deeply divided leaders set aside their disputes, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said.

The situation was so tense that the tiny Arab Mediterranean country could not afford the luxury of internal disputes, including a row over disarming the Shi’ite movement Hezbollah, and needed to agree to set them aside for now, he added.

“If, God forbid, something happened in Lebanon I do not think there would be anyone to help. There would be an absurd war among the Lebanese in which everyone would lose,” Charbel told Reuters in an interview late on Friday.

“Conditions now do not allow for disputes.”

Lebanon is still recovering from its bloody 1975-1990 civil war, but unrest in its larger and more powerful neighbor Syria has fuelled long-running tensions, sparking violent clashes on the streets of its northern port city of Tripoli and of its capital Beirut.

The opposition March 14 grouping has called on Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government, a coalition which includes Charbel’s mainly Christian Free Patriotic Movement and the Shi’ite Hezbollah group, to be replaced by a “salvation government.”

It is also pressing for the disarmament of Hezbollah, Lebanon’s powerful Shi’ite militant and political group that fought a war against Israel in 2006. Hezbollah supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his crackdown on his opponents.

Hezbollah was the only armed group to retain its weapons after the end of the civil war – its domestic rivals have always been uneasy about its arsenal, but it has proved too powerful within Lebanon to be forced to surrender it.

It initially said it needed to keep its weapons to confront Israeli forces which maintained their occupation of southern Lebanon for 10 years after the civil war ended. It now says it needs to keep them to deter any future attack by Israel.

“The argument over the government is a minor one and the argument over Hezbollah’s arms is minor – any other disagreements are minor compared to what Lebanon would face because of what is happening in Syria,” said Charbel.

GUNMEN

Ruling a country of just four million people, Lebanon’s government has often been paralyzed by squabbling among its religiously and politically divided members, many of whom are in parties formed during the 15-year civil war.

Political leaders have held a series of largely fruitless “national dialogue” meetings to try to overcome their differences, which have hampered efforts to tackle massive public debt and crippling electricity shortages.

“I call on those sitting at the table of dialogue not to demand any preconditions. Our first priority is saving Lebanon from the calamity we have fallen into,” Charbel said.

Charbel said the debate over Hezbollah’s weapons had hindered efforts by security forces to clamp down on other armed groups and their weapons, fearing a political conflagration.

Hezbollah’s Sunni Muslim political opponents have supported the Syrian uprising, and it is gunmen from their ranks that have clashed with Assad supporters, particularly in Tripoli.

“It would be very easy to carry out raids and clear out the gunmen (in Tripoli),” said Charbel. “But then other Lebanese groups will say there are other places with weapons. That would be an embarrassing subject because it would seem security forces were not applying the law everywhere.”

However, Charbel said security forces were tightening up security at Lebanon’s border with Syria, across which rebels have been smuggling weapons to the opposition.

“Weapons smuggling has dropped substantially because the Lebanese army has tightened its grip on legal crossings and that was where most of the smuggling happened,” he said.

“But we should not forget that the border is 180 km (111 miles) long and the Lebanese army and security forces are not capable of covering all that.”

Militants using Lebanon as a crossing point into Syria had increased in numbers, he added, but security forces were improving their technical capabilities at airports, seaports and borders in order to apprehend them.

Reuters

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18 responses to “Charbel: Lebanon must end rifts to withstand Syria turmoil”

  1. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Probably a fairly logical assessment by Charbel. Everyone just needs to sit down and agree they are ALL idiots – together.

    1. dateam Avatar

      u know whats sad is that say re the hzb i dont blame them in a way for not wanting to give up their arms so easily….when israel invaded their was noone to protect the south…i say it again all the lebanese army needs to do is sit down with the hzb and show them they have the ability to defend the south as well as the whole country and arm themselves accordingly….when the christians armed themselves to fight the palestinians they took it as their cause as well without considering that most of the lebanese would have stood by them had they done it together…im sure the people of the south would have gladly supported them against the palestinians after all they were relieved to a point when the israelis came in to rid the palestinans from the south…but what happened they pushed them north into the christians and isolated them there…then the israelis turned on the south…again we are facing another struggle of potential civil war and we are asking the hzb to give up its arms…imagine how strong the army would be if the hzb with its weapons and troops becomes incorporated into a strong army under its central command…it could become a unit like the golani of israel….whats even funnier is that say the hzb gave up its weapons and cut its ties to iran? the lebanese government couldnt even afford the people of the south????

