Hadade: Indictment Release in Concurrence with Syria’s Regained Stability

Hussein Assi

Khaled Hadade to Al-Manar Website: Gov’t Shape Shocked Us… We Don’t Trust Tribunal Indictment Release Related to Syrian Developments We Called for Joint Lebanese-Arab Tribunal Gov’t Did Not Deviate from Sectarian Traditions We Oppose Whole System, Won’t Sacrifice Our Country Losing Hope of Change Means Losing Hope in Lebanon Lebanese Communist Party (LCP) Secretary General Khaled Hadade drew a link between reports of the imminent release of the indictment in the assassination case of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and the improvement of the situation in Syria as well as the formation of the Lebanese government and the US negative stance vis-à-vis the new alliances in the country. In an exclusive interview with Al-Manar Website, Hadade said his party has rejected the so-called Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) since the beginning, and stressed he could not trust the United Nations’ institutions, dominated by the United States. While noting that the current stage requires a high level of national immunization, he said he was shocked by the new government’s shape which, according to him, did not deviate from the traditional sectarian standards. He stressed his party would continue its battle against the sectarian system, and said losing hope of change means losing hope in Lebanon as a whole. INDICTMENT TIMING POLITICIZED According to the LCP Secretary General, “there’s no way to exclude the previous, current and upcoming media campaigns concerning the indictment’s release from the political circumstances. He remarked that the indictment took off the table when Syria was in trouble during the previous stage, and was revived when the Syrian situation headed for a real dialogue, in which the “Syrian national opposition” would take part, fulfilling the initiative of the authorities.” He said that the forces he called “anti-Arab revolutions’ forces” were seeking to use the indictment to add pressure on the Syrian scene. In addition to the “Syrian dimensions” of the recent media campaign, Hadade pointed out to the Lebanese dimensions, and noted that the United States had announced its clear stance from the new alliances “and therefore, it is seeking to pressure Hezbollah.” As a conclusion, Hadada said he did not find strange the political framework, justifications, and motives that have revived the verdict at this particular stage. TRIBUNAL CONCERNS US Hadade, who linked the indictment’s timing to political developments, recalled that this was his party’s stance since the beginning, “as the LCP was the only party that rejected the tribunal when all other parties, including Hezbollah and the AMAL movement, accepted it at the national dialogue table…We frankly said that we do not trust the US-dominated UN institutions. We also called for a joint Lebanese-Arab tribunal and refused to link every aspect of life in Lebanon to international institutions. That’s why we were concerned vis-à-vis the tribunal and our stance remains very transparent in this regard.” On whether he has concerns about certain scenarios in case the indictment was released now, Hadade said that “the Lebanese should neutralize themselves from the content of the indictment.” However, he reminded that “there might be some repercussions on the ground, given sectarianism and divisions among Lebanese, but these repercussions remain unknown until determining the magnitude of the conspiracy.” Hadede stressed all Lebanese should work seriously to prevent sedition and safeguard the country. “For instance, the new government did not meet our expectations with regards to this critical stage that requires reconsidering all adopted policies.” GOVERNMENT’S SHAPE SHOCKING Hadede said he favored waiting for the issuance of the government’s policy statement and then making his evaluation, however he added, “the shape of the government was shocking.” According to LCP leader, the cabinet formation held on to sectarian standards, despite what he called the ‘orphan step’ of Speaker Nabih Berri who accepted to abandon a Shiite seat for a Sunni minister in order to resolve the Tripoli deadlock and finally form the government. “Yet, this small positive step came in the framework of resolving a deadlock. Therefore, it does not reflect a real tendency to abandon the sectarian form of this regime,” he said. Yet, he wished all success for the government, despite his “weak hopes.” WE WILL NOT SURRENDER TO SECTARIAN CANTONS The LCP Secretary General tackled the latest anti-sectarianism protests in Lebanon. He praised the youth who were behind these protests and said they were reconsidering the tools and slogans to serve their cause. He added that the LCP had its own slogans and stances. He spoke of a series of priorities for the upcoming stage, including the necessity to guarantee unified citizenship conditions as well as dealing with the urgent social issues. He said “fighting corruption alone is not enough and all the economic policies, adopted throughout the previous years, must be reconsidered.” “If we lose hope in change, then we lose hope in the whole country,” Hadede said. He found strange how some politicians claim the country will be jeopardized if this regime collapsed. He warned that “in case political leaders continue this way, they would be accepting to sacrifice the country at the altar of Bernard Louis’s project and ultimately establish sectarian cantons, which unfortunately, we’ve begun to really sense.”

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