Tensions erupted once against between Lebanese Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil and Speaker Nabih Berri and his lawmakers in wake of statements issued by the minister during an electoral campaign trip to the South.
During a visit to the border town of Rmeish, the minister spoke of threats to the locals’ livelihood.
Rmeish did its part in confronting adversity “and its livelihood should not be threatened if it made its free political choice. No one can threaten or intimidate you. You are protected by us, the president, government and lawmakers. This fear is artificial and they have fabricated it for you,” he added.
The FM’s statements prompted a quick response from Rmeish mayor, Fadi Makhoul, who asserted that residents of the southern village live in dignity and enjoyed the best relations with their surroundings.
“Our livelihood is not threatened, as Bassil stated,” Makhoul said.
He revealed that the minister had threatened to “ignore any of our requests if we voted in favor of the list rivaling the Free Patriotic Movement.”
Bassil is head of the Movement.
The minister’s statements spurred the anger of the Shi’ite duo of “Hezbollah” and Berri’s Amal movement. The tensions between the duo and Bassil’s FPM likely also escalated after the latter intensified its electoral campaign in the South with its ally the Mustaqbal Movement, another rival of the Shi’ite parties.
The FPM and Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s Mustaqbal had increased their campaigns in the third electoral district in the South, which includes the Shi’ite-majority governorates of Bint Jbeil, Nabatiyeh, Marjeyoun and Hasbaya.
Last week, Hariri visited the southern region of Shebaa, while Bassil visited Marjeyoun and several villages and towns in the South to garner support for the "South Deserves" electoral list backed by the FPM, Mustaqbal and Lebanese Democratic Party.
Parliamentary elections are scheduled for May 6, the first since 2009.
MP Ali Bazzi of Berri’s parliamentary bloc accused Bassil of incitement in his Rmeish speech, saying he had adopted the terminology of “we,” and “them” to discriminate between the people.
“Elections cannot beheld on the remains of national unity and the discrimination between Lebanese residents and expatriates,” he added.
Tensions had flared between Bassil and Berri earlier this year when the minister described the speaker as “thug”.
Street protests by Berri’s supporters against the minister soon ensued, raising fears of a security escalation in Lebanon, but the dispute was quickly resolved through political efforts.
