Hariri: Latest Arab Positions on Syria Must Motivate Govt. to Realize Seriousness of the Moment

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri praised on Monday Saudi King Abdullah’s position on the developments in Syria, saying that it will pave the way for a new approach in the developments in the Arab country.

He said in a statement: “The latest statements from the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League should motivate the Lebanese government to realize the seriousness of this historic moment.”

It should also reconsider its policies of linking Lebanon’s fate to Syria’s, he added.

“These policies don’t reflect the principles of fraternity and historic ties between the two countries that have long been discussed in speeches and statements of special ties with Syria,” Hariri noted.

“The basics of fraternal and special relations with Syria demand that the Lebanese express their solidarity with the Syrian people given the ordeal they are enduring,” the former premier stated.

“Lebanon cannot disassociate itself from the open massacre being committed in its closest fraternal country,” he added.

“Lebanon’s president, government, and institutions should instead disassociate themselves from adopting policies of oppression that the Syrian people are enduring,” he demanded.

“It should not become part of a political, media, diplomatic, and security system that announces its loyalty to a side that is waging a war against its people, and which has been condemned by the Arabs and the whole world,” Hariri stressed.

“The Syrian people and vast portions of the Lebanese population cannot understand the Lebanese government’s insistence on disassociating itself from Arab positions. It is instead heading towards isolation, which makes Lebanon a partner with all that contradicts its democratic history,” he said.

“Lebanon should stand by Syria … It is not a political, diplomatic, and security operative for any regional regime,” he declared.

“Lebanon is a country with a message and its solidarity with the Syrian people is at the heart of this message,” he concluded.