Lahoud to Al-Manar: Apologizing from Syria Not Enough

14/09/2010 Former President Emil Lahoud said on Tuesday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri cannot have credibility in case it doesn’t question the false witnesses who misled the investigation and harmed the path of the truth.

Speaking to Al-Manar Television, Lahoud noted that apologizing from Syria is not enough after “politically” accusing the neighbor state of standing behind assassinations in Lebanon, harming therefore the Lebanese-Syrian relations and causing a rupture of relations between the two neighbor states.

Referring to the latest stances made by Prime Minister Saad Hariri in his famous interview with pan-Arab daily As-Sharq al-Awsat in which he admitted that he had erred in accusing Syria of assassinating his father and that the charge had been politically motivated, Lahoud stressed that apologies are not enough. “There should be tangible moves reflecting the apologies,” the former President explained.

The former Army Commander, meanwhile, criticized the “low” budget set for the army, wondering how can politicians raise the slogan of supporting the army and providing it with advanced weapons at one side and do the opposite at the other. “The army’s budget in the general budget is maybe enough just to repair buildings and cars,” Lahoud said.

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