      1. master09 Avatar
        master09

        They are the frigin reason why Isreal will always invade, this is the problem with the thinking. Why does Isreal want to invade Lebanon… Lebanon does NOT need protecion if there was no iligal weapons. That goes for PLO and hzb or any other group that threatens Isreal, than Isreal will always protect itself at any cost. Would you not do it if you are in that position, with guns pointed at you to destroy you from every corner, or have they not got the rite to survive….??? Isreal would not invade if Lebanon and the army had the weapons and I bet there would be PEACE NOT THE THREAT OF WAR.. IT IS THE WEAPONS THAT HOLD LEBANON HOSTAGE AND WITH A NEW THREAT OF WAR….. I am no supporter of Isreal, but weapons is not the answer in LEBANON………………..Isreal wants nothing from us but to rid of these threats around them so they can also live like the Lebs in PEACE….

        1. dateam Avatar

          ok…then we come back to the point im trying to get across…who and how will the army arm itself to the point where anyone internally and externally can not threaten us anymore? this is what im trying to get at….there seems to be alot of talk of disarming however where is the talk of arming our army and HOW???? Why was conscription ended? i mean these are fundamental questions any citizen should ask…i want to know as a citizen that if potentially another naher elbared happens ( look whats happening now ) that our army willbe able to deal with it swiftly or if israel violates are space we can deal with it…

        2. 5thDrawer Avatar
          5thDrawer

          (below) Dateam … please don’t get into that ‘conscription’ crap.
          If you have a volunteer army regulated properly by government, which in turn has no desire to invade another country, you only need a willing army to ‘serve’ it’s own people well, and keep internal peace as well as a secured border. Make it an attractive viable job that trains young people in many things with modern equipment, and you build the country too.
          Some might even become able to wire an electrical pole ….. after serving a country for 5 years.

      2. master09 Avatar
        master09

        Lebanon’s army has taken control of a refugee camp in northern Lebanon that has been a refuge for Islamic militants since May, according to Lebanese officials.The officials said the last area of Nahr el-Bared camp held by Fatah Islam fighters fell to the army after militants attempted a breakout from the camp over the weekend, which left 32 of them dead, bringing an end to three months of fighting. The army was also said to have caught 15 militants trying to escape.
        The army is able to take action when problems arise, but when you have a gang that has more weapons than the army like HA than no country will give arms to the LEBANESE ARMY as they do not know what will happen to this weapons, tanks and so on….

        The army is not strong because the gangs became stronger and control what happens…take these weapons give it to the army and TRUST me they would be able to do the job…

        On another subject HA,PLO, Syria and Iran do not give a shit about Lebanon and if you think they do well poor you…..They have weapons inside Lebanon because they do not give a shit if Isreal blows it up, they will try like they did in 2006 and if they have a little luck than they are happy. Like in 2006 HA thought they won the war, poor clowns..Lebanon was destroyed and they said Iran will fix Lebanon with Halal money.Tell me what did HA do to the Lebanese government, they threatened them if they did not hand the money over for the south to be rebuilt not Iran $15 billion from Lebanon…..Iran gave NOTHING……

        They use our country to wage war on Isreal.
        The army would get support from a lot of countries if they new the weapons would stay in the army hands….

        But what the hell lets just point the fingers at Isreal and USA for our problems, HA are our heroes, what a joke…THEY DO NOT GIVE A SHIT F…K ABOUT THE PEOPLE OR LEBANON……… In fact tell me what MP or group in Lebanon that give a shit about Lebanon, they are all BRAINWASHED including the poor people about this crap called LIBERATING Palestine and the destruction of the Jews…..This will never happen, Isreal is TOO strong to be destroyed and this fighting will go on for centuries, WHY I will leave that for your mind…..
         Isreal violates our air space to keep a watch on the illegal weapons gangs have, I would do it ten times more than them. They have arms that threaten them and is in the hands of non state groups, any country would do the same even Fiji….

    2. dateam Avatar

      u know whats sad is that say re the hzb i dont blame them in a way for not wanting to give up their arms so easily….when israel invaded their was noone to protect the south…i say it again all the lebanese army needs to do is sit down with the hzb and show them they have the ability to defend the south as well as the whole country and arm themselves accordingly….when the christians armed themselves to fight the palestinians they took it as their cause as well without considering that most of the lebanese would have stood by them had they done it together…im sure the people of the south would have gladly supported them against the palestinians after all they were relieved to a point when the israelis came in to rid the palestinans from the south…but what happened they pushed them north into the christians and isolated them there…then the israelis turned on the south…again we are facing another struggle of potential civil war and we are asking the hzb to give up its arms…imagine how strong the army would be if the hzb with its weapons and troops becomes incorporated into a strong army under its central command…it could become a unit like the golani of israel….whats even funnier is that say the hzb gave up its weapons and cut its ties to iran? the lebanese government couldnt even afford the people of the south????

