Mustaqbal Urges Impartial Arab-Int'l Probe into Syria Massacres

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc noted Tuesday that “the seventh anniversary of the Cedar Revolution is taking place amid circumstances that reflect the struggle of the March 14 supporters, which was baptized in blood with the fall of a group of martyrs for the sake of freedom, sovereignty and independence.”

In a statement issued after its weekly meeting, the bloc vowed to “stay the course towards completing the transition to statehood,” saying the state “must extend its exclusive authority over the entire Lebanese territory.”

Turning to Syria, the bloc said it was “shocked, like the rest of the Lebanese and Arabs, by the details and outcome of the horrible massacres in Homs and the rest of Syria’s regions,” urging the Arab League and the U.N. Security Council to seek an urgent resolution on the launching of an independent Arab-international probe into “the appalling massacres committed by the regime against its own unarmed people.”

The bloc called for all forms of “peaceful acts of solidarity with our people and brothers in Syria,” saying “one cannot accept or remain silent over these massacres, which coincide with Israel’s committing of more massacres and crimes against our people in besieged Gaza.”

The conferees also called on the Lebanese government “to take a serious decision to effectively aid the Syrian refugees and provide them with shelter.”

They also urged the government to “immediately intervene to end the cases of gunfire attacks from inside the Syrian territory against the Lebanese areas of Arsal and Wadi Khaled, which have led to the wounding of scores of civilians inside their houses and fields.”