Beirut Spring

Blogging Lebanon
since 2005

About

This post is more than 15 years old

Remember that politics move quickly, and people and their opinions evolve.

“Too Many Questions Unanswered”

September 7, 2010 · Mustapha Hamoui

Assafir (My translation. Hover for Arabic):

The significance of [Hariri’s] double confession, even if late, lies in what further steps could be taken to complement it, politically and legally, and in the repercussions it may have on the political scene. The confession constituted a refutation of an entire political period that lasted 5 years, in which Lebanon underwent a political coup that severely tested the Lebanese-Syrian relationship.
Hariri’s unexpected initiative — the most important since he took after his father — could be an additional step towards building trust with Damascus through contrition, a step which was possibly demanded by Saudi Arabia and Syria. But it did not prevent questions from being asked, especially about what is asked of Mr. Hariri to do to prevent the great turmoil that would dawn on us should the STL’s indictment still target Hezbollah

Of course Assafir is assuming that Mr. Hariri was asked by the Saudis to lay off Syria, and that it was natural to ask the same of Hezbollah. Assafir takes for granted that the STL is a political affair and that Mr. Hariri should sell out justice to prevent “great turmoil”.