After Long Silence, the One-Eye Hariri Describes STL

Thursday 27 October 2011

After Long Silence, the One-Eye Hariri Describes STL

Former premier Saad Hariri on Wednesday noted that “the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was established for the sake of fulfilling justice and putting an end to political assassinations in Lebanon.”
The U.N.-backed STL, probing the 2005 assassination of Hariri’s father, ex-PM Rafik Hariri, was also established to “put an end to the era of using force to impose political choices and employing terrorism to take revenge on political rivals,” Hariri said.

The former premier voiced his remarks before a March 14 delegation in Riyadh.

Hariri and the Lebanese delegation -- comprising March 14 MPs and politicians, Muslim clerics and economic and media figures – were in the Saudi capital to offer condolences to King Abdullah and the kingdom’s leadership over the death of crown prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz.

Hariri also stressed “the need to confront the current challenges, especially concerning the Lebanese state’s obligations towards the STL,” Hariri’s press office said in a statement.

“The assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri, similar to the other political crimes that targeted several Lebanese figures and leaders, is an issue that concerns all the Lebanese, not only a certain political or sectarian party,” Hariri told the delegation, quoted by his press office.

The former premier lauded the support offered by Saudi Arabia and its king for Lebanon, noting that “our presence here together to offer condolences over the death of crown prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz is a reflection of the depth of ties between Lebanon and the kingdom and a salutation of loyalty and respect to the soul” of the late crown prince.

World leaders, including Iran's foreign minister, poured into Riyadh to offer condolences on the death of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, who was buried on Tuesday in the presence of an ailing King Abdullah.

Sultan died on Saturday in a New York hospital after a long battle with illness.

Miqati and Hariri came face to face on Tuesday during their condolences to King Abdullah.
The relations between the two deteriorated after Miqati accepted the proposal of March 8 forces to lead the cabinet after they toppled Hariri’s government earlier in the year.