Lebanon”s Hariri vows no surrender to Hezbollah
Lebanon”s Sunni Muslim leader Saad al-Hariri pledged on Tuesday there would be no political surrender to what he called a bid by Hezbollah and its Syrian and Iranian backers to impose their will on the nation by force.
The Shi”ite Hezbollah group and its opposition allies have routed supporters of the Sunni-led government in Beirut and hills to the east in fighting that has pushed Lebanon to the brink of a new civil war.
"They simply are demanding that we surrender, they want Beirut to raise white flags… This is impossible," Hariri told a news conference in his first public appearance since Hezbollah swept through Sunni-dominated areas of the capital last week.
"They will not be able to obtain Saad al-Hariri”s signature … on a deed to surrender to the Iranian and Syrian regimes."
Lebanon experienced its calmest day since violence broke out on May 7 after U.S.-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora outlawed Hezbollah”s communications network and fired Beirut airport”s security chief, who is close to the Shi”ite group.
Hezbollah said this was a declaration of war and swiftly took over much of Beirut, crushing pro-government Sunni Muslim gunmen. It then handed over its gains to the army.
Hariri”s Future TV, forced off the air during the battles, resumed broadcasting shortly before the news conference.
Hariri, son of slain ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri, said the two decisions, now a dead letter, were no threat to Hezbollah.
"This was not an attack on Hezbollah. This was a decision made by Iran and Syria to attack Lebanon, to take Lebanon over and put it in Syrian-Iranian hands," the business magnate said.
Bitterly questioning the Shi”ite Islamist group”s promise to use its arsenal only against Israel, Hariri said:
"When these same arms that came from Iran and Syria are pointed at Lebanese, it means there”s a start of maybe a civil war. We don”t want a civil war because a civil war needs two sides and we will not lead the Lebanese into a civil war.
Arab League mediators are due in Beirut on Wednesday to try broker a solution to the political crisis that led to Lebanon”s worst internal fighting since the 1975-90 civil war.
Lebanon”s army earlier stepped up patrols as part of a drive to restore order after a week of fighting in which Hezbollah and its allies triumphed in Beirut and hills to the east.
The army measures were not seen as a challenge to Hezbollah, which has avoided friction with the military — whose own composition reflects Lebanon”s volatile sectarian mix.
Wary of fragmenting its ranks, the army has stayed neutral in the conflict, which has killed 81 people, wounded 250 and raised Arab and international concern over Lebanon”s future.