20/09/2010 Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP General Michel Aoun denied on Saturday that he, along with his allies, were carrying out a coup in the country but trying to bring back some apparatuses to the legitimacy and preserve the rights of the people. "We are carrying out an intellectual revolution against corruption," Aoun said.
In an interview with al-Jazeera network Saturday night, Aoun added, “It is a political revolution against corruption, breaking laws and abusing human rights. We live under illegal systems that we don’t know how they were found, what their missions are or who gives them the directions.”
The FPM leader reiterated his call for forming a parliamentary investigation committee to examine the actions of Attorney General Said Mirza, Internal Security Forces (ISF) Director General Achraf Rifi, and ISF-Information Branch head Major Wissam al-Hassan, and added that he is supporting former General Security chief Jamil as-Sayyed’s case because Sayyed was falsely accused; however, “unfortunately, the false witnesses have immunity.”
Retired General Sayyed was detained from 2005 to 2009 on suspicion of involvement in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. In April 2009, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) ordered his release due to lack of evidence.
When asked about the presence of FPM representatives at Beirut airport on Saturday to welcome the former General Security Department chief, Aoun said: "Our presence was aimed at standing by the judiciary to liberate itself from the political pressure that is preventing it from achieving justice."
He also defended Sayyed by saying his comment about Prime Minister Saad Hariri was not a threat. “Those who want to kill do not reveal their intentions,” General Aoun said, in reference to Sayyed’s words to Hariri.
In a press conference last week, Sayyed warned Hariri to “give me my right, [or] I swear on my honor that I [will] take it with my own hands.”
Moreover, Aoun said that he can’t agree on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) “if it doesn’t proceed the course of the investigation properly," adding that "this court is more than politicized."
He also stressed that "we we want the truth and find out who killed former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and why," adding that "we do not want to accuse a person or a group of that crime and I announce that we doubt the credibility of this court."
Aoun accused Hariri's media of spoiling his image and asked for a personal apology from the prime minister for reportedly persecuting him for four years.“I request Hariri’s apology for his policy that has persecuted me for four years and distorted my reputation.”
He also said that there were many problems in Lebanon that needed dialogue like the “right of return” and illegitimate systems, however the national dialogue has become futile.
Aoun also pointed out that Hariri’s Cabinet had many legal violations expressing his dissatisfaction; however “I am not calling for a governmental change.”
About the arrest of top FPM official Fayez Karam on charges of spying for Israel, the MP said: "The Intelligence Bureau, even if it was legitimate, has the right to arrest someone for a period of maximum 4 days and then refer the issue to the judiciary.”
“[Retired Brigadier General Fayez] Karam does not know of the details of my relations with Hezbollah or any other ally,” Aoun added.
Karam was arrested the Police Intelligence Bureau on August 5 on charges of spying for Israel.
“Mustaqbal Performing Biggest Fraud Operation in Lebanon's Modern History”
20/09/2010 Hezbollah Media Relations Officer Dr. Ibrahim Moussawi on Sunday accused the Future Movement (Mustaqbal) of "performing the biggest fraud operation in Lebanon's modern history."
Moussawi slammed the "latest stances voiced by some of its (Mustaqbal) leaders," saying the movement was "staging a coup against state institutions, from the inside, through fully taking advantage of them to serve its interests and run the country as if it was a abandoned farm."
Dr. Moussawi added, "The most dangerous thing is the acts of some of this movement's symbols who are charging the atmospheres with sectarian tension through dragging the country into the rhetoric of sectarian strife - by classifying political stances according to sectarian basis, and by describing any stance that opposes the premier as opposition against its sect."
He also called on Mustaqbal Movement's leadership "to act wisely and end the civil strife rhetoric," adding that "all this uproar won't be useful in deviating attention from the need to hold false witnesses and their fabricators responsible neither from accusing Israel of assassinating Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri - as the gateway toward the truth."
Source: Naharnet
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