Lebanese President Emile Lahoud warned Thursday against the exploitation of media liberties to harm the nation and people’s dignity, reported The Daily Star on Friday.
According to the paper, the remark came as an indirect reply to MP Walid Jumblatt’s attack on the president earlier this week
Lahoud said “the government would no longer turn a blind eye to any abuse of these liberties and would not hesitate to punish those responsible.” He said his earlier pledge that media freedoms would be respected should not be exploited by politicians or the media, said the paper.
“Freedom of the media and the press, which is protected by the Constitution, is a sacred right given to everyone, whether in the opposition or loyalist camp,” Lahoud said. Under no circumstances should anyone try to monopolize this liberty to impose his opinion, “especially if this opinion is defamatory and aimed at producing harm.”
Jumblatt is the druze leader and head of the Socialist Progressive Party. He is a vehement critic of Lahoud and the Syrian influence in Lebanon.
Last September, the politician achieved a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections over his rivals. Due to his remarks against Syria, Damascus declared him a persona non grata last November before lifting the ban on his entry to the country recently.
Jumblatt, formerly considered pro-Syrian, joined mostly-Christian MPs in asking in parliament last week for the redeployment of Syrian troops who have been in Lebanon since 1976, a year after the outbreak of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war – Albawba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
