Hussein DakroubHashem Osseiran| The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri blasted Hezbollah’s role in Syria and rejected entangling Lebanon in regional conflicts, while strongly defending his Future Movement’s ongoing dialogue with the party as “a national necessity” to defuse sectarian tensions.
Taking an indirect swipe at Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah for defending the interests of Iran and the Syrian regime, Hariri said Lebanon does not belong to any regional axis and no one has the right to interfere in the affairs of other Arab countries.
Speaking at a Future-organized rally at the BIEL complex Saturday evening commemorating the 10th anniversary of the assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the head of the Future Movement stressed that the Lebanese state should have exclusive jurisdiction over decisions of war and peace, thus denying Hezbollah the freedom to wage a war against Israel.
The bulk of Hariri’s 40-minute speech, frequently interrupted by cheers form hundreds of supporters waving blue Future flags, as well as the movement’s ministers and lawmakers and several March 14 MPs, was devoted to harshly criticizing Hezbollah over its military intervention in Syria which he described as an act of madness.
Referring to the Future-Hezbollah dialogue, Hariri said: “The dialogue with Hezbollah, as you know, is not a political luxury or a step to overcome the differences between us. The dialogue is simply a necessity at this stage. It is an Islamic one to contain the sectarian tension which can no longer be overlooked, and it is a national necessity to correct the political process and end the vacancy in the presidency.”
Among key contentious issues with Hezbollah that Hariri cited were the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is investigating his father’s assassination; Hezbollah’s refusal to hand over five party members implicated in the killing; the party’s military participation in the Syrian war and the Arab civil conflicts; the issue of the monopoly of weapons in the hands of the state; and the recent announcement of adding Lebanon to the military fronts in Syria, Palestine and Iran.
The crowd erupted into frenzy as Hariri made his way into the auditorium. The throng of attendees yelled out “Abu Bahaa,” in reference to his father.
Hariri arrived in Beirut from Riyadh overnight Friday to address the rally. It was not immediately clear how long he would stay here. The last time he was in Lebanon was in August following the deadly clashes between the Lebanese Army and Islamist militants in the northeastern border town of Arsal. Hariri has been living abroad since January 2011 over security concerns.
Hariri said he decided to enter into dialogue with Hezbollah to protect Lebanon from growing security threats linked to the repercussions of the war in Syria.
He added that Lebanon as facing two dangers: Sunni-Shiite tensions, and the country being left without a president for nearly nine months. “On the issue of the president it seems that they [Hezbollah] are in no hurry and their stance means postponing talks on the subject,” he said.
“We didn’t ask for anything from Hezbollah during the dialogue. We told them: You want to decrease tension and so do we because our project … rejects discord and civil war,” Hariri said. “We are serious and we hope to reach results.”
Hariri said the Future Movement decided last year to “manage” the conflict with Hezbollah in a coalition government, whose first mission was to prevent a total power vacuum in the country following Parliament’s repeated failure to elect a successor to former President Michel Sleiman.
Hariri said he opposed Lebanon being part of any regional axis.
“There are repeated talks about Lebanon being part of an axis that extends from Iran to Palestine through Syria and Lebanon. And we say: Lebanon is not in this axis, nor in any axis,” Hariri said, drawing loud cheers from the audience, which included Prime Minister Tammam Salam and a number of political and religious leaders. “The majority of the Lebanese say no to this axis and any other axis. Lebanon is not a card in anyone’s hand, and the Lebanese are not a commodity on anyone’s table.”
“We, very clearly, will not acknowledge to Hezbollah any rights that prevail over the state’s right in the decisions of war and peace and that make Lebanon a security and military arena through which they exploit the state’s potentials and the lives of the Lebanese to save the Syrian regime and protect Iranian interests,” Hariri said.He renewed his call on Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria, saying its involvement in the war there was an act of madness that invited terrorist attacks against Lebanon. “We have already told Hezbollah that entering the Syrian war is madness that brought the terrorist madness to our country,” he said. “Today, we tell the party that binding the Golan to south Lebanon is also madness. This is an additional reason for us to say: Withdraw from Syria. Stop dragging the fires from Syria to our country.”
Israel last month launched an airstrike on a Hezbollah convoy in the Syrian town of Qunaitra in the Golan Heights, killing six party members and an Iranian commander. Hezbollah retaliated by attacking an Israeli military convoy in the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms, killing two soldiers and wounding seven others.
Following the Israeli raid in Qunaitra, Nasrallah declared that the rules of engagement between Hezbollah and Israel had ended.
Hariri said he supported intra-Lebanese dialogue to break the presidential deadlock. “We encouraged dialogue in all directions to solve the issue of the presidency. The worst thing is that obstructing the agreement on the presidency establishes a wrong concept that the country can handle its affairs with or without a president.”
Hariri said the Future Movement represented moderation in the face of religious extremism sweeping across the Middle East.
He threw his weight fully behind the Lebanese Army and security forces in their open battle against terrorism and called for a national strategy to fight terrorist groups threatening Lebanon. The Army has frequently clashed with ISIS and Nusra Front militants who are still holding 25 soldiers and policemen hostage on the outskirts of Arsal.
“My call to all, especially Hezbollah with whom we are having a serious and responsible dialogue, is to work without delay to prepare a national strategy that would unify the Lebanese in the face of extremism and the repercussions of the surrounding wars,” he added.
Hariri said those behind the assassination of his father are still working 10 years after his death to kill his legacy of unity and coexistence. “We will not give up Hariri’s dream for Arab unity and the building of a modern state.”
Meanwhile, Nasrallah urged his followers Sunday to avoid all celebratory gunfire when he delivers a televised speech Monday during Hezbollah’s annual ceremony to commemorate the party’s top martyrs.