Hariri, Geagea Slam Mansour's Syria Remarks: Govt. Asking Lebanese to Cover up Assad Crimes
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri condemned on Wednesday Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour's request that Syria's seat at the Arab League be restored, saying that the regime has “found a spokesman to speak at the League.”
He said in a statement: “The Lebanese government is requesting all Lebanese to participate in covering up the crimes of Syrian President Bashar Assad.”
“The Lebanese people are not employees for Assad, Iran, and their political and military proxy in Lebanon,” he declared.
“The Lebanese people demand that this government reveal its real nature and announced to the Arabs and the world that it is the government of Bashar Assad and Hizbullah in Lebanon,” he added.
Furthermore, Hariri said: “Mansour's request to restore Syria's seat at the Arab League is the culmination of the true ugly role the Lebanese government is playing regarding the bloody developments in Syria.”
“Does this minister truly speak on behalf of the Lebanese republic, its president, government, and prime minister?” he wondered.
“Or are we faced with the foreign minister of Iran or that of a minister who abides by the political orders of a political power that has imposed on Lebanon positions that only serve to harm the country's national interests?” asked the former premier.
“We not only condemn Mansour's remarks, but we consider them part of his following of foreign orders,” Hariri noted.
“We urge all political powers that are keen on Lebanon's safety and Arab ties to completely reject the government's random policies,” he said.
Mansour called on Wednesday for scrapping a decision to suspend the membership of Syria from the Arab League
Prime Minister Najib Miqati soon criticized the call, saying: “The foreign minister does not express the stance of the government.”
The Arab League suspended Syria in November 2011 as a sharp rebuke for Assad's leadership over its brutal crackdown on demonstrators seeking to topple his regime.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea later issued a statement to condemn the foreign minister's remarks, saying: “He should have first taken into consideration the positions of the majority of the Lebanese people before issuing a stance on the Syrian crisis.”
“He should have at least taken the approval of the government before proposing restoring Syria's seat at the Arab League in an attempt to regain some legitimacy to the regime on the Arab scene,” he stated.
“Does Mansour realize that his position places the whole of Lebanon and the Lebanese before grave dangers that may drag them from oppressive Arab isolation to a fatal international one?” he continued.
“Where is the commitment to the policy of disassociation that this failed and corrupt government has constantly advocated?” he asked.
“This is the same government, which includes a team that is fighting alongside the Syrian regime and whose foreign minister is allowed to insult the Lebanese people and who has become an official spokesman for Bashar Assad,” Geagea added.
“We ask the president and prime minister about the brand of shame that the minister has printed on the forehead of every free Lebanese citizen and we renew our demand for the resignation of this government,” declared the Lebanese Forces chief.
“We ask what has remained of liberals and for how long will this silence last?” he wondered.
“Is it not time for this failed and corrupt government to resign after it threatened to tarnish Lebanon's reputation all over the world after it distanced itself from all of its duties and the rights of Lebanese and only served to cover up the crimes of the Syrian regime?” continued Geagea.
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