Hariri Slams Hizbullah, Nusra, ISIL: Terror Can Only be Defeated through Baabda Declaration, Pullout from Syria

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri stressed Friday his rejection of any president who might be in the service of any foreign “tutelage” and urged Speaker Nabih Berri to convince Hizbullah to withdraw its fighters from Syria and start implementing the Baabda Declaration.

“As the Mustaqbal Movement refuses to be at the image of Hizbullah, we refuse to be at the image of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or al-Nusra Front, and refuse any call to involve the movement and Sunnis in Lebanon in the war between Hizbullah and al-Qaida,” Hariri said in a speech via video link that was broadcast during a rally organized by the March 14 forces to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri.

“They all represent destructive concepts and tools to drain the state, and projects for endless wars among Muslims. We, with the vast majority of the Sunnis in Lebanon, will face these projects and anything that harms the stability of the country and the rules of national consensus. These are our constant principles, and any step out of these principles is a second assassination of Rafik Hariri,” the former premier added.

He emphasized that the Mustaqbal Movement “will either be at the image of Rafik Hariri, or will cease to be.”

“Either it will be up to the level of his dreams, path, struggle, or national history, or it will not be,” Hariri added.

“In this sense, the time of justice is the time of moderation and the people of justice are the people of moderation. We are the people of moderation, who stood and are standing against all forms of extremism,” he said.

Addressing Mustaqbal's supporters, Hariri added: “And you saw that, after everything, the trial was launched and the logic of justice has triumphed. I have no doubt that the logic of moderation, the logic of the state, the logic of dignity, the logic of life will triumph.”

He noted that the new cabinet must be “a step forward on the road to the upcoming presidential elections.”

Hariri noted that his movement has showed flexibility in the cabinet formation process because it wants President Michel Suleiman’s term “to end with a comprehensive national initiative, which will be added to the achievement represented by the great support presented by (Saudi) King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz to the Lebanese Army.”

“We refuse the vacuum in the presidency because a state without a president is a state on the verge of collapse. Our only project is the State and we reject presidential vacuum because we consider the Lebanese Christian Maronite President a symbol of the coexistence between Muslims and Christians, which we adhere to as a foundation for Lebanon,” the ex-PM added.

“The Mustaqbal Movement refuses vacuum in the only Christian presidential post in the Arab world and the only Christian presidential post from the Indian Coast to the shores of Morocco,” he stressed.

Hariri noted that “the tutelage of the Assad family on Lebanon turned the presidential elections into an occasion to overcome the will of the Christians in Lebanon,” underlining that Mustaqbal “will only accept a president who truly represents the national will of Christians and refuses any tutelage other than that of the constitution.”

Turning to the issue of the charter that was recently issued by the Maronite patriarchate, Hariri described it as “a roadmap for all the Lebanese -- Muslims and Christians -- towards the establishment of the state, and the monopoly of power in the hands of the legal institutions.”

Hariri then addressed Speaker Berri, asking him to convince Hizbullah to withdraw from the Syrian war.

“Because the State is our only project, I turn to the wise men in the Shiite sect and in the Higher Islamic Shiite Council, I address the sons and followers of Imam Moussa al-Sadr, Sheikh Mohammed Mahdi Shamseddine, Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadllallah and all the brave intellectuals who speak the words of truth, and I particularly address Speaker Nabih Berri,” said Hariri.

“Yes, I address Speaker Nabih Berri with all the honesty and sincerity that this critical phase of Lebanon’s history requires. I address him as a pillar of the Shiite sect in Lebanon, and as a leader who has a long history in dealing with the crises, in finding solutions and in bridging the gaps between the Lebanese,” he added.

Hariri said there are “thousands of Hizbullah fighters in Syria, and there are dozens of (Lebanese Sunni) fighters who are joining al-Qaida and others across the border.”

He warned that there is “an unprecedented wave of suicide bombers who are infiltrating the areas where Hizbullah is present.”

“There are also villages in Akkar and the Bekaa that are being bombed on almost daily basis from the Syrian territory, and there are innocent Lebanese citizens who are paying with their lives and properties the price of the involvement in the Syrian war,” added Hariri.

“But the most dangerous of all is the increasing sectarian dimension of the Lebanese involvement in this war and the great attrition affecting the army and all the military and security forces,” he said.

Addressing Berri, Hariri added: “What happened in Beirut's suburbs, Hermel, Akkar, Tripoli and Arsal are just examples of the involvement in this fire.”

“We assume that the suffering of the people, the scenes of booby-trapped cars and suicide attacks that claimed dozens of innocent people, in addition to the hundreds of coffins carrying those killed in the battles, the panic and anxiety haunting the citizens in all areas, the sectarian tension which is increasing every day and the big losses inflicted on the economy are enough to reconsider decisions that brought only death and destruction to Lebanon,” he went on to say.

“Mr. Speaker, from here starts the plan to defend Lebanon and protect the Lebanese from the danger of the terrorist organizations. It is impossible to fight terrorism when one party declares, alone, a war. Fighting terrorism simply needs wide national unity that restores the importance of the Baabda Declaration and it also needs an army capable of defending the borders and tightening control on border crossings,” Hariri added.

He stressed that fighting terrorism requires a “quick decision” from Hizbullah to withdraw from Syria, to “abandon the illusion of pre-emptive war” and “recognize that the Lebanese State is responsible of the safety of the borders and the citizens.”

“All begins from here. But would anyone listen, learn, be humble and take an initiative? We will not stop betting on the voice of logic and the brave national stance that breaks the wall of political stubbornness,” Hariri added, addressing the parliament speaker.

“If dialogue helps in reaching this, and if dialogue contributes to putting an end to the bleeding, then we will not fail to participate in order to give a glimpse of hope to the Lebanese that our country can produce solutions and prevent discord,” he said.