Mikati: The only weapon I am supplying to Tripoli residents is “knowledge”

Prime Minister Najib Mikati slammed allegations that he is arming Salafist movements in the northern city of Tripoli, saying that such accusations are politically motivated.    

He told reporters during his ongoing trip to Brazil: “I support the mentality of openness, knowledge, and forgiveness, not that of arms and war.”     

“The only arms I supply Tripoli residents with are knowledge,” he added.          

Commenting on the imprisonment without trial of Islamists in Roumieh prison, Mikati stated: “They are being oppressed and we are trying to end this oppression because it will only create fundamentalism.”         

Commenting on this pledge, he said: “Some sides chose to criticize me for this action and they have therefore ignored the gist of the problem, which is the imprisonment of people without trial for five years.”        

“We are approaching this issue from legal, humanitarian, and social perspectives,” Mikati stated.         

Mikati held talks on his trip with a number of top officials, including French President Francois Hollande, Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.