Fadlallah calls on media not to pour fuel on fire regarding riots

Source: Daily Star, 02-02-2008
BEIRUT: Senior Muslim-Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah urged media outlets on Friday to seek the truth while covering last Sunday's protests, saying an unjust attack on any Lebanese party "is an attack all of us in one way or another." In his weekly Friday sermon from the Imam Hassanayn Mosque in Haret Hreik, Fadlallah called on the media not to "pour fuel on the fire," because this "will burn the entire country and not one party."
"We want media outlets to be the voice of justice and truth and to seek accuracy and objectivity," Fadlallah said. "We want the media to practice self-monitoring and not to be a mouthpiece for those who play with people's security and trade in their sufferings."
According to Fadlallah, Lebanon's problem is that it was and still is an arena for international and regional intelligence services which, he said, "use some local parties and sectarian figures to achieve their projects."
The Cleric criticized the shooting that took place during last Sunday's protests.
"Peaceful demonstrations are allowed all over the world to protest against governments' policies, while resorting to means that preserve demonstrators' lives [is required], should the need arise," he said.
Last Sunday, a protest against electricity rationing in the southern suburbs of Beirut turned violent. At least eight protesters were killed and about two dozen wounded when someone - investigators are trying to determine who - opened fire on the crowd.
Following "Israel's" recognition of failures in its 2006 war with Lebanon, as stated in the final report of the state-appointed Winograd Commission, Fadlallah called on Lebanese of all political stands to consider this a victory.
"Let this occasion be the starting point to restoring internal unity in this small country that could defeat the most powerful force in the Middle East," Fadlallah said.
Meanwhile, the vice president of the Higher Shiite Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, reiterated his call for a "quick but not hasty" investigation into Sunday's riots.
"The injustice that we have witnessed on Sunday is unforgivable," Qabalan said in his weekly Friday sermon.
"We want to preserve our institutions, particularly the army," he added. "We do not accept that the military institution be broken."
Qabalan said the Lebanese are not "anarchist," nor do they "import" orders. "We only take orders from God and our religious tenets," he said.
Qabalan received telegrams of condolences on Friday from several religious, political and social figures who paid respect for those who died on Sunday.