2008-06-11

Berri Questions Delay in Implementing Security Plan

Berri Questions Delay in Implementing Security Plan
Mohamad Shmaysani Readers Number : 619

10/06/2008 Lebanon's ruling bloc supporters have made the security situation in Beirut and the Bekaa region not promising.
Four people were wounded in clashes between opposition and loyalty supporters in the Bekaa. The problem developed form an attack on an individual to a gunbattle in the town of Taalabaya.

A Hezbollah media source issued a statement and clarified the circumstances of the Bekaa incidents.
"Lebanese citizen Hussein Dandash was attacked Sunday evening and beaten by ten Future Movement militiamen in the town of Taalabaya. When Dandash tried to defend himself, the assailants ran away. He identified two of them, one from the Dana family and another from the Husheimi family. The same assailants attacked the neighborhood where Dandash lives prompting the residents to confront them. The Lebanese army and Internal Security Forces intervened and deployed for one hour and then left the area. At one O'clock after midnight, Future Movement militiamen fired gun shots at the residence of Hussein Mistrah in Taalabaya followed by mortar shells and RPG-7 rockets on the outskirts of the neighborhood where opposition supporters live. The residents defended themselves. In the meantime, Future Movement militiamen appeared in some towns in the region and randomly opened fire. The Lebanese army intervened and cordoned off the area. Contacts were made with political forces in the region who explained that such practices, provocations and attacks are no longer acceptable. In Beirut, a group of people attacked the resident of a citizen from the Matar family. Matar works as a cab driver. A group of people attacked him as he was on his way back home on the Cola – Madina Riyadiyyah crossroad. The attackers cursed opposition leaderships and attacked Matar with batons and knives. The same militia attacked two citizens near the Tariq el-Jedideh area with clubs and knives."

The Lebanese army command called on media outlets, TV stations in particular, to stop incitement and rather contribute in establishing stability in this new era. The army said in a statement that many of the incidents are being exaggerated by some media outlets and given a sectarian dimension thus contributing in increasing tension. The statement added that the army will take necessary measures to stop violating public order and preserve the lives of the citizens.

According to the As-Safir daily, the decisions taken by the Central Security Council have not be effective as tension has been on the rise in and outside Beirut while pictures, flags and banners have also increased when they should have disappeared. According to the daily, more security breaches have been recorded recently, especially in the Bekaa region, at a time security forces have only increased patrols in the capital Beirut.
Speaker Nabih Berri has raised doubts about the implementation of the recently launched security plan in Beirut. "I do not know what exactly is delaying implementing the decisions of the Central Security Council ... unless they expect the feuding parties to take the security measures instead of them," Berri said in comments published by As-Safir newspaper. "The security and armed forces should play their role and take all the necessary measures to contain the security situation in the country."

The Central Security Council called on security authorities implement a plan that includes the removal of provocative pictures and inflammatory propaganda material, an immediate halt to political campaigns in the media, helping Beirut residents return to their homes and the return of party offices to their rightful owners.

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