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May 20, 2005 |
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MIQATI EXPRESSES THANKS TO THE KINGDOM FOR ITS CONTINUAL SUPPORT FOR HIS COUNTRY. SAADEDDINE RAFIQ HARIRI ANNOUNCES THE ELECTORAL LISTS OF THE MARTYR RAFIQ HARIRI'S ALLIANCE. AL HARIRI: THE TERRORIST ATTACK THAT KILLED PRIME MINISTER HARIRI WILL NOT DERAIL THE PROGRAM AND NATIONAL UNITY; NEITHER WILL A CAMPAIGN OF SECTARIAN INCITEMENT. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud received at his office at Alyamamah palace in Riyadh Lebanese Premier Najeeb Miqati. During the meeting, Miqati conveyed to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques the greetings of Lebanon's President Emile Lahoud. On his part, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques sent his greetings to the Lebanese president. Then they reviewed the situation in Lebanon, the Palestinian cause and the situation in Iraq as well as the latest developments at the Arab and International arenas in addition to ties between the Kingdom and Lebanon and ways of enhancing them in all fields. The audience was attended by Prince Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Minster of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General; Prince Ahmed Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Minister of Interior; Prince Abdul Aziz Ibn Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, Minister of State, Member of the Cabinet and Chief of the Cabinet's Presidency; Prince Faisal Ibn Turki Ibn Abdullah; senior protocol officials; Iyad Ibn Ameen Madani, the Minister of Culture and Information, and Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Dr. Abdul Aziz Ibn Mohyeddin Khoja. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received Lebanese Premier Najeeb Miqati. During the meeting, they exchanged cordial talks, discussed the situation in Lebanon, the region and the world and reviewed Saudi-Lebanese bilateral relations. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, received Lebanese Premier Najeeb Miqati. During the meeting, they discussed issues of mutual concern between the two countries, latest developments at the Arab and International arenas, including the situation in Lebanon, and aspects of cooperation between the two countries and ways of enhancing them in all fields. The audience was attended by Iyad Ibn Ameen Madani, the Minister of Culture and Information, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohyeddin Khoja and Lebanon's Charge d'Affaires in the Kingdom Ali Ghazawi. Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh Region, held here today a luncheon in honor of visiting Lebanese Premier Najeeb Meeqati and the accompanying delegation. The banquet was attended by a number of officials. Lebanese Premier Najeeb Miqati and accompanying delegation left Riyadh after a short visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He was seen off at Riyadh air base by Iyad Ibn Ameen Madani, the Minister of Culture and Information, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Dr. Abdul Aziz Moheddin Khoja and a representative of the Royal Protocol. In a departure statement, Miqati said his talks with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, and Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, were in the benefit of the people and government of Lebanon. He expressed pleasure of his visit to the Kingdom, lauding the historic ties binding the two countries which he said were based on understanding and cooperation. Miqati expressed thanks to the Kingdom for its continual support for his country, recalling that the process of national reconciliation in Lebanon was linked to Al Taif Arrangement. On the current political situation in Lebanon, he said Lebanon is set to have its parliamentary elections and that Lebanon is prosperous and promising to continue the march, the foundation of which was laid by martyr Rafiq Al Hariri during his premiership era. In Beirut Mr. Saadeddine Rafiq Hariri paid tribute to MP Ghattas Khoury who announced his withdrawal from the electoral race for Beirut's Maronite seat in upcoming parliamentary elections. Mr. Hariri told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Najib Miqati at the Premier's home in Beirut, Mrs. Solange Gemayel is the most likely candidate to replace Dr. Khoury, and confirmed that his electoral alliance for Beirut's polls will be announced tonight. Responding to questions on MP Khoury's decision to withdraw from the race, Mr. Hariri stressed that Dr. Khoury has always struggled for the capital's interests, citing his treatment of patients in 1982, when he was among a handful of physicians who remained at the American University Hospital during Israel's invasion of Beirut. Mr. Hariri described the Beirut MP as a moderate politician who remained steadfast to his political stances, pointing to his vote in Parliament against extending President Emile Lahoud's mandate last year. He stressed that