In demanding Hariri's return, Lebanese find rare unity

[webfact]

In demanding Hariri's return, Lebanese find rare unity

By Imad Creidi

 

Youmn Ahmad, a Lebanese artist, paints a portrait of Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, who has resigned from his post, during the annual Beirut Marathon, in Beirut Lebanon November 12, 2017. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi

 

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A country long divided by sectarian conflicts, Lebanon has found a rare point of unity since Saad al-Hariri's shock resignation as prime minister: Lebanese of all stripes want him to come back from Saudi Arabia and to continue his work as premier.

 

Hariri left Beirut for Riyadh on Nov. 3 and resigned the following day in a speech that caught even his closest aides off guard. He cited fear of assassination and blamed Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah for sowing strife in the Arab world.

 

The Lebanese authorities believe Saudi Arabia forced Hariri to resign and is holding him against his will, say top Lebanese state officials and politicians close to Hariri.

 

While some in Lebanon believe Hariri's decision was his own and blame Iran and Hezbollah for the crisis, many others, including some of his longtime supporters, think he was forced to quit.

 

Billboards and posters demanding his return have gone up across Beirut. "We want our PM back," declared a huge billboard near the Beirut waterfront.

 

Runners in the annual Beirut marathon on Sunday echoed the demand. Some wore T-shirts printed with Hariri's face and the message: "We're all waiting for you."

 

"This year, there are definitely many telling him 'we are waiting for you', and God willing he will come back safe and sound," May al-Khalil, the founder and president of the Beirut Marathon Association, said.

 

Hariri ran in the Beirut marathon last year, shortly after he was installed as prime minister of a coalition government that generated hope of stability after years of political tension and paralysis.

 

Thousands of runners turned out, defying security concerns that have grown since Hariri resigned and Saudi Arabia declared both Lebanon and Hezbollah as hostile parties.

 

"Sheikh Saad al-Hariri represents all Lebanese people," said Beirut Mayor Jamal Itani, wearing a cap that read "Running for You". Lebanese wanted Hariri "to return as Prime Minister", he said.

 

"WE ALL LOVE HIM"

 

Saudi Arabia has denied reports Hariri, a long time ally of Riyadh, is being held against his will and coerced into resigning. It says he is a free man and quit because Hezbollah was calling the shots in his government.

 

Ashraf Rifi, a hawkish Sunni politician who is fiercely critical of Hezbollah and Iran, has welcomed Hariri's resignation, saying "it pulled the official cover away from Iran's project in Lebanon".

 

Tension between Hariri and Hezbollah has been a defining feature of Lebanese politics since the 2005 assassination of his father, Rafik al-Hariri. A U.N.-backed tribunal has charged five Hezbollah members over the killing. Hezbollah denies any role.

 

But Hariri has twice set aside his differences with Hezbollah to lead coalition governments including the group.

 

"We all love him, even those who weren't sympathetic to him are now sympathetic, because as you know he's the prime minister of all of Lebanon, not just prime minister for us Sunnis," said Yousef Saad al-Deen, 40.

 

"No one is allowed to decide for us, neither who our president is nor who we will elect," he added, speaking in the staunchly pro-Hariri Beirut neighbourhood of Tariq al-Jdideh, where newly erected posters pledged loyalty to Hariri.

 

Munir Khatib, a man in his late 60s, said Iran was to blame. "He is not being held, as they are saying," he said.

 

Hezbollah, the strongest group in Lebanon thanks to its vast arsenal, has declared Saudi Arabia's detention of Hariri as an insult to all Lebanese. At a rally on Friday, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said he must return.

 

The Future Movement, Hariri's political party, also says Hariri must come back to Lebanon, calling him a national leader whose presence is vital to upholding the Lebanese system. It has also taken aim at criticism of Saudi Arabia, on Saturday rejecting "campaigns targeting" the Kingdom.

 

Lebanon, which fought a civil war from 1975-90, is governed according to a carefully balanced system that parcels out the state along sectarian lines. Many say now is the time for unity.

 

"The war had taught us that if we don't have our ranks united and on the same ground, the country cannot succeed," said Arlette Dakkash, a resident of Beirut.

