Wednesday 2 December 2009

Jumblatt Agrees with Hezbollah’s Political Manifesto


02/12/2009 Lebanese daily As-Safir quoted Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader MP Walid Jumblatt as saying that he agrees with most of the clauses set in Hezbollah’s new political manifesto, which was announced on Monday, such as “the essential and strategic threat represented by Israel’s presence since its inception in 1948; the importance of the Resistance’s track record between 1968 and 2006; dialogue, instead of confrontation, between Arabs and Iranians; the need to improve inter-Arab relations; the US position and its protection of Israeli interests without taking into consideration Arab aspirations.”

Jumblatt also said that he believes that political sectarianism is the main “flaw” of Lebanon’s political system, adding that “until political sectarianism is abolished, consensus democracy is the best way forward.”

He stressed that the gradual elimination of sectarianism in key positions allows minorities, whether Muslim or Christian, to play a role in Lebanon’s politics.

On Monday, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said abolishment of political sectarianism was the "basic condition" for the establishment of a true democracy in which the majority rules and the minority opposes.

"Political sectarianism is blocking the development of the Lebanese political regime and standing as an obstacle in the face of a democracy where the majority rules and the minority opposes," Sayyed Nasrallah said while reading his party's new manifesto.

Speaker Nabih Berri's recent proposal to put an end to political sectarianism has drawn a huge debate among the country's factions.

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