Hariri: Dialogue Must Only Tackle Arms, Syrian People are the Real Resistance
Former premier Saad Hariri on Monday stressed that he would only accept to return to the national dialogue table if the sole topic was Hizbullah’s arms and announced that he would “definitely” return to Lebanon.
“Those trying to oust me from Lebanon have been paying the price so far and those who tried to erase Rafik Hariri’s project are ousting themselves from Syria,” Hariri said in an interview with Future News television in Paris on the eve of the seventh assassination anniversary of his father, ex-PM Rafik Hariri.
“Had it not been for my (skiing) accident, I would've been among my brothers in Beirut, but God willing I will be there soon,” Hariri, who broke his leg while skiing in the French Alps, said.
“Those who killed Rafik Hariri are capable of killing Saad Hariri … All the March 14 forces are exposed to security threats, but I have not decided to leave politics and I will definitely return to Lebanon,” Hariri promised.
He noted that those who killed his father “benefited regionally because Rafik was a major symbol of moderation and development.”
“I don’t want to discuss the issue of the accused, but we can’t point the finger at an entire sect,” Hariri said, referring to the Shiite sect to which the four Hizbullah members accused of involvement in 2005 murder belong.
The U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon has charged Hizbullah operatives Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Anaissi and Assad Sabra in the case and decided to try them in absentia.
“We did not choose the path of revenge, but rather the path of justice. We want people to know that the assassination of Rafik Hariri and all the martyrs will be met with punishment,” Hariri noted.
Separately, Hariri lamented that “none of the national dialogue resolutions have been implemented.”
“I know that the issue of (Hizbullah’s) arms is complicated but you can’t tell me let’s discuss a defense strategy without discussing weapons. We all want to defend our country,” he noted.
The former premier reassured that “it is not true that the Sunnis will call for a union with Syria” should a Sunni-led regime rise to power “because we are Lebanese in the first place and we won’t allow anyone to harm Lebanon.”
“Saad Hariri will continue the path of Rafik Hariri and Lebanon will always come first,” he stressed.
Addressing the Syrian crisis, Hariri said “the Syrian people took to the streets demanding freedom and dignity and the regime confronted them with cannons.”
“Nowadays, the regime’s forces are killing the people and the defections happened in order to protect the civilians,” he said of the current state of affairs in neighboring Syria.
“The same thing that happened in Libya is happening now in Syria: there is a regime that is killing its own people and the killing must be stopped. This was my stance concerning Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and today concerning Syria, but what happened in those nations is that their leaders either left the country or ceded power,” Hariri added.
He accused the Syrian regime of stimulating sectarian feelings in order to confront the uprising it has been trying to crush since around 11 months.
“We are all minorities in our country, whether Sunnis, Shiites or Christians. The same thing applies in Syria, they want to liberate themselves from this regime and when freedom comes people will head to polling stations. Those promoting sectarian remarks will lose.
“It is true that there has been bloodshed, but a reconciliation will be achieved and the regime is trying to make people hate each other,” he noted.
And he urged the Syrian opposition to “unite and to speak with one voice.”
Criticizing Moscow, Hariri said Russia “must pay special attention to the major Arab consensus.”
“Today it has sided with the regime and it will regret its current stance in the future because the regime in Syria will change and democracy will come,” Hariri went on to say.
“During the first Gulf war Russia changed its stance and it may change today and of course we thank it for its stance on the STL and its support for the Palestinian cause,” he added.
He also slammed the Lebanese government over its so-called self-disassociation policy.
“Today, Lebanon is placing itself in the eye of the storm. With our self-disassociation policy, how would they (a new regime in Syria) deal with us when the regime falls? Today there is an Arab consensus and Lebanon has rejected it,” Hariri warned.
“The Lebanese officials must realize that the Syrian people are more important than the regime and that they were the ones to stand by Lebanon and host the Lebanese (refugees during the 2006 war with Israel) and not the regime.”
And addressing Hizbullah, Hariri said “it was not the regime that protected the Resistance, but rather the (1996) April Understanding sponsored by Rafik Hariri and the support of all the Lebanese for the Resistance.”
“We either fight together or we lose together, as we share the same blood. The main topic in any dialogue must be weapons and we were not the ones who suspended dialogue,” he said.
And he denied that his position would “become stronger with the fall of the Syrian regime.”
“I’m only saying that there’s a chance for Lebanon to make a reconciliation with Syria, a chance to end intimidation,” he said.
“The real resistance is what the Syrian people are doing today, why are you defending the regime?” Hariri added, addressing Hizbullah and its allies.
Source: Naharnet
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