      1. master09 Avatar
        master09

        They are the frigin reason why Isreal will always invade, this is the problem with the thinking. Why does Isreal want to invade Lebanon… Lebanon does NOT need protecion if there was no iligal weapons. That goes for PLO and hzb or any other group that threatens Isreal, than Isreal will always protect itself at any cost. Would you not do it if you are in that position, with guns pointed at you to destroy you from every corner, or have they not got the rite to survive….??? Isreal would not invade if Lebanon and the army had the weapons and I bet there would be PEACE NOT THE THREAT OF WAR.. IT IS THE WEAPONS THAT HOLD LEBANON HOSTAGE AND WITH A NEW THREAT OF WAR….. I am no supporter of Isreal, but weapons is not the answer in LEBANON………………..Isreal wants nothing from us but to rid of these threats around them so they can also live like the Lebs in PEACE….

        1. 5thDrawer Avatar
          5thDrawer

          (below) Dateam … please don’t get into that ‘conscription’ crap.
          If you have a volunteer army regulated properly by government, which in turn has no desire to invade another country, you only need a willing army to ‘serve’ it’s own people well, and keep internal peace as well as a secured border. Make it an attractive viable job that trains young people in many things with modern equipment, and you build the country too.
          Some might even become able to wire an electrical pole ….. after serving a country for 5 years.

  2. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Probably a fairly logical assessment by Charbel. Everyone just needs to sit down and agree they are ALL idiots – together.

    1. dateam Avatar

      u know whats sad is that say re the hzb i dont blame them in a way for not wanting to give up their arms so easily….when israel invaded their was noone to protect the south…i say it again all the lebanese army needs to do is sit down with the hzb and show them they have the ability to defend the south as well as the whole country and arm themselves accordingly….when the christians armed themselves to fight the palestinians they took it as their cause as well without considering that most of the lebanese would have stood by them had they done it together…im sure the people of the south would have gladly supported them against the palestinians after all they were relieved to a point when the israelis came in to rid the palestinans from the south…but what happened they pushed them north into the christians and isolated them there…then the israelis turned on the south…again we are facing another struggle of potential civil war and we are asking the hzb to give up its arms…imagine how strong the army would be if the hzb with its weapons and troops becomes incorporated into a strong army under its central command…it could become a unit like the golani of israel….whats even funnier is that say the hzb gave up its weapons and cut its ties to iran? the lebanese government couldnt even afford the people of the south????

      1. master09 Avatar
        master09

        They are the frigin reason why Isreal will always invade, this is the problem with the thinking. Why does Isreal want to invade Lebanon… Lebanon does NOT need protecion if there was no iligal weapons. That goes for PLO and hzb or any other group that threatens Isreal, than Isreal will always protect itself at any cost. Would you not do it if you are in that position, with guns pointed at you to destroy you from every corner, or have they not got the rite to survive….??? Isreal would not invade if Lebanon and the army had the weapons and I bet there would be PEACE NOT THE THREAT OF WAR.. IT IS THE WEAPONS THAT HOLD LEBANON HOSTAGE AND WITH A NEW THREAT OF WAR….. I am no supporter of Isreal, but weapons is not the answer in LEBANON………………..Isreal wants nothing from us but to rid of these threats around them so they can also live like the Lebs in PEACE….

        1. dateam Avatar

          ok…then we come back to the point im trying to get across…who and how will the army arm itself to the point where anyone internally and externally can not threaten us anymore? this is what im trying to get at….there seems to be alot of talk of disarming however where is the talk of arming our army and HOW???? Why was conscription ended? i mean these are fundamental questions any citizen should ask…i want to know as a citizen that if potentially another naher elbared happens ( look whats happening now ) that our army willbe able to deal with it swiftly or if israel violates are space we can deal with it…

        2. 5thDrawer Avatar
          5thDrawer

          (below) Dateam … please don’t get into that ‘conscription’ crap.
          If you have a volunteer army regulated properly by government, which in turn has no desire to invade another country, you only need a willing army to ‘serve’ it’s own people well, and keep internal peace as well as a secured border. Make it an attractive viable job that trains young people in many things with modern equipment, and you build the country too.
          Some might even become able to wire an electrical pole …..