Dr. Khoury was a vanguard of the opposition, and a friend of the Hariri family, making it clear that cooperation between them will continue. Mr. Hariri told reporters sectarian incitement will "break moderation," and offered support to Prime Minister Miqati in helping reduce the prevailing sectarian provocations. Mr. Saadeddine Rafiq Hariri announced the names of nineteen candidates who will run in three separate electoral voting districts in May 29 legislative elections in Beirut. The lists were dubbed the Martyr Rafiq Hariri alliance. Candidates attended a ceremony in Koreitem, during which Mr. Hariri declared the alliance. He reaffirmed pledges to safeguard Lebanese unity, sovereignty, democracy and coexistence under the terms of the Taif peace accord. In his speech to thousands of supporters, Mr. Saadeddine paid tribute to MP Ghattas Khoury, who earlier withdrew from the electoral race paving the way for Mrs. Solange Gemayel to run for the Maronite seat in the capital. Mr. Hariri hailed Dr. Khoury as a friend of the assassinated leader and made clear that the Beirut MP will remain a close friend and an ally of the family. Mr. Hariri expressed his commitment to the policies of the late leader, including the country's unity, Arab identity, independence, religious coexistence, prosperity and independence, for which the slain Prime Minister was killed. The late leader's son promised the people of Beirut that the blood of the slain Premier will not be wasted and that he will pursue his political and national program, despite the difficulties that faced the murdered leader. He said the terrorist attack that killed Prime Minister Hariri will not derail the program and national unity; neither will a campaign of sectarian incitement underway. Mr. Saadeddine made an oath to protect Lebanon and the resistance in the face of Israeli occupation. He rejected custodianship in all its forms, and voiced confidence that Lebanon can successfully "play its own role in the region and the world." In expressing the Future Movement's commitment to its allies, Mr. Hariri said they are not only facing an electoral battle, but also a battle for economic salvation, cementing independence under the terms of the Taif accord, bolstering sovereignty following Syria's military pullout, rectifying ties with Syria, and rescuing Lebanese democracy from the grips of the intelligence and military regime. Sheikh Saadeddine also called on all Lebanese to commit to safeguarding national unity. Candidates running under Mr. Hariri's alliance in District III are: Mrs. Ghinwa Jalloul, Mr. Mohammad Qabbani, Mr. Ghazi Aridi, Mr. Agop Kassarjian, Mr. Jean Ogassapian, Mr. Serge Tor Sarkissian, and Mr. Ghazi Youssef. In District II, they are: Mr. Bahij Tabbara, Mr. Walid Eido, Mr. Atef Majdalani, Mr. Nabil De Freji, Mr. Yeghya Gergian, and Mr. Ameen Sheri. In District I, the candidates are: Mr. Saadeddine Hariri, Mr. Michel Pharaon, Mrs. Solange Gemayel, Mr. Gebran Tueini, Mr. Ammar al-Houri, and Mr. Bassem el-Shab. Mr. Saadeddine Hariri had warned against attempts to wreck national unity to derail parliamentary elections so that "some" officials can remain in their current positions if Parliament's term is extended. Speaking to thousands of supporters in Koreitem, in the presence of Mrs. Nazek Rafiq Hariri, Mr. Saadeddine said those who now pretend to be safeguarding their sects had for many years sought to divide them and curtail their aspirations. Reaffirming the late leader's values of national unity and coexistence, Mr. Hariri said the murder of martyred Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri amounted to an assassination of moderation, and called for preserving the outpour of unity following the February 14 bombing. Mr. Hariri stressed that as the country approaches "tough" elections, there is an unprecedented campaign of sectarian incitement, pointing to attempts to block the elections by the same people who "procrastinated" with the aim of postponing the polls. He made clear that the 2000 law, which will govern the election, was tailor-made to weaken the late leader's power but he had scored a resounding victory. The slain Premier's family had earlier reaffirmed its pledge to pursue the murdered leader's legacy. Mrs. Nazek Hariri expressed to a huge rally in Kfar Falloos, near Sidon, the family's commitment to sovereignty, democracy, and the Taif accord. MP Bahia Hariri also told some 50,000 people in Kfar Falloos, site of a major educational complex that was constructed by the late Premier, the assassinated leader paid with his life the price of his struggle for freedom. Mr. Saadeddine Hariri expected opposition candidates in parliamentary elections to be the main winners in upcoming polls, and vowed to pursue assassinated Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri's program of rebuilding Lebanon and Beirut. In separate meetings with local councilors from the capital and families from the city, Mr. Saadeddine also highlighted the significance of a united