Report: Amid Security Concerns, Hariri ‘Advised’ to Limit Electoral Campaign Tours
Prime Minister Saad Hariri has been reportedly “advised” to reduce his electoral tours to Lebanese regions “close to the border,” meanwhile security sources upped their measures although there is “no definite information about threats to the PM,” the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat reported Monday.
Sources close to Hariri, head of al-Mustaqbal Movement, said security sources have asked him to “limit visits to Lebanese regions on the extremities” of the country, they told the daily.
Meanwhile, Hariri circles said “electoral battles can’t be run through television appearances, but require ground interaction.”
Security sources assured that needed “measures have been taken as if the threat stands,” although “there is no definite information about security threats to the Premier,” they said.
PM Hariri has been touring several regions in the South, Bekaa and North Lebanon as part of an electoral campaign ahead of the parliamentary elections that will kick off on May 6.
“Security services are placed in a state of constant alert, before each visit Hariri carries out to monitor any suspicious movements,” sources said.
“The PM's tours to towns near the border doubles the responsibility of security services, which take pre-actions and tighten their measures hours before he arrives,” they added.
Al-Mustaqbal Movement official Mustafa Allouch, said “Hariri has received an advice last week and the week before, warning him not to expand the circle of his movements because of security risks."
But the Premier “can not wage the electoral battle from behind TV screens like Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah does. Communicating with people and hearing their demands is very important,” he said.
Allouch added that al-Mustaqbal Movement “counts on Hariri’s love for his people, and his relation with them and his ability to attract them because he is honest,” added Allouch.
Source: Naharnet
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