Syrian Official: We Will Settle Score with Jumblat When Time Comes
A high-ranking Syrian security official condemned on Friday Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat’s recent calls to introduce “radical change” in the Syrian regime, saying that the Druze leader has once again allied himself with former Premier Saad Hariri and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, reported the Kuwaiti Al-Seyassah newspaper on Friday.
The official said before a Lebanese Druze delegation: “When the time comes for settling scores, Jumblat will be dealt with in the same manner as Hariri and Geagea, as well as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffery Feltman.”
He noted that Damascus has so far avoided creating any security problems with Jumblat, especially in his stronghold of Mount Lebanon.
The Syrian official warned however that this calm will not last much longer.
Meanwhile, sources monitoring the Syrian crisis told the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published on Saturday that the March 14-led opposition “would be wrong to believe that Jumblat is paving the way to returning to his former allies.”
“The MP has his own specific position on the developments in Syria,” they said.
“He is seeking to keep Lebanon away from the crisis because getting involved in it will only create more sectarian tensions,” they added.
“Jumblat is not seeking to part ways with the government because he has not alternative to turn to,” they explained.
The majority of Syria’s Lebanese allies, starting with Hizbullah, were not pleased with his latest position on Syria, they said.
Hizbullah however is seeking to maintain the calm in Lebanon at the time being, they stated.
Furthermore, the sources noted that the MP’s support for the resumption of the national dialogue does not stem from the need to reach an agreement on a defense strategy for Lebanon, but from a need to keep the country away from the Syrian crisis.
Jumblat had stated on Tuesday that history has proven that popular movements cannot slow down, but they only gain momentum.
He said citing late Czechoslovakian President Vaclav Havel: “If only Russia and Iran would consider the ‘power of the powerless’ in their approach towards the Syrian crisis.”
“They should admit that the situation cannot be resolved through security measures, but by introducing a radical change to the ruling regime,” he stressed in a statement on the Syrian crisis and Russia and Iran’s ongoing support for the ruling Syrian regime.
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