Hariri 'Optimistic' on Cabinet, Says He Hasn't Offered Concessions
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Friday announced that he is showing positivity in the cabinet formation process, noting that Hizbullah is a political party that is leading a “big coalition.”
“We are positive regarding the cabinet formation process. This is something good for the country and for stability in the country,” Hariri said in an interview.
He noted that he has not offered “concessions” concerning participation in a cabinet containing Hizbullah and its allies, stressing that “according to the principle of trials, any accused is innocent until proven guilty.”
“We know that, theoretically, they are the ones who committed these crimes,” Hariri added, in reference to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon trials that started Thursday in The Hague.
The STL has accused five Hizbullah members of involvement in the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri. The party has dismissed the court as a U.S.-Israeli scheme and vowed to never cooperate with it.
“We know that this might be the case, but in the end, this is a political party that is in a major alliance with the Aounists (Free Patriotic Movement) and other groups,” Hariri added.
“We are trying to run the country together with everyone because we don't want to exclude anyone as Lebanon is going through a difficult period, especially after the international community miserably failed in addressing the Syrian issue,” he said.
Asked whether he was optimistic regarding the cabinet formation process, Hariri answered: “I'm very optimistic … I don't know when it will be formed but I'm optimistic.”
And in response to a question on whether there are any “red lines,” the ex-PM said: “Red lines are defined by the country's needs and we want the country to stabilize.”
The Hariri-led al-Mustaqbal movement has agreed to join a cabinet containing Hizbullah, but the main dispute is still revolving around the ministerial policy statement. Al-Mustaqbal and the March 14 forces are rejecting the inclusion of the so-called army-people-resistance equation in it and are insisting that it should endorse the Baabda Declaration.
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