Beirut |
September 25, 2007
Hariri For Finishing Off the Assad Regime
Beirut - September 25th, 2007
Al-Moustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri stressed Tuesday that the Lebanese would elect a new president without Syrian influence, called for getting rid of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime and warned Hizbullah against rejecting the Taif accord.
In an interview with Fox Television, Hariri said: "Time is of essence, and we have to elect a president. I believe that we will elect a president because we will not let the Syrian regime win over us on such an issue."
"I believe that the Lebanese – the opposition and us – will have to find a president for all Lebanon and for all Lebanese people. We will keep on pushing for that, and we believe that the March 14 coalition has a majority; we are the majority and we will keep on pushing to elect our president," he added
Hariri stressed that "we are looking for a consensus, and we believe that through a dialogue with the opposition, people will calm down when they see the challenges and threats that Lebanon will face without a president. Lebanon without a president is something dangerous for all of us, for the majority and for the opposition. The opposition knows that very well."
Hariri insisted on blaming the Syrian regime for the serial killings targeting anti-Damascus Lebanese figures.
"I have no doubt that the Syrian regime is after all of us: they killed my father, Gebran Tueni, Basil Fuleyhan, Pierre Amine Gemayel, Walid Eido, and Antoine Ghanem. They will kill as many members of parliament of the majority who represent the Cedar Revolution as possible. This is their way. They have never stopped. They will never stop," Hariri said.
He stressed that the "international community has a responsibility. It can do a lot. The problem is, the international community condemns and condemns. The problem is that the killing has not been only targeting Lebanese members of parliament. My disappointment is that the UNIFIL was attacked and all the international community was able to do is condemnation."
"With a regime that is willing to go for as far as killing 6 members of parliament in the last two years, is condemnation enough? I think this regime needs to be isolated … The solution is not in getting rid of the regime of Saddam only but of the regime of Bashar also," Hariri said.
He expressed the belief that "there will be justice. An international tribunal will be hopefully established by the beginning of the year. This is our hope. This is for the Lebanon, for the Lebanese people and for all those who have been assassinated, and even for those who had been assassinated before my father."
"All the assassinations that occurred in Lebanon, like the (1977) assassination of Kamal Jumblat and others, were committed by the Syrian regime. But there was no justice, and the perpetrators were not punished. But now and for the first time in Lebanon's history and in Lebanon's democracy that an international tribunal has been set up to give us justice. We do not want political justice, and we are ready to accept any decision to which the tribunal would come up," Hariri added.
He said the Syrians "think that the more they kill people, the more they will affect our ability to continue and fight for our Cedar Revolution. The March 14, 2005 was a historical day in Lebanon, and they want to erase that historical day from the minds of the Lebanese people. This is something that a regime such as the Syrian regime cannot face, because it was an uprising of Muslim and Christian people."
"This is something that could be fatal for such a regime. That's why they want to kill those members of parliament to get rid of the majority, and they will go after the leadership of this majority," added Hariri.
The young leader stressed that "we want peace. We don't want to be against Syria, but we want Syria to respect us. We want diplomatic relations with Damascus. We have agreed on that in the national dialogue talks. We are not the ones who are killing Syrian members of parliament, but they are the ones who are killing Lebanese members of parliament. We need and we want from Syria to just involve itself with its internal politics and to solve its problem of the Golan Heights. They should not interfere into our life. They should not tell us how to resist or to liberate our Shebaa farms. We will do it as a government, and we will do it as Lebanese people. We will do it as united Lebanese, and they should not interfere in our problems."
Hariri defended U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701 .
"The 1559 is not just words on paper. The Syrians left Lebanon, and this is something that we have gained. We should preserve and protect what we have achieved. On 1701, we have already sent the Lebanese army to South Lebanon while we were unable to take this step during the past 25 years. We have about 12000 UNIFIL troops in the South; this is also something that has been accomplished. I think that it is not going to be a short-term process," he explained.
Hariri expressed gratitude to foreign states that had supported the Lebanese Army in its 106-day battle against Fatah al-Islam terrorist in the northern refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared.
"President Emile Lahoud claims that he has built the army, while the army has been ill-equipped. The army has no ammunitions when it was fighting in Nahr Al- Bared. The army has run out of ammunition in a week, but thanks to the United States and thanks to other allies like the Europeans, the Saudis and the Egyptians, the Jordanians, and the Emiratis, the army was able to accomplish its mission in Nahr Al-Bared. We need to rebuild our army and our internal security forces in order that all Lebanese – no matter to which political party they belong – feel safe and protected. This army and this ISF will be able to protect Lebanon from any foreign enemy," Hariri said.
He warned the Iranian-backed Hizbullah against rejecting the Taif accords, noting that:
"Hizbullah has said on many occasions that they are with the Taif agreements, and if they do challenge these agreements they will be committing the biggest mistake. Honestly, this will turn Lebanon upside down."
