BEIRUT: The Army requires absolute political backing to restore security in the country, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt said Sunday, after meeting with a group of of Arab tribal leaders in Khaldeh.
“Before the tanks and airplanes, the Army needs political immunity,” Jumblatt said in the meeting as part of a recent effort to reach out to different communities.
“Let us stand in one position behind the Army, which is engaged in a very harsh battle.”
MPs Akram Chehayeb, Ghazi Aridi, Fouad Saad and Henry Helou accompanied Jumblat during the first visit of Sunday’s tour, as well as the Druze leader’s son Taymur.
Jumblatt greeted the Arab tribe leaders, calling them "the people of glory, generosity, heroism and manhood."
He also lauded their efforts at resisting Israeli attacks on Lebanon during the 1975-1990 civil war.
Jumblatt then headed to the neary town of Aramoun, where he stressed on the need to sustain the good relations between the Druze and their fellow Muslims and Arabs.
"We are not here to simply speak about coxistence, but rather to stress on the common destiny," Jumblatt said, calling on his supporters to establish a total reconciliation with the Arab tribes.
A clash had erupted between the son of Aramoun's mukhtar and members of the Arab tribes two years ago, which increased tension between the two sides. A reconciliation ceremony was held in October 2012, but tensions have remained until the present.
Jumblatt had called in a previous visit to the eastern town of Rashayya on the Druze to go back to their Muslim roots, promising to rebuild the mosque in his hometown Mukhtara which was destroyed during days of aggression between Druze and Muslims.
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