BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman reiterated Monday his condemnation over the killing of a teenager in an attack by Syrian forces on three Lebanese fishermen on the Lebanese-Syrian border over the weekend, saying that investigation was ongoing to determine the circumstances of the incident.
Addressing a Cabinet meeting he chaired at Baabda Palace, Sleiman also dismissed as untrue remarks attributed to the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards Corp., Brig. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, that south Lebanon fell under Iran’s influence.
Referring to the incident involving the three fishermen in the Lebanese border town of Arida in the north, Sleiman said he had made the necessary contacts which led on the same day to the repatriation of the slain teenager’s body and the release by Syrian authorities of the two other fishermen. Sources told The Daily Star that the release occurred as a result of efforts made by Sleiman with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
“Investigation has not been completed yet with regard [to determining] whether or not these Lebanese citizens carried out illegal acts. The relevant Lebanese apparatuses are continuing the necessary investigations into this issue,” Sleiman said, according to a statement read to reporters by Information Minister Walid Daouk.
Three fishermen, identified as Fadi Hamad, 37, his brother Khaled Hamad, 33, and their nephew Maher Hamad, 17, were kidnapped by Syrian security forces off Arida Saturday morning after a Syrian naval vessel crossed 3 kilometers into Lebanon’s territorial waters. Maher was shot in the stomach and killed when Syrian forces fired in the direction of the trawler, Arida residents said.
During Sunday’s funeral for Maher, angry Arida residents shouted anti-Syria slogans and called for the deployment of the Lebanese Army on the tense Lebanese-Syrian frontier to protect Lebanese citizens.
The Lebanese-Syrian border has become increasingly tense since the uprising in Syria began 10 months ago, with several incursions by the Syrian army, the killing of Lebanese citizens by Syrian security forces, and the firing at two fishing boats in August. Syrian officials have accused Lebanese factions of smuggling weapons to Syrian protesters demanding Assad’s removal.
Sleiman, who met Monday with Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi, briefed the Cabinet on the remarks attributed to Suleimani who was quoted as saying that south Lebanon fell under Iran’s control with the possibility of setting up an Islamic government there.
The president said Suleimani’s remarks were untrue after they were denied by the Iranian ambassador and the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Sleiman asked the Iranian ambassador to convey details of their discussion to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and that Lebanon was keen on bilateral relations with brotherly and friendly states on the basis of mutual respect of sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs, according to the statement read by Daouk.
Suleimani, speaking in a conference on youth in the “Islamic Awakening” in Tehran last week, said: “In reality, in south Lebanon and Iraq, the people are under the effect of the Islamic Republic’s way of practice and thinking.”
The Iranian commander’s remarks have drawn harsh criticisms from March 14 politicians who demanded that Hezbollah clarify his statement. Hezbollah has not yet commented on Suleimani’s remarks.
The Cabinet took a series of decisions, including the approval of the dismantling of Jal al-Dib bridge and the building of a new bridge. The state-run Council for Development and Reconstruction was assigned to do this job.
The Cabinet approved the organization of the Public Debt Directorate at the Finance Ministry and the transfer of LL566 million to finance a project to upgrade the control and surveillance system at the runways and entrances at Rafik Hariri International Airport.
The Cabinet gave the Interior Ministry and municipalities a treasury loan to cover the expenses of the contract signed with the National French Press for printing passports.