Sleiman accuses local politicians of 'turning country into battleground'

Lebanon's President Michel Sleiman said Friday that local politicians are turning Lebanon into battleground through the unrest in the northern city of Tripoli and fighting in the Syrian region of al-Qusayr. On the occasion of the Resistance and Liberation Day, Sleiman said that Lebanese people have not liberated themselves from their allegiances to political powers, stressing that "the concept of resistance must rise above strife, whether on the local scene or in neighboring countries, because the resistance has fought for national and popular, not sectarian, causes." "How can a country that has provided such a great example of resistance and sacrifice adopt practices that deepen sectarianism? " said Sleiman. He reiterated that Lebanon should be protected through the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, adherence to the Baabda Declaration and adoption of a defense strategy that "clearly organises the relationship between the army and resistance."