Failure in 2009 Means Rustom Ghazali Will Govern From Damascus
Democratic Gathering bloc leader MP Walid Jumblat told reporters, after meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir in Bkirki, that the people of Lebanon were headed toward fateful elections.
“If we succeeded in elections under the most dangerous circumstances, we can continue internal dialogue calmly in order to gradually assimilate the Resistance’s arms and if we fail, Rustom Ghazali will head [the elections] from rural Damascus,” Jumblat said.
He added that the situation improved after the May events and that the PSP made many successful political deals with Patriarch Sfeir.
“The Syrians entered on the blood of Kamal Jumblat and left on the blood of Rafik Hariri. Two weeks before he died, Hariri told me the Syrians were leaving, and they left after his martyrdom,” Jumblat said.
He also said that no one could accuse him of provoking the United States on his return from his US visit because, since his visit to the US in 2006, he has understood Washington’s message. This message, he said, was announced in 2006 by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she said that the Syrian regime should change its behavior. He added that the new administration wanted to reestablish engagement with Damascus, but, “I must warn that this regime is professional in talks for talks’ sake, dialogue for dialogue’s sake.”
He called on the March 14 alliance to be alert because Syrian-Israeli relations should not be strengthened at the expense of Lebanon.