      2. master09 Avatar
        master09

        Lebanon’s army has taken control of a refugee camp in northern Lebanon that has been a refuge for Islamic militants since May, according to Lebanese officials.The officials said the last area of Nahr el-Bared camp held by Fatah Islam fighters fell to the army after militants attempted a breakout from the camp over the weekend, which left 32 of them dead, bringing an end to three months of fighting. The army was also said to have caught 15 militants trying to escape.
        The army is able to take action when problems arise, but when you have a gang that has more weapons than the army like HA than no country will give arms to the LEBANESE ARMY as they do not know what will happen to this weapons, tanks and so on….

        The army is not strong because the gangs became stronger and control what happens…take these weapons give it to the army and TRUST me they would be able to do the job…

        On another subject HA,PLO, Syria and Iran do not give a shit about Lebanon and if you think they do well poor you…..They have weapons inside Lebanon because they do not give a shit if Isreal blows it up, they will try like they did in 2006 and if they have a little luck than they are happy. Like in 2006 HA thought they won the war, poor clowns..Lebanon was destroyed and they said Iran will fix Lebanon with Halal money.Tell me what did HA do to the Lebanese government, they threatened them if they did not hand the money over for the south to be rebuilt not Iran $15 billion from Lebanon…..Iran gave NOTHING……

        They use our country to wage war on Isreal.
        The army would get support from a lot of countries if they new the weapons would stay in the army hands….

        But what the hell lets just point the fingers at Isreal and USA for our problems, HA are our heroes, what a joke…THEY DO NOT GIVE A SHIT F…K ABOUT THE PEOPLE OR LEBANON……… In fact tell me what MP or group in Lebanon that give a shit about Lebanon, they are all BRAINWASHED including the poor people about this crap called LIBERATING Palestine and the destruction of the Jews…..This will never happen, Isreal is TOO strong to be destroyed and this fighting will go on for centuries, WHY I will leave that for your mind….. 

    2. dateam Avatar

      u know whats sad is that say re the hzb i dont blame them in a way for not wanting to give up their arms so easily….when israel invaded their was noone to protect the south…i say it again all the lebanese army needs to do is sit down with the hzb and show them they have the ability to defend the south as well as the whole country and arm themselves accordingly….when the christians armed themselves to fight the palestinians they took it as their cause as well without considering that most of the lebanese would have stood by them had they done it together…im sure the people of the south would have gladly supported them against the palestinians after all they were relieved to a point when the israelis came in to rid the palestinans from the south…but what happened they pushed them north into the christians and isolated them there…then the israelis turned on the south…again we are facing another struggle of potential civil war and we are asking the hzb to give up its arms…imagine how strong the army would be if the hzb with its weapons and troops becomes incorporated into a strong army under its central command…it could become a unit like the golani of israel….whats even funnier is that say the hzb gave up its weapons and cut its ties to iran? the lebanese government couldnt even afford the people of the south????

  3. dateam Avatar

    5th drawer why is conscription so bad? at least it builds character and a sense of patriotism that we seem to be lacking in this country? at least its gets these young guys off the streets? i remeber a time when you walked past a soldier young or old and saluted them now look at it? at least they get to travel around the country during their service and get to know the whole of the land? the void is being filled by all the political parties…respect is gone…allegences are to the parties and not the country….i will give you a classic case…when the sheikh was killed in tripoli look what happened? a week later a young man was also killed at a checkpoint…his brother is apparently an officer in the army…he told his family and friends to let the army investigate and stronger heads prevailed….i dont know maybe im wrong maybe i think differently…maybe i think things can be achieved when you bring people in and make them a part of the process….god bless

  4. dateam Avatar

    5th drawer why is conscription so bad? at least it builds character and a sense of patriotism that we seem to be lacking in this country? at least its gets these young guys off the streets? i remeber a time when you walked past a soldier young or old and saluted them now look at it? at least they get to travel around the country during their service and get to know the whole of the land? the void is being filled by all the political parties…respect is gone…allegences are to the parties and not the country….i will give you a classic case…when the sheikh was killed in tripoli look what happened? a week later a young man was also killed at a checkpoint…his brother is apparently an officer in the army…he told his family and friends to let the army investigate and stronger heads prevailed….i dont know maybe im wrong maybe i think differently…maybe i think things can be achieved when you bring people in and make them a part of the process….god bless

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