Jumblat Hails Hariri's Refusal to 'Drag Sunnis towards Conflict between Hizbullah, al-Qaida'
Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat hailed on Monday former Prime Minister Saad Hariri's recent stands on local and regional developments.
He lauded to the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa website the former premier's “refusal to drag the Sunni sect towards the conflict between Hizbullah and al-Qaida.”
He noted that this position “reflects his sound reasoning and sense of national responsibility, especially during these critical local and regional circumstances.”
Hariri's position “is important and stands in contrast against the sit-ins in front the Defense Ministry demanding the release of a suspect who is still going through investigations.”
He made his last remark in reference to the arrest of Sheikh Omar al-Atrash, who is reportedly involved in recent bomb attacks in Lebanon.
A number of Muslim scholars and clerics who hail from the Bekaa staged on Sunday a protest to condemn the arrest.
On Friday, al-Akhbar newspaper broke the news about Atrash's arrest, saying he is “suspected of offering refuge to individuals with alleged links to the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,” which are groups that have been linked to bombings in the country.
Hariri warned on Saturday the Lebanese in general and the Sunni sect in particular against supporting “suspicious” calls that urge them to involve the country in “rejected and condemned wars.”
“The Lebanese and the Sunni sect reject to be part of any war in Lebanon or the region between Hizbullah and al-Qaida,” Hariri said in a statement issued by his press office.
He stressed that “they also reject threats to target civilians in any region in Lebanon amid a demented war (in the region) and its dangerous repercussions on the the national and Islamic unity.”
Hariri's statement comes a day after a group suspected of links to al-Qaida warned that all areas of Lebanon where Hizbullah operates are "legitimate targets" for attack, telling Sunnis to avoid them.
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