28 January 2011 By Tariq Alhomayed Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri considers what
happened to his [political] bloc as being virtually a
"political coup d'etat" and he [also] expressed his
"deep sense of betrayal." He said that his father's
killers were the ones who were responsible for him
being removed [from power], and he has every right to
say this, however Hariri must remember that democracy
itself is crooked. Our democracy, as I previously described it, is an
"Iranian democracy" where the winner loses, and the
loser is the one who forms the government, along the
lines of what happened in the recent Iranian
presidential elections. As Lebanon today is being run
by the "Supreme Guide" Hassan Nasrallah, we see the
same method being adopted in this country. For example, Nasrallah blamed the majority
government because it did not do anything for the
people; however he did not acknowledge that his men
and Nabih Berri's men surrounded Fouad Siniora's
residence for 538 days, and then later withdrew from
the government, forcing its collapse. This is not to
mention the innovation of their "blocking third" veto
power. In light of all of this, how could any
government serve the people? Hezbollah was not
satisfied with their endless tricks, and indeed Omar
Karami has responded to Nasrallah's speech in which he
claimed that he had refused to accept the position of
prime minister due to his advanced age, saying "I
listened to Sayyad Hassan [Nasrallah] during his
address, in which he lamented me. Today I am standing
before you, and I ask you to bear witness as media
representatives, do I look ill to you?" A further trick in Hezbollah's repertoire was to
undermine Lebanon's ‘Day of Rage', which had been
called for by Hariri. Hezbollah sought to interfere
and sabotage, and everyone knows that Hezbollah has
infiltrated some Sunni areas [of Beirut] – which is
something that I wrote about a few months ago – in
order to generate inter-Sunni sedition. Have we
forgotten, for example, the story of Sunni extremist
Omar Bakri, who was released from prison [in Lebanon]
after terrorist charges against him were dropped after
he said that he acknowledged that Shiite Hezbollah was
"Ahl al-Qibla" [i.e. Muslims, who pray in the
direction of Mecca] and not "Rafidah" [Shiite Muslims
who reject the caliphate of Muhammad's two successors,
Abu Bakr and Umar]? Interestingly, the lawyer
representing him in this case was Hezbollah MP Nawar
al-Sahili. Therefore, the message to Hariri today is that
whilst you may have lost the battle, you have not lost
the war. Your war is to protect the state, and the
most important means of guaranteeing this is the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon completing its mandate
and uncovering the killers of Rafik Hariri and his
associates, regardless of the price. This will prevent
bloodshed, ensure that Lebanon is protected, and
ensure the continuation of Rafik Hariri's message, for
[Rafik Hariri] did not monopolize the Sunnis, but
rather returned them to a state of strength, without
firing a single bullet. The government today is facing major challenges,
and with all due respect to Prime Minister Najib
Mikati, who is aware of the extent of my personal
appreciation for him, the Lebanese [leadership]
succession is not only an internal matter, but a
regional one as well. We do not know if Mikati has
cleared the air with the Gulf States, particularly as
certain countries did not agree with the manner in
which he came to power. Most importantly, Saudi
Arabia's acceptance of this appointment has yet to be
confirmed, and we are aware that Saudi Arabia had
announced that it was washing its hands of this issue.
This is an extremely important issue, and Riyadh is
currently warning its citizens from traveling to
Lebanon. Of course, there is still the international
community, especially Washington, which Prime Minister
Mikati says is very important to him. However we do
not know how this stance can be reconciled with the
‘defenders of the resistance', especially considering
that Nasrallah regards the Lebanese Sunnis as being
disloyal merely because they have a relationship with
the West! So, former Prime Minister Hariri, your task is to
protect the state, and the way to achieve this is via
the completion of the international tribunal, which is
what led to your being removed [from power] in the
first place. So don't stop…continue!
Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, the youngest
person to be appointed that position. He holds a BA degree in Media studies from
King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, and has also completed his Introductory
courses towards a Master's degree from George Washington University in
Washington D.C. He is based in London. Comments 💬 التعليقات |