Jumblatt: Accusation against Syria Was Based on 'Nothing'

Al-Manar

05/08/2010

The head of the Democratic Gathering MP Walid Jumblatt reiterated on Thursday that the political accusations the March 14 party used to launch against Syria over the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri were based on "nothing" and in the best case on the so-called false witnesses who misled the investigations.

Jumblatt was speaking during a press conference he held less than 24 hours after his return from Damascus where he met with Syrian President Bachar Assad.

"We are with the tribunal, but we fear that it would be used for other purposes because there are those who want to use the Court to sow strife," Jumblatt warning as he pointed to attempts to accuse Hezbollah of involvement in the case.

The Progressive Socialist Party leader called on Lebanese security authorities to put forth an intelligence mechanism and urged the intelligence bureaus of both the Lebanese army and police to "join efforts" in fighting spies.

He called to form a tribunal specialized with trying the spies and hang them to put an end to the spying phenomenon. He said the trials should be open.

Meanwhile, Jumblatt slammed UN peacekeepers for standing idle in Tuesday's border shooting. "We had hoped that UN soldiers would have stood by Lebanon against Israel," he told reporters.

While he acknowledged the need for UNIFIL, Jumblat warned that UN peacekeepers have a bad record. In Bosnia, he recalled, UN peacekeepers did not prevent the killing of 7,000 Bosnian Muslims by the Serbs.

"When we hear Israel urging France and the US not to provide the Lebanese army with weapons, this is why Resistance arms remain essential until the army is fully equipped to fight the enemy's might," Jumblatt said. "The army, the Resistance and the people are the ones that can best defend Lebanon," he stressed.

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