TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Tripoli sheikhs and officials gathered Wednesday to confirm their rejection of any plots to incite violence in the restive northern city, calling on the government to execute projects to boost economic activity and development.
Those at the meeting, which was called by the Muslims Scholars Committee in Tripoli and held at Abdel-Rahman Mosque in Bab al-Tabbaneh, also expressed alarm at the amount of reports targeting Tripoli in the media and by political and security figures.
The city was increasingly being painted as the source of all the crises in the country, scrutinizing things that were insignificant compared to what was happening in other cities, the statement said.
“Investigations revealed that people belonging to Hezbollah are responsible for the attacks on the Lebanese Army, which almost led to a big conflict,” the statement said.
The committee blamed Hezbollah for being outside of the state’s authority and for sheltering, embracing and protecting the killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and those behind the fighting in May 2008 crimes.
No matter how great the Shiite party’s excesses and crimes, they were being ignored, the statement read, adding that Hezbollah was also sending hordes of men to Syria to kill people there, while Sunnis in Lebanon were being held accountable for giving basic support to the Syrian people.
The meeting was held in order to show solidarity with Tripoli residents and the people of the north, and to stand against the plot that is targeting them, the statement said.
Attendees condemned suspicious attacks on Army checkpoints in Tripoli, calling for those responsible to be arrested.
The committee rejected any crimes targeting Tripoli’s stability, requesting a reduction in military checkpoints and posts in order to lessen the traffic congestion inside the city, and urging the media to show the positive side of the city as well.
“The committee calls on the government to execute past promises to develop Tripoli, disburse compensations for Tripoli residents, and offer a solution to compensate for economic damages in the city,” the statement added.
The committee called on the government to adopt a different strategy to save Tripoli and achieve justice – a strategy not based on military solutions that it said had been proved not to work – by founding a development council for Tripoli and the north, like that in the south.
“We ask the government to declare Tripoli a devastated city and exempt it from taxes and fees until further notice,” the statement said.
The committee also asked the government to end the file of Islamist detainees, such as Hussam Sabbagh, after detaining them for years without trial.
The meeting was attended by the following sheikhs: Dr. Zakaria Abed Razzak Masri, Raed Hleihel, Mustafa Alloush, Saeed Awayek, Bilal Baroudi, Tarek Mezher, Mohammad Merheb, Hasan al-Yamin, Yehia Daouk, Faysal Yakhni, Salah Mikati, Ibrahim Ibrahim, Youssef Jajieh, and Sheikh Khaled Sayyed who read the statement.
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