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Victorious Hariri: Dialogue Is The Only Way Of Tackling Hizbullah's Use Of Weapons
14 June 2009
Head of Almustaqbal Parliamentary bloc MP Saad Hariri said he hopes for unity with his political foes in the sharply divided country, and insists that all differences between his majority coalition and the Hizbullah camp must be resolved at the dialogue table. “Yes, we will reach out to all political parties including Hizbullah…there are no blue states and red states. We want to unite Lebanon and find a common ground in unifying Lebanon for the interests of Lebanon,” Hariri told the Washington Post. "I think what's best for the country is to work on unifying all our efforts toward making sure that what we do all of us is for the benefit of the people of Lebanon." Hizbullah's arsenal has been a thorn in the side of the outgoing national unity government and at the center of a three-year-old national dialogue to define a defense strategy for Lebanon. The militant group has steadfastly refused to abandon its weapons arguing that they are needed to defend the country against the Israeli aggressions. Despite political differences between the two camps, Hariri said, it "should not make us stop from working and achieving big projects and big issues for the Lebanese people." The majority leader confirmed that the massive turnout of the loyal people who voted for the March 14 was due to the socio-economic program he and his allies presented in their electoral campaign. “We presented a very clear and convincing campaign. All we wanted is Lebanon to come first. We talked about the economy and what the people really want -- jobs, an economy that is thriving and reforms within the government and a strong central government,” Hariri affirmed. He declared that March 14 vision is that Lebanon should come before any foreign interest, and rebuilding the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Internal Security Forces to a level where there will be a stronger central government are mandatory issues. Hariri said only the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will determine who was behind the assassination of his father former PM martyr Rafic Hariri and the other martyrs who fell. Rafic Hariri was killed in a massive bombing in February 2005 that also left 22 others dead. An ongoing United Nations investigation has found indications of Syrian involvement in the assassination of Hariri, but Syria has constantly denied any role. His death triggered massive protests that eventually led to the withdrawal of Syrian forces, ending Syria's occupation of Lebanon that lasted over 30 years. Saad Hariri is poised to follow in his father's footsteps and become Lebanon's next prime minister, a position he said he "will not shy away from." “I am going to discuss it with my allies and see what is in the best interest of the 14th of March Alliance and for Lebanon,” he revealed. Hariri said he hopes to accomplish what his father never had a chance to do before he was killed in 2005. "He accomplished in his assassination the sovereignty of Lebanon, the independence of Lebanon," Hariri said. "And I want to accomplish what he always dreamt of Lebanon being. He hailed the speech delivered by US President Barack Obama in Cairo earlier this month as "a historic opening-up to the Muslim world. "In the end, there are things that the Muslim world should understand and also the Israelis -- that peace should come to the region and this is the only way to move forward," the Lebanese leader said. He stressed on the importance of establishing normal relation with neighboring countries “We believe that we have to have a diplomatic relationship with Syria where they respect Lebanon the way any other country respects any other country,” Hariri concluded.
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