Jumblat: Fiery Statements on Qalb Lawzah Jeopardize Druze in Syria

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat condemned on Friday the attack against Druze in Syria's Qalb Lawzah, saying however that it was an “individual incident.”

He remarked: “Fiery statements regarding the incident will only jeopardize the Druze in Syria and I will tackle the tensions by holding a series of contacts.”

He made his statement following a meeting at the Druze council in light of the attack that took place in the northern province of Idlib in Syria on Wednesday.

“Over 200 people are being killed in Syria on a daily basis,” continued Jumblat.

“We must see the larger picture lest we fall victim to small disputes,” he warned.

He therefore stressed the need to tackle the Qalb Lawzah attack through political means, adding that only a political solution will restore calm in Syria.

Syrian President Bashar Assad should not be part of this solution, added the PSP chief, who has long been a vocal critic of the Syrian ruler.

He has also long called on the Druze community in the southern Syrian region of Sweida to join the revolt against the country's ruling regime.

“Our greatest priority lies in maintaining stability in Lebanon, because we are waging a battle to defend the country,” he stated.

“We must preserve Lebanon's stability and commit to the state, its government, army, and security forces,” he declared.

At least 20 members of Syria's Druze minority were killed in an unprecedented shoot-out with Al-Qaida affiliate Al-Nusra Front in Qalb Lawzah on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Arab Tawhid Party chief Wiam Wahhab declared that the Druze of Lebanon and Syria must stand ready to fight the extremist groups.

“We will all take up arms, here and elsewhere, and anyone on Lebanese soil who has ties to al-Nusra Front or is collaborating with it is unwelcome, and they better leave this land because the reactions cannot be contained,” he warned.

He called on Assad and the Syrian government to supply arms to Sweida's residents, urging “everyone in Lebanon and elsewhere to take up arms and stand by our people.”

M.T.

Y.R.