Turkey Slams Lebanon for Not Condemning Syria Crackdown
Turkey on Sunday criticized the Lebanese government, saying it has not voiced “a single word” to condemn the Syrian regime’s deadly crackdown on dissent.
“Has Lebanon voiced a single word to express its solidarity with our Muslim brothers who are being slaughtered? No, only Turkey has raised its voice,” Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said.
He also slammed Iran, Syria’s key regional ally, over its silence concerning the lethal repression.
Arinc was speaking at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) party in Bursa, in Turkey's northwest.
Lebanon's government, which is led by Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hizbullah and its allies, has sidestepped taking a firm stand on the Syria crisis in what observers say is a bid to avoid potential sanctions or a spillover of the violence.
The United Nations estimates more than 5,400 people have been killed in Syria since March as al-Assad's regime cracks down on a popular revolt.
Thousands of Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon but many say they do not feel safe in the neighboring country.
Syria controlled Lebanon from 1976-2005 and the two countries have yet to agree on an official demarcation of the 330-kilometer common border.
Despite the departure of Syrian troops from Lebanon under international and popular pressure in 2005, Damascus maintains a strong influence in Lebanon.
Turkey, once a close ally of neighboring Syria, has been at the forefront of international criticism against the Damascus regime and has also become a haven for many Syrian opposition activists.
Source: Naharnet, Agence France Presse
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