Personalities from the southern city of Sidon rejected on Friday cleric Ahmed al-Asir’s open-ended sit-in that is demanding the elimination of the “hegemony of illegitimate arms.”

Personalities from the southern city of Sidon rejected on Friday cleric Ahmed al-Asir’s open-ended sit-in that is demanding the elimination of the “hegemony of illegitimate arms,” local Naharnet website reported.

Mustaqbal bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora said after the meeting: “We oppose the blocking of roads because it allows others to create instability.”

He called for the reopening of the roads in the city “because the current practices are hindering the freedom of the people and their daily lives.”

“We have never condoned the blocking of any road because it is an uncivilized practice that undermines the state, hinders the people’s daily life, and provides the excuse for others to create conflicts in Lebanon,” he stressed.

Saniora warned: “Blocking roads violates the people’s safety and it goes beyond the acceptable forms of freedom of expression.”

The Sidon meeting was attended by a number of officials from the city, including governor of the South Nicolas Abou Daher and Mufti of Sidon and the South Sheikh Salim Sousan.

“Every citizen has the right to stage a sit-in as a form of freedom of expression. We respect the opinions of all sides, but this form of expression should not lead to the obstruction of the daily lives of others,” stated the former premier.

“The roads belong to the people and the state is obligated to ensure their freedom of mobility,” he continued.

Saniora stressed: “We have long stood by the state in confronting developments that would serve to create tensions in the country.”
 
Scores of Asir’s supporters blocked the northern and southern entrances to the southern city of Sidon on Wednesday night by lying down on the road.