 

(Additional reporting by Ellen Francis and Sarah Dadouch; Writing by Sarah Dadouch/Tom Perry; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-13

[Stargeezr]

Lebanon, all you have to do is kick out all members of Hezbollah. Simple solution...

[craigt3365]

10 minutes ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

Lebanon, all you have to do is kick out all members of Hezbollah. Simple solution...

Not so simple when you have a barely functioning government.

[Stargeezr]

Lebanon has this government because it is being ran by Hezbollah and they have the guns, It has been a corrupt country for so long and has supported Hezbollah so now it is in the pickle that it is because of the continued corruption, and because of its own terrorist organization.

Geezer

[IAMHERE]

Go back to Lebanon where he'll be assassinated?  I wouldn't.

[Srikcir]

If Hariri doesn't return soon and resume his position, Israel might intervene in Lebabon.

http://www.newsweek.com/israel-preparing-another-war-hezbollah-idf-practices-attack-lebanon-659510

[mfd101]

MBS' performance on Qatar & in Yemen has been pretty awful so far but now he's managed to unite the Lebanese. Quite a feat!

[ilostmypassword]

1 hour ago, IAMHERE said:

Go back to Lebanon where he'll be assassinated?  I wouldn't.

We know that there's a threat because the Saudis say so. Hariri's staff didn't know about it, Lebanese intelligence didn't know about it, but the Saudis do. Believable.

[Morch]

5 hours ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

Lebanon, all you have to do is kick out all members of Hezbollah. Simple solution...

 

Hezbollah is made out of Lebanese Shia. Shia Lebanese are at least 30% of the population.

 

Edited November 13, 2017 by Morch

[Morch]

3 hours ago, Srikcir said:

If Hariri doesn't return soon and resume his position, Israel might intervene in Lebabon.

http://www.newsweek.com/israel-preparing-another-war-hezbollah-idf-practices-attack-lebanon-659510

 

The military drills the article refers to have concluded prior to Hariri's resignation. The view that things might come to a head is not a new one, and was aired long before that. The IDF making a future war against Hezbollah it's training focus makes sense, considering regional conditions.

 

Not to clear on the rationale of tying the article linked with a possible Israeli intervention conditional on Hariri's return.

 

If anything, Israel currently hosts a multi-national air-force exercise, so quite unlikely for things to intentionally escalate while it is going on.

[Morch]

2 hours ago, mfd101 said:

MBS' performance on Qatar & in Yemen has been pretty awful so far but now he's managed to unite the Lebanese. Quite a feat!

 

Unite how? Because of a few slogans? Politicians saying this or that? 

[Morch]

2 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

We know that there's a threat because the Saudis say so. Hariri's staff didn't know about it, Lebanese intelligence didn't know about it, but the Saudis do. Believable.

 

I don't know that there was a plot on Hariri's life, let alone a concrete, "clear and present danger" one. There were reports, prior to current events, of an incident involving his motorcade's communication and navigation gear being jammed, with fingers pointed at Iran/Hezbollah. That his staff wasn't aware of such a plot isn't saying a whole lot, though. Regarding Lebanese intelligence - the current chief does have a reputation for being even-handed, but is still shia and rumors of his political aspirations (although denied) are routine.

 

In his recent interview, Hariri repeated the same allegations. It's possible that they are false and/or dictated to him by Saudi Arabia, but got to wonder if they'd make such a clear cut allegation without having absolutely nothing to support it.

[Srikcir]

2 hours ago, Morch said:

Not to clear on the rationale of tying the article linked with a possible Israeli intervention conditional on Hariri's return.

The point is that Israel has intervened in Lebanon before and likely to do so again if it feels its security is threatened.

[Morch]

Just now, Srikcir said:

The point is that Israel has intervened in Lebanon before and likely to do so again if it feels its security is threatened.

 

That goes without saying, it's the connection to Hariri's resignation that's missing. Essentially, this doesn't change much (at this time) from Israel's point of view. It is not an uncommon view that the situation between Israel and the Hezbollah is usually two stupid mistakes away from a conflagration. This still applies. Tensions mounting up between Israel, Syria and Iran are a factor as well, but all of this was there prior to Hariri's resignation.

 

But the very same is true with regard to Syria - a history of military intervention in Lebanon, possible future effects on security and political issues, an ally in-country, an interested sponsor providing back up.