Jumblat: Common Struggle, Political Relationship with Hariri Family Transcend Differences
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat noted on Wednesday that his ties with the Hariri family date back to the days when slain former Premier Rafik Hariri was in power and they have continued to this day with his son and former PM Saad Hariri.
The PSP said in a statement: “Our common struggle and political relationship with the Hariri family transcend differences.”
The statement was issued a day after the MP and former premier held talks at the latter’s Paris residence.
It added: “The meeting came after a period of separation that was imposed by the past political situation that followed the collapse of the Saudi-Syrian initiative to end Lebanon’s political crisis at the time.”
“The developments soon led to the formation of Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s government, which was the product of fears of sectarian strife and some sides’ violation of the 2008 Doha accord,” it continued.
Tuesday’s meeting with Hariri was an opportunity to discuss various Lebanese issues and current problems and “both officials were in complete agreement over them”, said the PSP statement.
Jumblat and Hariri also discussed Arab and regional developments, with both leaders voicing their support for the Syrian revolution “through all possible means” to allow the people to achieve freedom and democracy, added the statement.
The meeting is the first between the two officials since Hariri’s government was toppled in January 2011 and the formation of a cabinet led by Miqati.
An Nahar daily reported on Wednesday that Hariri and Jumblat normalized their relations on Tuesday after reaching consensus on the Syrian crisis and the new electoral draft-law.
The newspaper quoted sources close to Hariri and Jumblat as saying that both men were in “full agreement on the Syrian crisis, their support for the revolution and the rightful demands of the Syrian people.”
The former prime minister’s press office said that the talks focused on the local and regional developments. But the two leaders’ sources told An Nahar that the meeting stems from their keenness to preserve “civil peace and stability to steer Lebanon clear of the (Syrian) crisis’ repercussions.”
On an electoral draft-law adopted by the government last month, Hariri and Jumblat agreed to reject it when the bill is discussed in parliament.
The al-Mustaqbal chief and PSP leader, who is part of Miqati’s government, have already announced their rejection of the draft-law.
Although Jumblat reiterated that the cabinet should not collapse over fears that a vacuum would have a negative impact on stability, Hariri considered it as a “government of coup that was formed through security extortion,” the sources said.
They quoted Hariri as saying that the cabinet should be brought down and a new neutral and consensual government should be formed to oversee the 2013 parliamentary elections.
The two stances are “different” and not a sign of “differences,” Hariri reportedly said.
The talks were “intimate” such as any meeting between close friends, An Nahar said about the reconciliation between Hariri and Jumblat.
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