opposition front. Local councillors from across Beirut met Mr. Hariri in Koreitem, where they pledged their allegiance to the murdered former Premier's son, who told them the success of the electoral process requires the efforts of every single one of them. In response to a question on MP Ghattas Khoury's decision to withdraw from the electoral race, paving the way for the uncontested nomination of Mrs. Solange Gemayel, Mr. Hariri said Dr. Khoury informed him of attempts to divide the opposition and create rifts between the Future Movement and the Qornet Shehwan, Lebanese Forces, General Michel Aoun's followers, and other opposition factions, adding the Beirut MP did not want to cause that after having spent an entire year building the opposition alongside the murdered leader. He said Dr. Khoury reaffirmed the need for the opposition to remain united and change all aspects of the state. Mr. Hariri also stressed that Dr. Khoury's ties with the family will not change and that his political career did not stop here since political life is not restricted to Parliament. He told the gathering, the MP's decision was difficult and so was Mr. Hariri's acceptance of Dr. Khoury's withdrawal from the race, but made it clear the move was in the interest of Lebanon and the unity of the opposition, so too was MP Walid Jumblatt's decision in the Chouf region, in reference to the Progressive Socialist Party leader's alliance with the Lebanese Forces. Recalling the cooperation of the Lebanese Forces, Qornet Shehwan, National Liberal Party, and the rest of the opposition on March 14, when more than a million Lebanese marched in Beirut demanding national unity, sovereignty, and the truth behind the late leader's assassination, Mr. Hariri said "we will not impose our views on anyone," and the late Premier always gave priority to national unity. He also urged forgiveness and awareness about the course of unprecedented national unity that the Lebanese are following. At another meeting with families from Beirut, in the presence of Mrs. Nazek Hariri, Mr. Saadeddine was upbeat about the outcome of an international investigation into the late leader's murder. He said commission members will arrive in Beirut in the next ten days and launch the probe that is led by a reputable judge who has a successful record in arriving at the truth. He added, "You will see apparatuses falling and you will see who committed this crime and how they will be punished." Mr. Saadeddine Hariri pledged to pursue the legacy of his late father, including his commitment to the Taif peace agreement, national unity, coexistence, freedom, independence and sovereignty of Lebanon. Addressing thousands of the capital city's residents who converged on Koreitem, in the presence of Mrs. Nazek Hariri, Mr. Saadeddine vowed to defeat efforts that aim at derailing the ongoing national unity drive. Mr. Hariri promised to include all those who did not participate in rallies that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and to protect national unity. He reiterated his commitment to revealing the full truth behind the February 14 assassination of the slain former Premier, and urged all voters to cast their ballots for candidates supported by the Future Movement in upcoming Parliamentary elections. Also in the presence of Mrs. Nazek Hariri, Mr. Saadeddine received a large delegation of the Itani family led by the head of the union of Beirut family associations Mr. Ameen Itani, who expressed his allegiance to the martyred Premier's values of development, moderation, and national conciliation which he stressed the late leader's son is now following. Mr. Itani urged all voters to cast their ballots on May 29 to choose new MPs for Beirut. For his part, Mr. Hariri made clear he will continue to seek Mr. Hariri's goal of rectifying the unfair and vengeful practices, initiated by the authorities, which prevented Beirut from its rightful demands for new schools, hospitals and a conference center, adding the late martyr favored equality throughout Lebanon. He said Mr. Hariri was attacked but he believed in dialogue and tried tirelessly to bolster coexistence, and in return people showed him loyalty when they took to the streets on March 14 demanding the truth behind his murder. He told the large crowd that together they will fulfill the late leader's goals and asked for their support. Mr. Saadeddine pointed out that "no one would have dreamt of what has been fulfilled since three months," repeating his dedication to Lebanon's independence. Mrs. Nazek also addressed the cheering crowds. She called on them to vote for all the candidates that are supported by the Future Movement, led by "our son Saad." Wife of the martyred Premier said the family backs the Taif Agreement, national conciliation, dialogue and coexistence. She hailed Beirut as the capital of "national thought," and highlighted the significance of national unity, freedom, democracy and sovereignty. |
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