BEIRUT, 16 February 2005 — After quitting as Lebanon’s charismatic premier four months ago in a row over the extension of the pro-Syrian president’s term, Rafik Hariri walked a fine line between the opposition camp and those working for national reconciliation.
Hariri stated his position a day before his assassination in a massive explosion, in an interview with the As-Safir newspaper.
“I am no longer in government so it is natural that I be in the opposition. But I have my opposition ... and it has a ceiling: The Taif Accord,” he said of the 1989 national reconciliation agreement among Lebanese political leaders.
Hariri was one of the architects of the accord, which was adopted in the Saudi city of Taif at the height of the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war, and which called for a gradual Syrian military pullout from Lebanon.
Sixteen years later, Syria still maintains some 14,000 troops in Lebanon and is a thorn in the side of the opposition, which has held it responsible for the death of Hariri. “The problem with this government is that if you disagree with their action it quickly cast doubts over your national choices,” Hariri told As-Safir.
“The fact is I am an Arab nationalist and have been for dozens of years and I will not change my convictions now that I am 60. I refuse those who say ‘you must be with us otherwise you are against the Arab path.”
The five-time former prime minister emerged from an impoverished family in the southern port of Sidon to becoming a business tycoon who amassed along the way billions of dollars from an empire built on construction.
His rise opened to him the doors of politics and he used his business acumen and experience to run administrations for most of the time between 1992 and 2004, refusing to be drawn to one side against the other.
In October, Hariri submitted his resignation to President Emile Lahoud, his main political rival, who is favored by Lebanon’s political masters in Damascus, blaming internal political differences for his decision. It came amid international pressure on Syria to pull its troops out of the country and a month after Lahoud’s mandate was controversially extended for three years under a Syrian-inspired constitutional amendment.
In the As-Safir interview, the former prime minister insisted that a victory by the opposition in legislative elections set for May should not be seen as a slap in the face of Syria.
“It is wrong to believe that if the opposition wins in the elections, it will mean a defeat for Syria. We will continue to be very attached to our relations with Syria and to defend our strategic interests,” he said.
The resignation of Hariri, who has been credited with helping rebuild Lebanon after 15 years of devastating civil war, triggered fears about the future of the country’s economy, with its 35 billion dollars in debt.
His death has sparked fears that Lebanon, which was plagued by numerous political assassinations during the civil war, was once again on the brink of a disaster.
