Lebanon crisis at a flashpoint

Dubai: A crucial cabinet meeting, to be held today and chaired by President Michel Sulaiman, is expected to re-shape the sharply divided political landscape of Lebanon, analysts say.

The 2005 foes — 14 March and March 8 blocs — who came under the umbrella of a national unity government in 2008, thanks to Doha agreement that ended a confrontation that could have turned into a sectarian war, have this time used all their verbal and militia techniques to heat up the political atmosphere in the country.

A Hezbollah parliament member said a clashing point looming today had never been so serious and Lebanon never witnessed such a sectarian polarisation before. Hezbollah is the corner stone of March 8 bloc.

Hassan Fadl Allah, senior Hezbollah MP was referring to the legal summons issued by the Public Prosecutor for Jamil Al Syed, a former security general and a 4-year prisoner in the case of Rafik Hariri's assassination case. Hariri and 22 of his companions, were killed in a February 2005 bomb blast in Beirut.

In response to Hezbollah warnings, member of prime minister Sa'ad Hariri's Al Mustakbal stream, warned Al Syed's for his comments against the prime minister and government.

Ammar Howari, an MP of Al Mustakbal told Gulf News, the verbal attacks meant that Hezbollah has initiated a plan to derail the Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating Hariri's killing.

Mohammad Kabara, MP from Mustakbal, said those who are against the international court are in other words against the Sunnis and they (Sunnis) in the country know very well how to handle them.

In an emotional speech from his premises in northern Sunni stronghold of Tripoli, Kabara called on Hariri to stand up to protect the court and his Sunni sect from what he called ‘a coup against government and the Sunnis'. "Al Syed way of attacking Hariri will not be tolerated by the majority of the country," he added.

He described the recent incidents as crucial developments in a country that suffered from a 15 year sectarian war during which almost all sects fought against each other which prompted Syrian interference in the country.

Syria, which pulled out of Lebanon in April 2005 two months after the assassination of Hariri, said recently that it is not going to interfere in what it described the issue of Syed as an internal issue and told Hariri that he has to solve the matter by himself as per the Lebanese law.

Syed, who was in France waiting the decision of the international court on a petition he submitted to get a copy of the investigations with witnesses, the court has heard in the past five years and he wants to file a case against those whom -he accused- of forging witnesses to link his name to the assassination. He said this has resulted of holding me captive for four years without official charges which he will never forgive.

Syed accused the Lebanese Prosecutor General, Syed Mirza and another intelligence officer, Wissam Al Hassan of fabricating witnesses along with a number of Hariri allies to implicate him in the case along with Syria and other government figures close to Hezbollah.

Syed challenged the government to arrest him and said the summons issued against him by Mirza are illegal because the case he was planning to file in the court is against Mirza and Al Hassan, who are suspects in this case rather than interrogators. He urged the court to appoint another public prosecutor to investigate what Al Hariri considered as a threat and public slander by Al Sayed against himself personally and against the government.

Dubai A crucial cabinet meeting to be held today and chaired by President Michel Sulaiman is expected to re-shape the sharply divided political landscape of Lebanon, analysts say.

The country's two main political blocs, 14 March and March 8 — arch foes who came together to form a national unity government in 2008 thanks to the Doha agreement — have used every available opportunity to test each other's patience, be it through verbal taunts or militia manoeuvres.

A prominent member of parliament belonging to the Hezbollah resistance group, which is the cornerstone of the March 8 grouping, said the country had never witnessed sectarian polarisation of the kind it was witnessing and warned things were nearing a flashpoint.

Hassan Fadl Allah's grim assessment of the prevailing political situation was prompted by the summons issued by the Public Prosecutor to Jamil Al Syed, a former army general who had been imprisoned for four years in the case relating to the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

Members of Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri's Al Mustakbal faction wasted little time in warning Al Syed's supporters to desist from comments against the prime minister and the government.

Al Mustakbal lawmaker Ammar Howari told Gulf News the verbal attacks implied Hezbollah was working to a plan to derail the Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating Hariri's killing.

Sectarian tensions

Mohammad Kabara, another Mustakbal MP, even ventured to say that those opposed to the international court were in fact against the Sunni community.

In an emotional speech from his bastion in the northern Sunni stronghold of Tripoli, Kabara called on Hariri to stand up in defence of the court as it faced "a coup against government and the Sunnis". He then proceeded to assert that "Al Syed's way of attacking Hariri will not be tolerated by the majority of the country."

He compared recent developments to the bitterness of the 15-year sectarian conflict that wracked the country and prompted Syrian interference.

Syria, which pulled out of Lebanon in April 2005, two months after the assassination of Hariri, said recently it has nothing to do with Al Syed and described the issue as an internal matter that Hariri was entitled to deal with in accordance with Lebanese law.

Al Syed, who was in France awaiting the decision of the international court on a petition he submitted seeking a copy of witness accounts the court has heard over the past five years, said he would file a case against some people he accuses of giving false testimony to link his name to the assassination. He said he would seek every legal recourse available against those he accused of getting him incarcerated without even formal charges being framed.

Al Syed accused the Lebanese Prosecutor General, Syed Mirza, and another intelligence officer, Wissam Al Hassan of fabricating witnesses along with a number of Hariri allies to implicate him in the case along with Syria and other government figures close to Hezbollah.

Al Syed challenged the government to arrest him and said the summons issued against him by Mirza was illegal because he himself was planning to file a case against Mirza and Al Hassan which called for them to be treated as suspects in the case rather than interrogators. He urged the court to appoint another public prosecutor to investigate what Hariri had termed a threat and slanderous statement targeting him and his government.