Six hundred anti-Hezbollah figures show their support for Salam

BEIRUT — In the face of smear campaigns, supporters of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam continue to mobilize.

On Monday, more than 600 anti-Hezbollah figures from the worlds of politics, media, and the arts signed a petition denouncing “the accusations of treason, slander, and character assassination” directed at the head of government, especially from the popular base of Hezbollah, since the Cabinet’s Aug. 5 decision to grant the state a monopoly over weapons.

“The head of government is simply implementing the inaugural address of the president and the ministerial declaration,” reads the petition, which L’Orient Today was able to review.

Recalling that these two texts were “approved by the various parties,” the signatories stress that “Salam was not in his current post when corruption spread throughout the country, or when the Lebanese were dragged into a destructive war whose catastrophic effects he is now working to limit.”

They also state that “the Lebanese are now well immunized against lies.” They call on the judiciary to “sanction the initiators of these campaigns in accordance with the laws in force.”

Among those who signed this statement (published at the initiative of journalist Hazem Saghieh) are Ziad Majed (university professor), Dima Sadek and Diana Moukalled (journalists known for their hostility to Hezbollah), Mouhannad Hajj-Ali (anti-Hezbollah researcher), Sami Nader (political analyst), Ahmad Kaabour (musician) and Josephine Zoughaib (activist).

The prime minister also received support from top political figures, including former leader of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Joumblatt, whom he hosted Sunday at his home in Beirut, and the head of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, whom he met last week.