October
30th
A
fallacy has been promoted by Druze chieftain Walid Jumblatt,
the Hariri family, their TV station and their other media
outlets pretending that the crowds of Lebanese that flocked
to Liberty Square on March the 14th did so because they
wanted to know the truth “Al Hakika”
about the crime perpetrated against ex-prime minister
Rafik Hariri.
There is no doubt that the anger that motivated one and
a half million Lebanese to gather in downtown Beirut was
something more than the shocking crime. You didn’t
need to be a Lebanese genius to guess who the suspects
were in instigating , planning and executing this heinous
crime. Judge D.Mehlis and his professional team confirmed
what we suspected then. Syria’s baathist Regime
and its thugs most probably had a hand in the murder of
two Presidents of Lebanon, the Mufti and other religious
dignitaries, Kamal Jumblatt who opposed the presence of
the Syrian army way back in 1976, the outspoken journalists,
polticians and other dissidents in Lebanon and Syria.
The same Regime most probably burned off Rafik Hariri
and 21 of his comerades, bodyguards and other innocent
pedestrians in a terrorist crime reminiscent of the “Godfather”
movie.
Rafik
Hariri was no Saint, even though he was anointed as such
by family and friends. The Cedars’ marchers had
a message to convey to Hizbolla, the Amal movement and
other pro Syrian mercenaries who flexed their muscles
a week earlier in a demonstration they dubbed “loyalty
and solidarity with Syria”. Few days after
the murder of Hariri the father, Hariri the son was given
the political mantel to “..carry on his father’s
project …” Saad Hariri is a newcomer
to Lebanon’s political arena. He needed a political
mentor, Walid Jumblatt obliged.
W.
Jumblatt is an ex “warlord” who never
denied that he collaborated and profiteered for years
from the same Syrian mafia that probably assassinated
his father Kamal in 1977, and ruled Lebanon in the most
brutal and oppressive manner for 29 years. Walid Jumblatt
regretted in his eulogy to Syria’s mafia Don Ghazi
Kanaan the "death of a man who did a lot of good
for Lebanon…" as usual Mr Jumblatt infatuated
us and he was short of wiping one or two tears from his
eyes whilst praising his old friend during that infamous
press conference.
Upon the demise of his father the young Saad Hariri a
novice to Lebanese politics landed in Beirut in his father’s
private plane and entered the political arena from the
“big gate”. I meant Saudi money gate.
He controls today the so called majority of the parliament.
He nominated the prime minister of Lebanon who incidentally
was employed by his late father and he appointed other
ministers and MPs. When he travels he is received by Head
of States, foreign ministers and good old Kofi Annan.
He declared the other day from
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that Hizbolla is his first and foremost
strategic ally. It was Hizbolla the Iranian sponsored
party of Allah that organised the March 8th demonstration
to show loyalty and solidarity to Syria’s baathist
Regime, the Regime that is unofficially still accused
to be behind the liquidation of Rafik Hariri.
Understanding
this logic really beats me especially when we hear that
Saad Hariri has committed to the international community
the implementation of UNSCR 1559 sponsored by the US and
Mr Chirac and in which there is a clause asking to disarm
all militias in Lebanon. Hizbolla refuses to disarm and
has always rejected UNSCR 1559. Is it double talk from
Saad Hariri or political duplicity, time will tell . “..carry
on Rafik Hariri’s project ..” Does Saad
Hariri mean the project to defeat all the other Sunni
voices in Lebanon by the power of the Greenback?? Is he
going to carry on the project of corruption, graft and
bankrupting the State ? Will the free voices that were
forced into exile during Syria’s years of hegemony
over Lebanon be allowed to come back and contribute in
rebuilding a new
Lebanon based on respect for human rights, freedom of
expression, the right to a free education, healthcare
and social welfare ?? Or will they find themselves again
in a jungle where they will be harassed by a neo-Syrian
order. Will they be discriminated against and deprived
of their basic rights ?
These
are questions that we are not asking for the sake of embarrassing
prime minister Siniora, we know that he is trying his
best in walking the tightrope and we must admit that he
has been thus far succeeding in his balancing act. We
would like to hear from him on the case of our comerades
in the Lebanese Kurdish Democratic Party. We hear that
the Hariri clan is still pursuing a discriminatory policy
vis à vis these brave fellows. Their Leader Abdulkarim
Meho cannot return back to Lebanon due to a pending court
order which completely ignores his right to free expression.The
case was doctored against him by the Syrian appointees
in the Lebanese courts when Lebanon was under Syrian occupation.
Mr Meho was one of the effective loud voices advocating
from exile for
Lebanon to be free from Syrian hegemony. What about the
three members of the “The Guardians of the Cedars”
party who were packed and put in prison (and they still
are) after they made a press conference in which they
declared that Lebanon should withdraw from the Arab League.
Is this the type of Democracy and Freedom that we were
promised by George W. Bush ?
At
this critical juncture of our History, Lebanon needs Statesmen
and politicians that should be accountable for recklessness,
blunders, corruption and greed, nepotism and injustice.
My humble advice to Mr Saad Hariri is to be vigilant in
his promising political career and to avoid the pitfalls
that his late father did not avoid willingly or could
not avoid for a reason or another.
Anwar Wazen studied at St. Joseph
University in Beirut, Lebanon, earning a Master's degree
in Economics. He lived in several countries in the Middle
East and the Persian Gulf, working on country risk exposure
for American and Arab Banks. In Brussels, Mr. Wazen became
an activist and advocate for the Lebanese cause and contributed
many articles promoting freedom of Lebanon from the Syrian
occupation. He was published by political web sites and
Lebanese newsmedia. He speaks Arabic, English and French
fluently. He can be reached on aewazen@msn.com
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