Hariri Slams Diab over France Remarks and Hizbullah over South Tensions
Ex-PM Saad Hariri lashed out Wednesday at Prime Minister Hassan Diab over the latter’s criticism of French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian’s visit to Lebanon.
“I don’t understand where PM Hassan Diab is taking us with this diplomacy towards our friends. How can a premier make a statement against a friendly country described as Lebanon’s tender mother?” Hariri said in a chat with reporters at the Center House.
“We regret these statements,” Hariri added, criticizing Diab for saying that the French “don’t know anything.”
“They in the government don’t know anything,” the ex-PM added.
Diab had told Cabinet on Tuesday that Le Drian’s visit to Lebanon “did not carry anything new,” accusing the top French diplomat of having “a lack of information regarding the course of government’s reforms.”
“They have a majority in parliament and government. Let them work,” Hariri added on Wednesday.
He also stressed that the lengthy power cuts in the country are totally unacceptable, especially in the capital Beirut.
“They will subject the central bank to a forensic audit. Let them apply it to all state institutions,” Hariri went on to say.
Commenting on Monday’s flare-up on the Lebanese-Israeli border, the ex-PM said: “No one know what happened in the south. Is it necessary with the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate for Hizbullah to do such an act? Who are we lying to? The army is there and UNIFIL is there. Where the government to tell us what happened?”
“The dissociation policy is nonexistent and Israel is the one who aggressed, so is it acceptable to say that we would retaliate today or tomorrow?” Hariri added.
“On top of the economic problem, we are creating another problem. If we want to go to war, the state is unaware of anything,” the ex-PM lamented.
He accordingly called for focusing on the economic collapse, warning that “without addressing this issue, no one can resist or persevere.”
Commenting on remarks voiced by Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil, Hariri reiterated that he is not seeking to return as premier.
“I don’t want to be a premier, let no one impose conditions on me or claim that I want this or that post. I did not watch Jebran Bassil’s interview and each of us has his opinion,” Hariri said.
Source: Naharnet
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