Hariri Says Lebanese Suffering in Abidjan, Bahrain Due to 'Foolish Political Decisions, Unjustified Alignment'
Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Wednesday noted that "weapons outside state control are aimed at bullying the State," adding that "illegal weapons cause division and destruction."
At a dinner organized by Lebanese Forces and Mustaqbal engineers, the outgoing premier said his political agenda does not include "a return to cabinet."
"Our political program for this stage is not the return to the government, but the return of the State to Lebanon and the return of the monopoly of the arms to the State as well as ending the tutelage of illegal weapons, including those of Hizbullah, over the national political life," Hariri said.
Addressing the dire situation Lebanese expatriates are going through in war-torn Ivory Coast, Hariri said: "We have been exerting efforts, together with Lebanon's friends, to rescue our people in Ivory Coast from the consequences of the foolish political decisions taken without the State's consent."
Hariri was apparently referring to Lebanese Ambassador to Ivory Coast Ali Ajami's participation in a ceremony to inaugurate Laurent Gbagbo, the strongman who has refused to cede power despite the fact that rival Alassane Ouattara was internationally recognized as having won the November 2010 presidential election.
Ajami was the only foreign envoy to attend the ceremony.
Addressing the unrest in Bahrain, Hariri said: "We're working together with our brothers in the Gulf, especially with our Bahraini brothers, to end the repercussions of the irresponsible and unjustified political alignment which has nothing to do with Lebanese patriotism or Arab nationalism."
"It's rather part of the Iranian plot which I have described as an attempt to dominate Lebanon and the Arab region," he added.
Lebanon's Hizbullah last month vehemently rejected accusations that it was involved in training members of the Shiite opposition engaged in anti-regime protests in Bahrain.
"We cannot remain silent as concerns accusations about training (regime opponents)," the Shiite armed group said in a statement. "The accusations are aimed at undermining the peaceful demonstrations of the oppressed people."
The statement was in reaction to charges by Bahrain's foreign minister that Hizbullah was helping train regime opponents.
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has denounced Saudi Arabia's military intervention in Bahrain to help quell the unrest.
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