BEIRUT -- The March 14 alliance in Lebanon called for action on a national dialogue strategy to prevent a regional war.

“Our revolution will continue until the achievement of its goals despite many setbacks and mistakes we committed in order to preserve our dream of an open-minded society,” the March 14 Secretary-General Fares Soueid said following the alliance’s third conference at Bristol Hotel in Beirut.
Soueid called on members to pressure the Arab League to back Lebanon's defense as tensions with Israel mount, Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper reports.
A seven-point measure proposed by March 14 during a weekend conference in Beirut called on the Arab League to support enforcement of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
Resolution 1701 brokered a ceasefire to a 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel.
The March 14 alliance called Sunday for a fixed timeframe to conclude dialogue on a national-defense strategy in order to keep Lebanese territories from becoming a launch pad for an upcoming regional war.
Announcing a seven-point plan adopted by the March 14 alliance and entitled “The protection of Lebanon is a national, Arab and international responsibility,” Soueid called on the Arab League to assume its responsibilities in defending Lebanon based on the Arab joint defense agreement.
Lebanese Forces (LF) chief Samir Geagea, Future Movement parliamentary bloc leader MP Fouad Siniora along with MPs of “Lebanon First Bloc,” the Phalange Party and the LF attended the conference marking the fifth anniversary of the alliance’s formation.
However, Prime Minister Saad Hariri did not attend the meeting while Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel was represented by the party’s first Deputy President Shaker Aoun.
Commenting on Hariri’s absence, Geagea said the premier did not attend the meeting because he was in Germany.
“The pillars of March 14 are still the same,” he added.
The plan also called on the Arab league to participate in laying the foundations of the national-defense strategy while urging the international community to assume its responsibilities with regard to the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
Resolution 1701 put an end to a 34-day Israeli war against Lebanon in July-August 2006 and called for an arms-free region south of the Litani River as well as the spread of the Lebanese Army and United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon in the area.
The plan also called on all domestic parties to acknowledge the state’s exclusive responsibility through its legal institutions and national army to defend the country.
“It is the responsibility of the Lebanese Army to respond to any Israeli aggression based on the evaluation of the situation by the Lebanese government, whose members are entitled according to the Constitution to decide upon the appropriate measures to be taken,” the statement added.
However, Soueid stressed that any Israeli aggression on any part of Lebanon was an aggression against all of the country and thus the Lebanese would face it in unity despite domestic divergence in stances.
On the practical front, Soueid said the March 14 Forces, as part of their efforts to promote domestic dialogue, would “approach civil societies in order to form a Lebanese social safety net.”
Also, on the Arab level, the alliance would urge Arab states to support and protect the Lebanese model, which reflects a culture of openness and forgiveness “away from ideological exploitation to the benefit of political parties or states.”
On the international level, Soueid added that the alliance would seek to gather foreign support for Lebanon’s role in the region as well as the Arab peace initiative.
Photo:
The March 14 Secretary-General Fares Soueid (L) with President Michel Sleiman