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Lebanese sheikh sees peaceful future after vote
[Al Arabiya Latest] As the ruling majority March 14 coalition won Lebanon's elections and dealt a blow to the Hezbollah-led March 8 party, a prominent Lebanese scholar said it is was unlikely that further wars or assassinations would take place in the country, hit hard by four years of turmoil.

Shiite sheikh Mohammaed Hassan al-Amin said that the current regional and international circumstances do not encourage further divisions or confrontations and dismissed speculation that Lebanon's Shiites would be sidelined.

" The Lebanese voted for their sovereign, unified nation that is no longer subordinate to any local or external power. They proved that they pledge allegiance to Lebanon before anything else "
Mohammaed Hassan al-Amin
"It is unlikely that further unrest takes place in the south," he said. "Since the end of the July 2006 war, the south has been calm and peacekeeping forces are doing their job there."

Amin added that any decision related to war or peace should be taken by the entire Lebanese state and that this could be in coordination with the resistance.

When asked how the loss of the March 8 coalition would affect Shiites in Lebanon, Amin replied that the results do not marginalize the country's Shiites or make a deprived minority of them.

"The political system transcends sectarianism, plus the results could be looked at positively since few Shiites voted in the elections. The Shiite political powers in Lebanon do not necessarily represent the Shiite people," he said.

Amin added that not all Shiites are represented in the parliament and that a new election law will change the quota and will lead to the emergence of new Shiite faces other than the incumbent ones.
Posted by: Fred 2009-06-10
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=271610