Iloubnan - Sakr accuses Jamil Sayyed of fabricating Der Spiegel report and ensures Hariri won’t let Hezbollah make harm to itself - September 20, 2010

BEIRUT, By Nayla Chahla | iloubnan.info - September 20, 2010

After the weekend shocking incident at Beirut airport that blew up condemning reactions, Lebanon First bloc MP Okab Sakr delivered a much heated address on Monday, strongly lashing out at former general Jamil Sayyed. In a press conference held in March 14 Coalition headquarters, Sakr accused Sayyed of fabricating Der Spiegel report, a 1.5 year ago, in order to sow the seeds of discord in Lebanon.

“On this September 20, 2010, I would like to pay tribute to the Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir who initiated on September 20, 2000, the Appeal of Maronite Bishops to end the Syrian occupation in Lebanon and manage a true national unity”, Sakr started. “I would like to point out, first of all, that the current battle in Lebanon is not sectarian at all. It is neither Sunnis against Shiites, nor State against Opposition because we have a national unity Cabinet, not even a March 14 battle because the positions of both Speaker Nabih Berri and MP Sleiman Franjieh are totally different from the ones of the rest of opposition. So, could the first have rallied March 14 Coalition’s ranks?” Sakr replied in fact to the virulent campaign and attack led by general Sayyed against Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his allies.

“By making this flow of accusations, Sayyed is seeking to drag Lebanon into an endless crisis in order to defend himself but I will show you now the plot he was sewing from one year and a half”, he said. “A year and a half ago, the crisis started in Lebanon with the famous Der Spiegel article which reported the involvement of Hezbollah members in the assassination of former Premier Rafic Hariri. Since that time, Hezbollah has threatened to “cut the hands” of the report’s author as well as a flow of threats which repercussions would only target Lebanon”.

“Afterwards, we heard about communication of information then reporting, wither to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s panel or media or other jurisdictions, followed by contradicting statements. All of that ended up by showing that Der Spiegel was fabricated, communicated and reported by Jamil Sayyed himself in order to protect himself and sow the seeds of discord in Lebanon”. “The game is over, you opened and unveiled all cards, Mr. Sayyed, along with the secret of this Der Spiegel affair”, Sakr signaled, proving that the report was issued in April 2009, one year prior to the behind closed doors meeting between PM Hariri and Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nassrallah which occurred in April 2010.

Thus, he said, the reported information didn’t come from investigating sources but from elsewhere; they were purely fabricated by Jamil Sayyed in order to set up turmoil in Lebanon. What happened, he said, on Sunday at Rafic Hariri International Airport has only harmed its perpetrators and showed that status quo power was the ruling authority. Commenting Hezbollah’s appeal to sentence the mastermind of Der Spiegel report, Sakr called on it to “listen to Speaker Nabih Berri and positively respond to the openness of PM Hariri in order to shelter Lebanon any endless crisis, amid the troubles that are arising all over the Arab world”.

Addressing the false witnesses issue, Sakr made it clear that neither Internal Security Forces Director General Ashraf Rifi, nor ISF Intelligence Desk head general Wissam Hassan nor head of security of prisons general Antoine Chakkour had probed or questioned any of the “false witnesses”, not even the General Prosecutor Said Mirza who used to hand them over to the STL.

“Sayyed requested an indemnity of $15 million then, slammed a ‘broker’ between Hezbollah and Hariri whom he revealed the name, Mostapha Nasser, in order to get $7 million as indemnity. If the issue can be settled with some dollars, let it be! Just go to courts and win your case legally, but you cannot use the streets to recover your right as you claim”, Sakr pointed.

To sum up, Sakr stressed anew that as long as March 14 Coalition existed along with Saad Hariri in Prime Ministry, there is no fear for Lebanon or for the civil peace. Sakr ensured that PM Hariri would endeavor to the maximum in order to save Lebanon’s security and prevent Hezbollah from making any harm to itself. “Yes for civil peace. No for civil surrender. Yes for State resistance. No for resistance against the State”. Sakr concluded.