Jumblat to Hariri: STL, Hizbullah's Arms Minor Details amid Mideast Events
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat advised former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to keep away from the issues of Hizbullah's weapons and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, explaining that these are only “minor details in the midst of what is happening in the Middle East”.
"The STL is only a detail amid the Middle East's current events,” Jumblat said in an interview with Al-Arabiya television, adding that the Syrian people will “give March 14 justice”.
Jumblat said (President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law) Assef Shawkat “who ordered the death of former PM Rafik Hariri and is dead now”.
The PSP leader considered that Lebanon is “benefiting from Hizbullah's army for defense”, stressing that “Israel is the true threat in the region”.
Commenting on the situation of the neighboring country, Jumblat said Syria is being dragged into a stage of “sectarian elimination”.
"Assad will not surrender neither will the Syrian people be defeated,” he affirmed, adding that Iran and the U.S. are “settling scores at the expense of the oldest civilization in the Arab Middle East”.
Jumblat revealed that he had advised the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi to remove Assad from the political game to “preserve Syria”.
Jumblat remarked: “It would have been possible to support the secular and moderate Islamic opposition”.
"I support the civil revolution and the moderate opposition,” he said, adding that the Syrian people are left alone “to face a state of chaos”.
The Druze leader said Hizbullah is fighting in Syria under the Iranian command.
“But other factions in March 14 are also involved in this war such as al-Mustaqbal movement and armed groups in (the northern city of) Tripoli and (the Bekaa town of) Arsal,” he remarked.
Addressing the Druze of Lebanon, Jumblat said: “Your future is alongside that of the Syrian people and the sect in Syria is slowly joining the revolution”.
Commenting on the March 14 commemoration of former PM Rafik Hariri's assassination, Jumblat said that the alliance failed a year after its revolution.
“There is a huge difference between the scene we had during the revolution and the one we have today,” he expressed.
Jumblat announced that he will be meeting with Saudi officials in the coming few days, urging the KSA “to address all Lebanese similarly without any differentiation”.
He avoided discussing the assassination attempt of Batroun MP Butors Harb and his relation with the Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, stressing that “what is happening now in the Middle East is far more important”.
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14 February 2013, 21:56
Jumblat on Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's visit to Syria: He is in charge of giving hope to the threatened Christians in the neighboring country.
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14 February 2013, 21:55
Jumblat addressing the Druze: Your future is alongside that of the Syrian people and the sect in Syria is slowly joining the revolution.
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14 February 2013, 21:53
Jumblat: An Alawite state destroys Syria and the sect is under-represented in the opposition.
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14 February 2013, 21:51
Jumblat: We cannot eliminate the roles Iran, Turkey and Egypt play in the region.
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14 February 2013, 21:49
Jumblat: The elections will be held on time. I have advised the Iranian ambassador to get Assad out of the political game to preserve Syria.
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14 February 2013, 21:47
Jumblat: Former PM Saad Hariri informed me that I will be meeting with Saudi officials in the coming few days.
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14 February 2013, 21:46
Jumblat: Hizbullah's army is beneficial to Lebanon for defense and we should not forget that Israel is the true threat.
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14 February 2013, 21:42
Jumblat: The STL is only a detail in the midst of what is happening in the East. Assef Shawkat ordered the death of Hariri and he is dead now and we should differentiate between those who called for the assassination and those who executed it. The Syrian people will give March 14 justice.
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14 February 2013, 21:41
Jumblat: The STL accused Hizbullah of killing former PM Rafik Hariri and this might lead to a new eastern Arab world.
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14 February 2013, 21:40
Jumblat: The Lebanese public opinion is divided and some parties are not responding to calls to disassociate themselves from the Syrian war.
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14 February 2013, 21:40
Jumblat: Hizbullah is fighting in Syria under the Iranian command but other factions in March 14 are also involved in this war such as al-Mustaqbal movement and armed groups in Tripoli and Arsal.
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14 February 2013, 21:39
Jumblat: We salute President Michel Suleiman's stand regarding the Lebanese charged by Syrian courts.
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14 February 2013, 21:38
Jumblat: President Bashar Assad will not surrender and the Syrian poeple will not be defeated. It looks like we are entering a stage of sectarian elimination.
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14 February 2013, 21:36
Jumblat: The U.S. does not favor a settlement in Syria and the East has lost its important role in this regard. Iran and the U.S. are settling scores at the expense of the oldest civilization in the Arab Middle East.
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14 February 2013, 21:35
Jumblat: The assassination of a diplomat on a Lebanese soil is a first of its kind and it is a huge threat to the entire diplomatic body in the country.
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14 February 2013, 21:34
Jumblat: Syria's fate is unclear and the country is being destroyed. It would have been possible to support the secular and moderate Islamic opposition.
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14 February 2013, 21:33
Progressive Socialist Party Leader Walid Jumblat in an Interview on Al-Arabiya: March 14 failed a year after the assassination of former PM Rafk Hariri and there is a huge difference between the scene we had during the revolution and the one we have today when the dispute is over the Orthodox Gathering's electoral draft law.
14 February 2013, 21:51
129
The Iranian dude was no diplomat.... Unless al quds brigades do in diplomacy? That would be news to me!
15 February 2013, 15:40
10
lilfaglee aka FARSI fagblower....everyone is on to your schemes you low-life. Keep talking out of your rear....smells as always!
15 February 2013, 03:50
31
He can not solve Lebanon's problems (anarchy, open borders, electricity, etc.) so he goes on analyzing the Middle East.
There is a huge difference between the scene we had during the revolution and the one we have today,” he expressed........... and that huge difference is you Mr JumpALot. Listen to your statements then vs. now.
15 February 2013, 08:42
22
He is right. HA arms are only a small part of a major conflict extending from Afghanistan to Morocco and everyone in between, including us, are affected.
15 February 2013, 09:27
20
I heard Jumblat’s interview on Al Arabia. While I couldn’t agree with all of what he said, the interview had substance and meaning re the overall Arab-Iran struggle for dominance. What I disagree with him on is the reluctance of the USA to support the FSA with weapons. While America’s financial situation is rather dire, it has nothing to do with their support of the FSA. America is governed by proxy from Israel and any decision taken has to pass from there. America wants to dismantle Syria into religious parts and with it the entire Arab world. This would allow Israel to take over what’s left of Palestine without resistance in return for freeing Iran’s hands over the Gulf States. The big question remain: would the FSA win despite shortages of weapons???????
15 February 2013, 12:13
10
That is very true and for the time being, and for this reason, the US won't support the FSA. The FSA is made up of many armed groups, some al-Qaida affiliated and some others salafists. If Assad collapses, there is the high risk that the heavy weapons, including Assad's chemical WMDs will fall in the hands of these armed groups.
Neither Israel, nor the US and EU want to see such a scenario. It's a real threat to the whole of the Middle East. This is part of the reluctance of US towards the Syrian opposition. The opposition is unhappy with the US policy but the US have every right to be cautious. It's a delicate and dangerous situation so the US and allies will take one step at a time.
