Suleiman: To Draw Line Between Resistance and Illegal Arms

Local Editor

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman stressed the importance of preserving Lebanon's interests that are in harmony with a national will, assuring that "What matters is protecting the country in a manner that preserves its unity and secures normal relations between the Lebanese diversity.

In remarks published on Saturday in As-Safir Lebanese daily, Suleiman assured that the goal behind calling for national dialogue between Lebanon's political factions was to draw a line between illegal weapons used in internal conflicts and those used for resistance purposes against "Israel".
"National dialogue was called for to achieve the supremacy of security and stability, and I meant to include on its agenda the issue of [non-state] arms in order to differentiate between resistance weapons... and the arms spread in and around Lebanese towns which we are working on neutralizing and then eliminating," Suleiman told As-Safir newspaper.

"Therefore, any weapons used internally would be considered as not included in the national defense strategy and should be removed," he added.

The president also reiterated the remarks he made during his visit to Argentina on Thursday when he said that the weapons used in internal conflicts - whether they belonged to Hizbullah or Salafists - are forbidden and should be confiscated.

Source: As-Safir newspaper, translated and edited by moqawama.org