Aoun: Arms Present under State Control Not Enough to Put Lebanese at Ease
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun noted on Tuesday that Lebanon enjoys a deterrent power, embodied in the equation of the army, people, and Resistance, capable of defending the country against an Israeli attack.
He said after the weekly Change and Reform bloc meeting: “This equation won’t end until the Arab-Israeli conflict is resolved, which is very difficult under the current Israeli and American policies.”
“Israel does not want peace … if we abandon resistance and surrender, the country will be permanently destroyed,” he remarked.
On Monday’s Wazzani clashes between the Lebanese and Israeli armies, the MP said: “We congratulate the army on the occasion of Army Day and we wish it constant success, especially since we have an enemy that continuously reminds us that the army is the guarantee for Lebanon’s stability and independence.”
Aoun pointed out however: “The arms present under the state’s control are not enough to put the Lebanese at ease.”
He clarified however that this is not a response to Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s statements on Monday who said that the Lebanese people are uneasy with the spread of arms outside the state’s authority.
“The army alone is not capable of defending Lebanon and neither is Hizbullah,” he remarked.
“We refuse to rely on international resolution,” he stressed.
On the national dialogue, the FPM leader voiced his support for the talks, hoping that the agenda be determined in advance to tackle the defense strategy.
The last time dialogue was held, the defense strategy was about to be addressed, but the talks veered off course to tackle Hizbullah’s arms, he noted.
Addressing the developments in Syria, Aoun said: “Security forces have the right to defend themselves when they are fired at.”
“The constitution allows for freedom of demonstration, not the freedom to riot. The Syrian security forces are suppressing riots, not protests,” he added.
He also voiced his support for reform in Syria.
In addition, he stated that international interests are at play in Syria because it is the key to several issues in the region.
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