Hariri Rejects Calls for Defections and Incitements to Join Armed Groups

Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri condemned on Tuesday calls to defect from the Lebanese army and the incitement of Sunnis to join terrorist groups, and reiterated that the nation would enjoy security only if Hizbullah withdrew from Syria.

“All calls to defect from the army and incite Sunni men in particular to … join armed organizations in Lebanon and abroad are condemned and rejected,” Hariri said in a lengthy statement issued by his press office.

He stressed that such invitations will not have any influence on Sunnis across Lebanon.

The former prime minister said that calls for a Sunni revolution in Lebanon do not go hand in hand with the aspirations and goals of Sunnis.

They are aimed at turning the country into mini-states that “survive on the rubble of coexistence,” he stressed.

Hariri said that his stance from the Syrian revolution is based on the noble causes of the uprising that erupted against President Bashar Assad in March 2011.

“The Syrian regime tarnished the image of the revolution … but we are convinced that the Syrian people will overcome this crisis,” he stated.

Hariri stressed that “turning Lebanon into a scene of destruction similar to the devastation in Syria is one of the wishes of the Syrian regime.”

The armed terrorist organizations that are infiltrating the Lebanese border and avenging Hizbullah for its involvement in Syria's war are giving the party a new excuse to expand its security and military operations in Lebanon, he added.

Lebanon is bitterly divided over the war in Syria, with Sunnis supporting the Syrian rebels and Shiites siding with Assad's government. Hizbullah has sent fighters to support Assad's troops while Sunni militants in Lebanon have responded with attacks on Shiites as well as security forces, who they believe are dominated by Hizbullah.

Hariri's statement came a day after the Lebanese army asked militants in the northern city of Tripoli and nearby areas to surrender as calm returned after four days of deadly clashes.

Hariri warned against any attempt to undermine the army.

Troops entered on Monday the militants' stronghold of Bab al-Tabbaneh, the area that witnessed some of the worst clashes. The army said troops detained some of the gunmen while others fled.

A battle between Lebanese troops and militants in northern Lebanon was widely expected after members of the Islamic State group and al-Qaida's branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, launched several attacks over the past weeks in areas on the border with Syria.

Hariri called for the control of the Lebanese-Syrian border and invited “all the partners in the nation to put Lebanon's interest first.”

“It is time to become aware of the dangers of the premeditated involvement in the Syrian fire and to disengage from the Syrian front,” he said in reference to Hizbullah.

“It is only then that we could protect Lebanon and shut the door to terrorism,” he added.

Hariri urged Lebanon's rival politicians to engage in swift consultations to agree on a new president and end the vacuum at the country's top Christian post.

The election of a head of state would regularize the work of institutions and guarantee the rotation of power, he said.

Baabda Palace has been vacant since President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended in May.

The Mustaqbal movement chief appealed for a comprehensive security strategy to deal with the repercussions of the Syrian war on Lebanon.

Such a strategy would protect the border with Syria and stop military operations from both sides, he said.

Hariri also threw his weight behind the government's strategy to stop the influx of Syrian refugees. But said the authorities should guarantee the safety of the displaced.

Last week, the cabinet approved a new policy to stop the flow of refugees to Lebanon with certain exceptions.

G.K.

H.K.