Timing is everything
Timing is everything in this part of the Middle East, and it is no coincidence that the meeting between Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and FPM boss Michel Aoun was held after days of Syrian mischief making.
Spearheading the most recent attack from Damascus was Jamil As-Sayyed, the disgraced former security chief and one of the “Four Generals” accused of murdering former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In what was clearly an attempt to undermine the integrity of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and slow down the latest attempts at forming a government, Sayyed poured scorn on Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, accusing him of protecting those who have perverted the course of justice. He also urged President Sleiman to be his own man, and advised all honorable opposition politicians – a nod to Aoun – not to take part in the formation of a government destined to be run by crooks and bounders.
This coming from a man who made a not-insignificant contribution to Syria’s iron rule in Lebanon in the latter years of its occupation is, to put it mildly, a case of the pot calling the proverbial kettle black, and interestingly enough, none of the March 14 media saw it fitting to give much importance to the rants of a man who represented one of the less glorious eras in Lebanon’s short history.
His comments came in the wake of further outbursts from two more of Syria’s local minions, Nasser Qandil and Wiam Wahhab, and reports that the Syrian government has assembled a legal team to scrutinize alleged falsified documents that are part of the tribunal’s ongoing investigation. Syria has not been accused of anything – for now; and yet it insists on throwing out chaff. The tribunal should not be a tool to stir up more madness. As far as we know, international justice has not, and should not, be thrown off course by the rants of agitators.
The bald truth is that this culture of disinformation and the screaming accusations have been designed to sap the will of the majority. The results of a legitimate and credible electoral process clearly show that the March 14 bloc won the June 7 polls, held under a law the opposition demanded.
And yet because the opposition lost, in the past three months it has sought to undermine the electoral process – not to mention the constitution – and progress on the tribunal by making demands that under normal circumstances it would not be allowed to make.
But, and here’s the rub, the opposition feels it can do what it wants. It has insisted on a “national-unity government” a “government of consensus”. Call it what you will, because, for a start, it sounds very touchy-feely. The words “unity” and “consensus” smack of fairness and moderation when in fact they are nothing more than a cynical smokescreen hiding the threat of violence, intimidation and deadlock that has been the calling card of an opposition that resorts to mayhem when it doesn’t get its way.
This is the culture of an opposition whose slogan is: “you must listen to us or we will get nasty.” It has been their modus operandi since 2006, and it is being used to stymie the tribunal and shoehorn Syrian and Iranian influence into a Lebanon that voted against it.