BEIRUT: Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc Thursday denounced the United Arab Emirates' decision to deport Lebanese citizens, and condemned statements harming the ongoing dialogue with the Future Movement.
“The Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc is shocked about and condemns the unjustifiable deportation measures that the United Arab Emirates has made against Lebanese families,” MP Hassan Fadlallah said, reading the bloc’s statement after its regular meeting.
The bloc called on Prime Minister Tammam Salam to undertake the required efforts to find out the motive behind the deportations.
Roughly 70 Lebanese citizens were notified by the Lebanese embassies in UAE last week of the decision to deport them with their families. Most of the Lebanese facing deportations are Shiites.
Hezbollah’s lawmakers also stressed on the necessity to maintain the dialogue with the Future Movement, condemning the recent “voices of incitement.”
“Polluting the air of the ongoing dialogue between Hezbollah and the Future Movement does not serve Lebanon’s interest or its stability,” the statement said, calling for a “responsible attitude” toward the dialogue.
Tensions had risen earlier this week between the two parties after a speech made by Future Bloc's chief Fouad Siniora on March 14. The speech drew scathing verbal attacks from MP Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah's bloc in Parliament, and other officials, who questioned the benefits of the three-month-old dialogue while Future officials kept up their anti-Hezbollah rhetoric.
After the eighth dialogue session held Wednesday, however, the two parties agreed to continue dialogue and defuse tensions.
The Hezbollah MPs also highlighted the importance of approving the ranks and salary scale for public sector employees, saying the bill “is not a luxury."
They called for holding open sessions of the joint committees until the matter is resolved, stressing that the law should not be merged with the public budget.
March 8 and March 14 lawmakers have been divided over the bill and the idea of merging it with the 2015 budget.
The Cabinet has yet to approve the budget proposal by Finance Ministry Ali Hasan Khalil, which could be the first adopted since 2005.
The Future Movement has supported the approval of the wage hike as part of the budget, while the Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah advocate the separation of the two bills.
The bloc also expressed compassion and solidarity with Tunisians over the attack on the National Bardo Museum, which left 23 people dead Wednesday.
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