Head of the Independence Movement says March 14 backs Sleiman’s efforts to protect Lebanon’s state institutions, its citizens and territorial integrity.

Head of the Independence Movement Michel Moawad expressed his party’s strong support to President Michel Sleiman after Hezbollah took a swipe at the head of the state following his criticism of the tripartite equation of the “army, people, and resistance.”

“As citizens who share the same values, we rally behind President Sleiman to defend the Lebanese state and its institutions and to confront attempts to establish a ministate within the state,” Moawad said in a statement.

Moawad said Hezbollah’s campaign against the president was an attempt to undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty and part of the party’s strategy to implement a foreign agenda at the expense of Lebanese interests.

“We support the president’s efforts to protect Lebanon’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and its citizens and call for the adoption of the Baabda Declaration which distances the country from regional conflicts instead of turning it into a battlefield between extremists,” Moawad said.