ذكرت صحيفة “الدايلي ستار” نقلاً عن مصدر مطلع قريب من “8 آذار” في عددها الصادر الاثنين 4 تشرين الثاني 2013، أنّ رئيس الحزب التقدمي الاشتراكي النائب وليد جنبلاط بعث برسالة إلى الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد من خلال الوزير السابق طلال إرسلان، وطلب جنبلاط في الرسالة من الرئيس الأسد إعادة قراءة العلاقات بين الحزب الإشتراكي والقيادة السورية وتمنّى على الأسد أن يعيد ضابطَين درزيَّين إلى السلك العسكري كانا قد انشقّا في وقتٍ سابق.
وأشار المصدر إلى أنّ جنبلاط تلقّى رداً نصف إيجابي، وقد جاء في الردّ أنّ أمر إعادة العلاقات ما زال مُبكراً، ولكنه وعد أن يعيد إلتحاق الضابطَين.
وفي وقت لاحق نفى ارسلان للـLBCI نقله رسالة من جنبلاط الى الاسد او العكس وأكد ان لقاءه الاخير مع الاسد يعود الى 15 يوما. كما نفى مصدر سوري لقناة “الميادين” صحة للمعلومات بشأن الرسالة.
Jumblatt sends conciliatory letter to Assad, gets mixed reply
November 04, 2013 12:44 AM
By Mirella Hodeib
BEIRUT: In a clear sign of a shift in his stance toward the conflict in Syria, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt has sent a letter to Syrian President Bashar Assad, a senior political source close to the March 8 alliance told The Daily Star over the weekend.
The source said Jumblatt’s message, which Druze former Minister Talal Arslan conveyed to Assad, was twofold. Jumblatt called for re-evaluating ties between the PSP and the Syrian administration and appealed to Assad to re-enroll in the Syrian Army two Druze officers who had defected earlier, according to the source.
“Let’s say that Jumblatt received a half positive answer,” the source noted, adding that while Assad “thought it was too early to carry out re-evaluations,” he promised to accept the two defectors back in the military.
One of the prominent figures of Lebanon’s Druze community, Arslan has maintained warm ties with Assad and paid regular visits to Damascus since the start of the turmoil there.
While PSP officials refused to comment on news about Jumblatt’s message to Assad when contacted by The Daily Star, the mercurial politician is expected to tackle key local and regional issues during an interview on LBCI television Tuesday night.
The conciliatory mood that took over the region following the historic September phone call between U.S. President Barack Obama and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, as well as the advances on the ground of the Assad forces, has led several regional powers including Turkey and Qatar to gradually revisit stances regarding the Syrian unrest.
Known for his sharp flair for detecting regional political fluctuations, Jumblatt’s letter to Assad could be another one of his strategic shifts to ensure his own interests and those of the Druze community are safeguarded.
When the conflict in Syria erupted some two-and-a half years ago, Jumblatt was quick in voicing his unequivocal support for the revolt. Though Syria’s Druzes largely stayed out of the events, Jumblatt sometimes incited his coreligionists to join the uprising.
Following the death in 2000 of his long-term patron Syrian President Hafez Assad, Jumblatt spearheaded the anti-Syrian movement in Lebanon.
That culminated in large-scale popular protests demanding an end to Syrian hegemony in the aftermath of the 2005 assassination of his ally, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In March 2010 Jumblatt paid a visit to Bashar Assad after he apologized for insults voiced against the Syrian leadership.
Jumblatt appears ready to do it again and will make use of his notorious ability to change stances and allegiances in light of the regional developments, the political source said.
Domestically, Jumblatt is expected to sustain his centrist position, including rejecting the announcement of a fait accompli Cabinet and the exclusion of Hezbollah from any new government, the source said.
“Although his positions on the domestic level bother his allies like the Future Movement and Saudi Arabia, Jumblatt is not ready to relinquish them,” said the source. “He has learned his lesson well.”
Though intense drama characterized his relationship with Hezbollah in the wake of Hariri’s killing, Jumblatt reconciled with the party shortly after the 2008 clashes in Beirut and the Chouf. That year saw Hezbollah and its allies attack the Future Movement and the PSP following a government decision to dismantle its private telecommunications network.
“Hezbollah will not allow Jumblatt to fuel Sunni-Shiite tension once again,” the source said. “Jumblatt on the other hand is well aware his survival and that of his sect largely hinges on good ties with the Shiite community.”
انشا الله خير ومنتمنى انها تكون كذبة