Hariri retracts charge against Syria
In this picture taken on Nov. 9, 2009, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, right, the son of slain former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, prays at his father grave in downtown Beirut, Lebanon. (AP)
Published: Sep 7, 2010 00:37 Updated: Sep 7, 2010 00:37
BEIRUT: Lebanon's prime minister said he was wrong to accuse Syria of involvement in the 2005 assassination of his father, a major turnaround for a politician who has long blamed Damascus for the Beirut truck bombing that killed Rafik Hariri and 22 others.
In an interview published Monday, Saad Hariri said the accusation was politically motivated.
“This was a political accusation, and this political accusation has ended,” he told the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
Hariri's comments come at a time when he and his Western-backed political bloc are struggling to maintain momentum as Syria's ally in Lebanon, Hezbollah, gains influence. Since December, the prime minister has made five trips to Syria and both sides have urged reconciliation.
The death of Rafik Hariri, a former prime minister, sparked massive anti-Syrian protests in Lebanon, dubbed the Cedar Revolution, which led to Syria's withdrawal of its army after nearly 30 years of military and political domination of its neighbor.
Damascus has consistently denied any involvement in the assassination.
The Cedar Revolution gave rise to the coalition known as March 14, named for a day of massive anti-Syrian protests in 2005.
Nabil Bou Monsef of Beirut's leading An-Nahar daily said Hariri's comments are a clear sign that relations between Hariri and Syria are “advancing in a major way.” “Hariri is turning a major page by ending the accusation against Syria,” he said, adding that it remains to be seen how the March 14 alliance will respond.
A Netherlands-based UN tribunal has been set up to try those responsible for Hariri's killing.
The first UN investigator into the killing, Germany's Detlev Mehlis, said the assassination plot's complexity suggested a role by the Syrian intelligence services and its pro-Syria Lebanese counterpart.
But the two chief investigators who followed Mehlis have worked quietly and have not named any individuals or countries as suspects.
In July, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah announced that he expected the tribunal to indict members of his movement. But he dismissed the allegations and said the tribunal has no credibility.
Many people fear indictments of Hezbollah members could spark clashes between Lebanon's Sunnis and Shiites, or that Hezbollah's nemesis Israel could be pulled into a conflict, causing wider turmoil.
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