Middle East News
Lebanese Army call to media: Don't stress the strife (2nd Roundup)
By DPA
May 13, 2008, 17:59 GMT

Beirut - The Lebanese army command issued a call to the media Tuesday to stop stressing the division and civil strife among the country's rival factions.

'We call on the media not to broadcast reports that will heighten the tension on the streets and ignite a civil war in the country,' an army statment said.

The army had already warned Monday it would use force if necessary from Tuesday onwards to disarm gunmen and restore law and order.

'Following the events of recent days, namely in Beirut and in the mountains, army units have bolstered their deployment in zones of tension and are working to ensure security, re-establish order and ban all armed presence,' the statement said.

It stressed that the army respects the freedom of press in Lebanon, and condemned attacks on some media outlets in the past few days.

Future TV went off air Friday after the Iranian-backed Shiite Hezbollah organisation and its allies routed pro-government Sunni opponents from most of West Beirut. Future resumed broadcasting Tuesday.

Future TV was established in the 1990s by assassinated former prime minister Rafik Hariri, father of current majority leader Saad Hariri.

The offices of another Hariri operation, al-Mustaqbal newspaper, were also attacked on Friday and parts of the building set on fire.

The Hezbollah-led Al Manar television, and New Television which who is close to the opposition, and also NBN, who is close to the Shiite House Speaker Nabih Berri, were banned Tuesday from broadcasting through their mobile satellites from the mainly Muslim- Sunni northern port city of Tripoli.

Earlier Tuesday, as normal life started to return to Beirut, Saad Hariri warned that his members would not negotiate with the pro- Syrian opposition 'with guns to our heads.'

He accused Hezbollah of 'occupying Beirut upon the orders of Iran and Syria,' telling a press conference: 'They expect us to surrender and then sit at a round table to negotiate so they can impose their ongoing conditions on us. This will not happen.

'Simply, they want to return Syrian hegemony to Lebanon, whose regime killed Rafik Hariri.' Rafik, father of Saad Hariri, was killed in 2005 in a bomb in Beirut. Lebanon has since been rocked by a series of assassinations targeting mainly anti-Syrian politicians and journalists.

Meanwhile, government sources said an Arab league delegation due to arrive in Beirut Tuesday had delayed its arrival until Wednesday.

'The Arab delegation will focus on their mission to stop the violence on the streets and preserve Lebanon's government institutions,' the sources said.

Lebanese Forces commander, Samir Geagea, who is close to the ruling majority, said he was 'not optimistic about the efforts of the Arab delegation to end the Lebanese crisis.'

The tension between the opposition and the majority erupted after the government said it would investigate a Hezbollah telephone network and reassign airport security chief Colonel Wafik Chouckair over his alleged links to Hezbollah.

Clashes turned deadly on Thursday after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah accused the government of declaring war against his party when it took its decision to investigate the group's private telecommunications network and reassign the airport security chief.

The showdown saw Hezbollah gunmen seize large parts of west Beirut last week, plunging an already fragile nation into fear and uncertainty.

Opposition gunmen withdrew from Beirut's streets on Saturday after the army acted to overturn the decisions.