Jumblat Warns Current Situation Similar to 1982, Stresses Importance of Dialogue
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat said on Sunday that the current phase in Lebanon brings to mind the threats of the 1982 Israeli occupation, calling for dialogue to regulate disputes peacefully.
“We are in a dangerous phase that reminds me of the Israeli invasion in 1982,” Jumblat said, adding that “resolving local disagreements is our responsibility and we must regulate the disputes peacefully, instead of fighting like in Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.”
The PSP leader warned that the continuous clashes between the two northern neighborhoods might expand to other areas.
“It is true that there are many disagreements among parties in Lebanon but we have to peacefully address these disagreements,” he added.
The rival Tripoli neighborhoods have been gripped by frequent fighting, reflecting a split between Lebanon's parties where the March 14-led opposition backs the revolt in Syria while a ruling coalition led by Hizbullah supports the Damascus regime.
Jumblat praised President Michel Suleiman’s call for resuming national dialogue, adding that Monday’s all-party talks will contribute to regulating disagreements away from violence.
Suleiman called for the resumption of national dialogue to defuse mounting tension after deadly gun-battles raged between pro- and anti-Syrian regime supporters in Beirut and the northern city of Tripoli.
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