Charbel: Armed Forces to Deploy Heavily during Rival Protests in Downtown Beirut
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said that Lebanese security forces and the army will deploy en masse in downtown Beirut on Sunday amid planned sit-ins by pro- and anti-Assad regime demonstrators.
In remarks to LBC TV station on Saturday, Charbel said: “We will allow anyone wishing to demonstrate to go down to Martyrs’ Square tomorrow.”
“We have taken all the necessary measures to secure the area and prevent a clash,” he said, adding that everyone’s allowed to express his opinion in a democratic and peaceful way.
He made his comment although the interior ministry hasn’t yet given permits to the protests. Charbel later headed a security meeting at his office in the ministry to coordinate the security measures that will be taken on Sunday.
The Imam of a mosque in the southern city of Sidon, Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir, who is organizing the 1:00 pm protest against the deadly crackdown of the Syrian regime on protestors, said in remarks published in al-Joumhouria daily on Saturday that he would not back off from his call to hold the sit-in “despite all the pressure.”
“This is a peaceful sit-in and not a demonstration,” he stressed, urging each person who considers himself humanitarian and rejects the violence in Syria to join hands with him in the sit-in.
During a press conference he held at his residence in the town of Abra near Sidon on Friday, al-Asir said “some parties loyal to the March 8 (forces) want to resort to the street and cut roads to stir tension.”
“We are living in a state and not a jungle and the state should protect us,” he stressed.
His call for a sit-in in support of the Syrian opposition prompted parties that are part of the March 8 forces to hold a rival protest in the same area in support of the Assad regime.
Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya said in a statement later Saturday that it will not take part in Sunday’s anti-Assad sit-in but stressed the right to freedom of expression.
Al-Mustaqbal movement said it has nothing to do with the sit-in that Sheikh al-Asir has called for.
As for the Baath party, its leader Fayez Shokr told al-Jadeed TV, that his supporters will head to downtown Beirut to announce their support for the Syrian regime even if they don’t receive a permit.
03 March 2012, 12:09
00
Why don't other cities in Syria protest the anti-regime? Did they use to protest during the war of Lebanon for our benefit?
Did one Syrian protested in Homs during our civil war???? more than 100 000 lebaneses died.
All those things are made to create strife in Lebanon, because it is not in the interest of any any anti-regime to keep Lebanon stable.
It is a shame
03 March 2012, 13:02
23
What all of your support on both sides, is nothing but promoting more violence, cheering each side to do more killing. This is not a football game, there are innocent lives involved on both sides.
03 March 2012, 13:11
30
You are provoking strife mufti. Go back to your hole and do your job. As the Lebanese Leaders said, we do NOT want to cause problems. Not all Lebanese agree with your stance therefore respect the other persons opinions regarding the politics of Syria. It just goes to show how undemocratic Sunni Muslim leaders such as yourself are. As a matter of fact you speak with hatred and practice hatred. Just show restraint and demonstrate some love. We do not want to take sides nor do we want to bring the Syrian problem to our nation. Stick to your nation and try and promote love and peace in your own back yard before trying to promote it someone else's backyard. It would be great if you worked towards contributing positive and harmonious values to those who listen to your sermons.
03 March 2012, 13:21
31
I agree with you, they better protest in other cities of syria in spite of Lebanon. Did any Homs resident protested for Lebanon during the civil war were more than 100 000 Lebanese Died?
It is not in the interested of the protestor that Lebanon remain calm.
03 March 2012, 13:40
22
All I remember is, Liban mourir, et la mere France dormir. Those protests on both sides are unproductive and the sole purpose of it, is to get Lebanon in trouble.
03 March 2012, 13:52
32
Of course, It is in the benefit of the opposition to put Lebanon in trouble so they say that the crisis is spreading and they need to find a solution faster, and why not if it is the Chaos in the region let Israel benefit to strike us again.
How can people who bomb themselves like extremist want democracy? do they first know that to be in a democratic country we first need to respect the rules and the laws? does any one of them knows how to drive between the lines?
They wanted democracy in Lybia and Tunis and egypt or Irak so they killed or removed the leaders by forces because they gave arms to extremist. Did they get the democracy? I think the Media now are hiding the crimes of everyday and the nightmare those people are living today in the total Chaos.
03 March 2012, 13:57
23
France has better to think about its SDF who does not have a home and let them focus on their elections instead of meddling in others affairs.
Same for USA, did they ever brought peace to a country? the biggest crime against humanity in my opinion is not the war on Irak but the economic crisis they created where Millions of people lost their job, their money and their lifes. Let them keep us a part in peace, because without them meddling or funding to create strife, no one would be ambitious to ruin his country.
03 March 2012, 14:25
12
Christian89, I will do better next time I comment from my mobile. I promise
03 March 2012, 16:34
11
Keep Lebanon out of the conflict, DONT ISSUE THE PERMITS.
All it takes is one idiot to spark the violence in Lebanon.
03 March 2012, 16:36
03
Let the Lebanese protest about electricity problem first.
We dont need added problems.
03 March 2012, 19:16
00
don't mind me I'm just passing by to throw this post out here just to see how many hour it will take for the the admins to post it.
03 March 2012, 19:38
12
"As for the Baath party, its leader Fayez Shokr told al-Jadeed TV, that his supporters will head to downtown Beirut to announce their support for the Syrian regime even if they don’t receive a permit."
And they still wonder why they are hated!
03 March 2012, 20:05
00
Were did this guy Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir come from, no one had ever heard of him before this.
I remember back in the seventies and eighties when no name "leaders" of splinter factions from the PLO and other groups split from the original organizations under the pretext of being independent only for everyone to discover later that they were all along working for the Syrian mukhabarat.
05 March 2012, 00:11
00
no one heard of hasan nasrala back in the 80's either. The systematic attack and now mass murder of muslims in the region is sadly pushing people towards extermism. The salafis would probably fair well in the next lebanese elections. Lebanon is moving towards the bipolar suni-shi3i armed political groups. Monopoly over weapons is history given the chaos in Syria, it is hard to imagine any stability come 2013-14
04 March 2012, 11:03
01
ALL LEBAnese governments are a Jooookeeee......... all institutions are a joke.................. Except for the Lebanese National Football Team!!!
05 March 2012, 08:09
00
Why don't other cities in Syria protest the anti-regime? Did they use to protest during the war of Lebanon for our benefit?
Did one Syrian protested in Homs during our civil war???? more than 100 000 lebaneses died.
All those things are made to create strife in Lebanon, because it is not in the interest of any any anti-regime to keep Lebanon stable.
It is a shame
Do protests for the expensive petrol and electricity and against alfa&MTC, when lebanon was in trouble they have encouraged the trouble they didnt assist us to stop the civil war, stay at home better
