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Phalange Warns of Naturalization of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
[An Nahar] The Phalange PartyThe Kataeb (Phalange) party was founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936, who modeled the party after Spanish and Italian Fascist parties he had observed as an Olympic athlete during the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, then Nazi Germany. The movement's uniforms originally included brown shirts and members used the Nazi salute. Despite the party's uniform, its strong sense of nationalism and dedication to a single charismatic leader, the Lebanese Kataeb was not and never became a fascist party nor did it espouse a totalitarian ideology. called on the government on Monday to carefully follow up on the flow of Syrian refugees into Leb, warning of a "new form of naturalization" facing the country. It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: "A crisis committee should be formed to address the possible repercussions of the Syrian unrest on Leb." It criticized some authorities' handling of the refugee issue, "which has started to take on a dramatic security and humanitarian turn." Addressing the Syrian crisis, the Phalange Party called on all Lebanese factions to maintain the country's internal unity and "refrain from taking to the street in protest or in support" of the developments in Syria. On Sunday, a demonstration in support of the Syrian people and another in support of the Syrian regime was staged in downtown Beirut amid fears that the rival rallies could take a violent turn. The protests took place without incident. On the dispute between the March 8 and 14 camps over government extra-budgetary spending, the Phalange Party politburo stressed the need for all concerned sides to agree on a mechanism that would be adopted on spending. The meeting also tackled party chief Amin Gemayel's trip to Italia last week where he held talks with a number of officials, including President Giorgio Napolitano. Posted by: Fred 2012-03-06 |
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