By Hussein Dakroub BEIRUT: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called after talks with Lebanon’s top leaders Wednesday for national unity to ward off the threat of sectarian strife over an impending indictment into the 2005 slaying of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Erdogan also warned Israel against launching a new war in the region, saying that Israeli citizens would also suffer from this war.
During a joint news conference at the Grand Serail, Erdogan said Saudi-Syrian contacts to resolve the crisis in Lebanon were ongoing, despite Saudi King Abdullah’s hospitalization in the United States.
Erdogan said he was also coordinating with Syrian President Bashar Assad over the situation in Lebanon.
Hariri, meanwhile, said that the Lebanese should be comforted because there will not be any strife. “No one will drag us to any strife; we are wise and this country will continue,” Hariri said.
The unity appeal by Erdogan, who began a two-day official visit to Lebanon Wednesday, comes amid growing fears of sectarian violence over the indictment which is widely expected to implicate Hizbullah in Hariri’s assassination. The indictment is likely to be issued before the end of the year by the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which is probing Hariri’s killing.
“We are interested in internal developments in Lebanon. We concentrate our efforts on how to help Lebanon to maintain its unity,” Erdogan told reporters after holding talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri at the latter’s residence in Ain al-Tineh, where the Turkish premier performed the noon prayers.
Erdogan said that there should be “common ground” among rival Lebanese factions and various sects in order to protect Lebanon against the threat of strife.
“Whenever the Lebanese take steps in the development field, there is intervention to obstruct this development. We must not allow such intervention,” he said, adding, “We have to maintain our unity. We have to be strong, too. With this, we can take Lebanon, God willing, to the future in a strong manner.”
Earlier Wednesday, Erdogan had talks with President Michel Sleiman at the Presidential Palace in Baabda. Later in the evening, he met with Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the Grand Serail where Hariri hosted a dinner banquet.
Erdogan’s visit coincided with media reports that STL prosecutors are expected to indict Hizbullah members in Hariri’s assassination. The Canadian broadcaster CBC released a documentary Monday implicating Hizbullah in Hariri’s killing.
Responding to the CBC documentary, STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare warned Tuesday that media reports relating to the STL’s investigation could endanger lives, while Hariri said that leaked information did not serve the purpose of justice.
During the day, Erdogan and Hariri traveled by helicopter to the town of Kwashra in the northern Akkar region, where the Turkish premier met with Turkmen residents and inaugurated a Turkish-funded school in the nearby village of Aydamoun.
Addressing a rally in Kwashra, Erdogan said that Turkey and Lebanon will take steps Thursday to further strengthen their political and economic relations. He said the two countries last year canceled entry visas to facilitate the travel and movement of citizens in both countries.
“History has dictated on us brotherhood as peoples of this region. No one will ever be able to undermine this brotherhood and friendship or sow strife among us,” he said.
Erdogan, who has harshly criticized Israel for its 2009 military offensive on the Gaza Strip and the Israeli commando raid on May 31 on a Turkish-flagged flotilla carrying aid to the Palestinians under Israeli siege in Gaza, warned the country against launching a new war in the region.
“The government of Israel must fully realize that when security and peace are established in the region, it will also benefit from this peace,” Erdogan said. “But if a war erupts, the loser will not only be the people of this region, Israel’s citizens will also lose. Hence, I again renew my appeal to the government of Israel to back off from its mistakes and work for peace and welfare of the region’s peoples.”
“The government of Israel must fully realize that when security and peace are established in the region, it will also benefit from this peace,” Erdogan said. “But if a war erupts, the loser will not only be the people of this region, Israel’s citizens will also lose. Hence, I again renew my appeal to the government of Israel to back off from its mistakes and work for peace and welfare of the region’s peoples.”
“We call on Israel to stop its provocative actions … We call on the entire world to help achieve permanent peace and security in this region,” he said.
Hariri thanked Erdogan for the Turkish-financed school. “This is a big signal reflecting Turkey’s interest in Lebanon and your continuous care for this town and the deprived people who always need the best level of care and attention,” Hariri said.
While Erdogan was in Akkar, Israeli warplanes flew over the area, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported. During his two-day official visit, Erdogan will also inaugurate a hospital in southern Lebanon and inspect his country’s troops serving with a UN peacekeeping force in the south.
During Erdogan’s visit, Turkey and Lebanon signed a free trade agreement, as well as a joint political announcement to establish a higher Lebanese Turkish strategic committee.
In excerpts of an interview with As-Safir newspaper published Wednesday, Erdogan said Turkey was ready to help Lebanon overcome its current crisis. “During all difficult times through which Lebanon has passed, we have supported our Lebanese brothers. Today, we stand on their side and we will remain on their side,” he said.
Despite the tensions, Erdogan dispelled fears of instability in Lebanon due to the STL’s indictment. “I believe that the time now is for unity and solidarity in Lebanon because Lebanon was once one of the strongest states in the region,” he said.
The Grand Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani welcomed Erdogan’s visit. “The visit gives Lebanon more hope and safety because it will have a positive impact on the Lebanese toward consolidating cooperation, solidarity and national unity to serve the supreme national interest,” Kabbani said.
The Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghadanfar Roken Abadi said that Iran has joined Saudi Arabia and Syria in the search for a solution to the crisis over the STL’s indictment. He said that Erdogan’s visit will help in efforts to defuse political tensions in Lebanon. Abadi spoke to reporters after discussing the Lebanese crisis with Berri.
Asked whether Iran, which backs Hizbullah, was in contact with Turkey and Saudi Arabia to find a solution to the Lebanese crisis, Abadi said: “Iran is in constant contact and consultation with all countries in this region. Iranian-Arab contacts are taking place in general. There are Iranian-Saudi contacts, Iranian-Syrian contacts and Iranian-Turkish contacts in particular.” Asked whether the situation in Lebanon is worrisome, Abadi said: “The situation is progressing.”
More than 100 members of Lebanon’s Armenian community gathered outside Beirut’s international airport Wednesday to protest Erdogan’s visit.
Amid tight security outside the airport’s main entrance, the protesters hoisted banners that read: “The Lebanese have not forgotten Turkey’s bloody history in the region” and “Erdogan should bow before our martyrs.” Lebanon is home to a 140,000-strong Armenian community.
