Mustaqbal Calls for Dismissing FM Mansour, Demands Prevention of Armed Appearances in Sidon

Al-Mustaqbal bloc demanded on Tuesday discharging Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour of his duties following comments made by Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali after meeting with him, accusing Syria's diplomat of continuing to “violate Lebanese territories”.

“Violating Lebanese sovereignty and attacking border villages and citizens are not acceptable,” al-Mustaqbal lawmakers stated in a released statement after their weekly meeting at the Center House, stressing that Mansour should be relieved of his duties after these “shameful comments”.

The statement added: “Lebanese authorities are in charge of responding to whatever happens on the country's territory and the Syrian ambassador has no right threatening the people of Lebanon”.

"We call on President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Najib Miqati and the Army command to react to Ali's comments”.

Ali had said on Saturday that the Syrian Army is responding to the sources of fire along the Lebanese border to preserve the country's stability.

“The Syrian territories are attacked by gunmen, from various nationalities, who are entering Lebanon and violating the sovereignty of Lebanon and Syria,” he said after talks with FM Mansour at the Bustros Palace.

The violence in Syria has increasingly spilled over into Lebanon, with cross-border shelling in the north and east.

Two men were killed last week in the Wadi Khaled area that borders Syrian in northern Lebanon.

Artillery, mortar fire and automatic weapons were used in battles between Syrian troops and fighters on the Lebanese side of the border overnight Saturday to Sunday, said a senior Lebanese security official.

On the latest developments in the southern city of Sidon, the Mustaqbal lawmakers said: “"We urge the cabinet and concerned authorities to adopt all necessary measures to prevent armed appearances in the city and close down offices of political parties that possess weapons”.

Calling on the city's residents to cooperate with the army's procedures, the statement stressed on preserving religious coexistence in Sidon, rejecting “provocation and all threats against residents and visitors”.

"Parties involved in these incidents should refrain from serving the interests of Lebanon's enemies by inciting division among the Lebanese”.

Sidon's Islamist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir and his supporters have been staging several strikes lately to protest claims that Hizbullah rented apartments in the vicinity of the mosque.

The cleric's sit-ins are held amid strict security measures enforced by the army and the Internal Security Forces.

Commenting on the Syndicate Coordination Committee's ongoing strike, the bloc held the cabinet responsible for “paralyzing the economy and for the national growth rate's decline”.

"We urge the council of ministers to find a source to finance the new wage scale,” the MPs said, accusing the cabinet of making promises that it cannot fulfill.

The SCC has announced an open-ended strike two weeks ago over its demand that the government refers the public sector wage raise - approved last year - to parliament for approval.

The SCC has been holding sit-ins and demonstrations near state institutions almost on a daily basis.

The government argues that it is delaying the decision on the funding in an attempt to thoroughly discuss plans to boost the treasury's revenue to cover the expenses of the salaries boost.

PM Miqati assured on Monday that the new wage scale is being examined and that it will be referred for vote at the parliament after March 21, on condition the SCC ends its strike

The bloc also reiterated its calls for holding the upcoming parliamentary elections on time, expressing that any consensus over a “fair and representative” electoral law is only reached through a “neutral cabinet” .