Al-Moustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri stressed Tuesday that the Lebanese would elect a new president without Syrian influence, called for getting rid of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime and warned Hizbullah against rejecting the Taif accord.
In an interview with Fox Television, Hariri said: "Time is of essence, and we have to elect a president. I believe that we will elect a president because we will not let the Syrian regime win over us on such an issue."
"I believe that the Lebanese – the opposition and us – will have to find a president for all Lebanon and for all Lebanese people. We will keep on pushing for that, and we believe that the March 14 coalition has a majority; we are the majority and we will keep on pushing to elect our president," he added
Hariri stressed that "we are looking for a consensus, and we believe that through a dialogue with the opposition, people will calm down when they see the challenges and threats that Lebanon will face without a president. Lebanon without a president is something dangerous for all of us, for the majority and for the opposition. The opposition knows that very well."
Hariri insisted on blaming the Syrian regime for the serial killings targeting anti-Damascus Lebanese figures.
"I have no doubt that the Syrian regime is after all of us: they killed my father, Gebran Tueni, Basil Fuleyhan, Pierre Amine Gemayel, Walid Eido, and Antoine Ghanem. They will kill as many members of parliament of the majority who represent the Cedar Revolution as possible. This is their way. They have never stopped. They will never stop," Hariri said.
He stressed that the "international community has a responsibility. It can do a lot. The problem is, the international community condemns and condemns. The problem is that the killing has not been only targeting Lebanese members of parliament. My disappointment is that the UNIFIL was attacked and all the international community was able to do is condemnation."
"With a regime that is willing to go for as far as killing 6 members of parliament in the last two years, is condemnation enough? I think this regime needs to be isolated … The solution is not in getting rid of the regime of Saddam only but of the regime of Bashar also," Hariri said.
He expressed the belief that "there will be justice. An international tribunal will be hopefully established by the beginning of the year. This is our hope. This is for the Lebanon, for the Lebanese people and for all those who have been assassinated, and even for those who had been assassinated before my father."
"All the assassinations that occurred in Lebanon, like the (1977) assassination of Kamal Jumblat and others, were committed by the Syrian regime. But there was no justice, and the perpetrators were not punished. But now and for the first time in Lebanon's history and in Lebanon's democracy that an international tribunal has been set up to give us justice. We do not want political justice, and we are ready to accept any decision to which the tribunal would come up," Hariri added.
He said the Syrians "think that the more they kill people, the more they will affect our ability to continue and fight for our Cedar Revolution. The March 14, 2005 was a historical day in Lebanon, and they want to erase that historical day from the minds of the Lebanese people. This is something that a regime such as the Syrian regime cannot face, because it was an uprising of Muslim and Christian people."
"This is something that could be fatal for such a regime. That's why they want to kill those members of parliament to get rid of the majority, and they will go after the leadership of this majority," added Hariri.
The young leader stressed that "we want peace. We don't want to be against Syria, but we want Syria to respect us. We want diplomatic relations with Damascus. We have agreed on that in the national dialogue talks. We are not the ones who are killing Syrian members of parliament, but they are the ones who are killing Lebanese members of parliament. We need and we want from Syria to just involve itself with its internal politics and to solve its problem of the Golan Heights. They should not interfere into our life. They should not tell us how to resist or to liberate our Shebaa farms. We will do it as a government, and we will do it as Lebanese people. We will do it as united Lebanese, and they should not interfere in our problems."
Hariri defended U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701 .
"The 1559 is not just words on paper. The Syrians left Lebanon, and this is something that we have gained. We should preserve and protect what we have achieved. On 1701, we have already sent the Lebanese army to South Lebanon while we were unable to take this step during the past 25 years. We have about 12000 UNIFIL troops in the South; this is also something that has been accomplished. I think that it is not going to be a short-term process," he explained.
Hariri expressed gratitude to foreign states that had supported the Lebanese Army in its 106-day battle against Fatah al-Islam terrorist in the northern refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared.
"President Emile Lahoud claims that he has built the army, while the army has been ill-equipped. The army has no ammunitions when it was fighting in Nahr Al- Bared. The army has run out of ammunition in a week, but thanks to the United States and thanks to other allies like the Europeans, the Saudis and the Egyptians, the Jordanians, and the Emiratis, the army was able to accomplish its mission in Nahr Al-Bared. We need to rebuild our army and our internal security forces in order that all Lebanese – no matter to which political party they belong – feel safe and protected. This army and this ISF will be able to protect Lebanon from any foreign enemy," Hariri said.
He warned the Iranian-backed Hizbullah against rejecting the Taif accords, noting that:
"Hizbullah has said on many occasions that they are with the Taif agreements, and if they do challenge these agreements they will be committing the biggest mistake. Honestly, this will turn Lebanon upside down."
