Walid Jumblat
Latest stories
WikiLeaks: Aoun Slammed ‘Mercenaries,’ Said Syrian Regime Collapse ‘Inevitable’

Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun has described several parties in Lebanon as corrupt “mercenaries” who are after power and have no credibility.

Aoun said in a WikiLeaks cable from Paris dated May 4, 2005 that his only ambition behind his return to Lebanon from a 15-year banishment to France was to bring back democracy to the country.

Full Story
WikiLeaks: Jumblat Said Suleiman is ‘Weak,” while Berri is a ‘Liar’

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has reportedly described President Michel Suleiman as a “weak personality surrounded by supporters of the Syrian regime.”

In a WikiLeaks cable dated September 17, 2008 and published by al-Joumhouria newspaper, the Druze leader also described Speaker Nabih Berri as a “big liar.”

Full Story
Jumblat on Govt Formation: Demands of Some Parties Have Become Absurd

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has noted that the demands of some parties concerning shares in the new cabinet “have become absurd and are apt to protract the vicious state of procrastination the country is going through, amid the growing political, financial, economic and social challenges.”

In his weekly column in his party’s mouthpiece Al-Anbaa newspaper to be published Tuesday, Jumblat described the illegal construction of houses on public property as “an infringement of the State, its image and its role,” stressing that “it cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.”

W140 Full Story
Jumblat Warns that Political Vacuum Wearing Out Lebanon

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has said that Damascus encourages all Lebanese sides to make concessions to end the political vacuum that is “wearing the country away.”

“It is not true that Damascus has no interest in forming the government,” As Safir newspaper quoted him as saying in remarks published Friday. On the contrary, Jumblat said that he heard Syrian encouragement for all Lebanese sides to make concessions and form the government.

Full Story
Jumblat Fears Sunni-Shiite Division May Escalate into a Conflict

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed the need for renewing contacts between caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri and between Speaker Nabih Berri and Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The severance of contacts will only lead to more problems, he said.

Full Story
Jumblat Visits Damascus Tuesday for Undisclosed Reasons

Sources from the Progressive Socialist Party revealed to the Central News Agency that PSP leader MP Walid Jumblat headed to Damascus on Tuesday but the reasons for the visit have not been disclosed.

They said that he will return to Beirut on Wednesday.

W140 Full Story
Jumblat Urges Assad to Implement 'Previous Resolutions on Protecting Right to Peaceful Protest'

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to "continue implementing his previous resolutions on protecting the right to peaceful protest" in unrest-hit Syria.

"As Syria's friend and ally … I urge President Assad to continue implementing his previous resolutions on protecting the right to peaceful protest and expression and to quickly launch a broad dialogue with the various political, syndical, social and economic sectors and the representatives of the civil society to discuss the means of overcoming this critical political period," Jumblat said in his weekly column in his party's mouthpiece Al-Anbaa newspaper.

Full Story
Jumblat Calls for Keeping Construction Violations File Away from Political Disputes

A security official revealed to As Safir newspaper on Saturday that the public property construction violations exceed 4,000 plots throughout southern Lebanon, adding that they are far too numerous for the security forces and army to handle.

The newspaper added that the security forces will suffice with recording violations instead of thwarting them.

Full Story
Jumblat Says Cabinet Formation Still at Standstill, Berri Should Solve Crisis

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has expressed pessimism over the formation of the new cabinet after the Easter holidays saying there is still disagreement on the interior ministry portfolio.

The lawmaker told An Nahar newspaper in remarks published Friday that “the cabinet formation process is still at a standstill and there’s still disagreement on who will be given the interior ministry portfolio.”

Full Story
Jumblat to those Hoping for Instability in Syria: Lebanon’s Security is Linked to Syria’s

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat condemned on Monday some Lebanese sides’ hope of instability breaking out in Syria, saying that its stability and security are linked to Lebanon’s.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “Geographic, historic, and political experiences and the Taif Accord have proven this fact and therefore it’s crazy for Lebanese political or media circles to hope for instability in Syria.”

W140 Full Story