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Lebanon’s Maronite leader visits Riyadh amid Hariri mystery

November 13, 2017 By administrator

Lebanon’s Maronite leader Cardinal Bechara el-Rai (R) meets Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in this file photo.

A top Lebanese Christian religious figure was heading to Saudi Arabia on Monday afternoon with the hope of meeting Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri whose surprise resignation in Riyadh has raised many questions.

The visit by Cardinal Bechara el-Rai, who heads the Maronite sect, is the latest in Lebanon’s efforts to allay fears about the circumstances surrounding Hariri’s fate in Saudi Arabia.

The Maronite sect is Lebanon’s largest Christian community and the Middle East’s largest Catholic church, to which President President Michel Aoun also belongs.

On Sunday, Aoun said Hariri was living in “mysterious circumstances” with restricted freedom in Riyadh as he cast doubt on what the Lebanese prime minister has said about his situation.

His remarks came shortly before Hariri said he would return to Lebanon “within days” and resolve issues with Hezbollah, which is a partner in his government.

Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry on Monday pledged to keep up pressure on Saudi Arabia not to impede Hariri’s return, the Al Akhbar paper reported, citing sources within the ministry.

Aoun has said Hariri has been “kidnapped” by Saudi Arabia. According to sources close to Hariri, cited by Reuters, Saudi Arabia “has concluded that the prime minister had to go because he was unwilling to confront Hezbollah.”

The Lebanese resistance movement enjoys significant military and political clout in Lebanon after helping the country fight off several Israeli wars.

Government sources said Hariri’s announcement to return to Beirut soon showed Saudi Arabia had backed down on its stances.

Lebanon however could not lend any credence to his claims until he was back, and that it was not yet clear whether Riyadh would allow his return, they added.

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil is also said to begin a foreign tour soon to lobby for Hariri’s return with European countries, starting with Russia, adding the country would seek recourse to other means if the efforts did not yield results.

French President Emanuel Macron visited Saudi Arabia but unconfirmed media reports said he had not been granted a meeting with Hariri. Also on Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for “non-interference” in Lebanon.

“For there to be a political solution in Lebanon, it is necessary that all of the political leaders have total freedom of movement and that non-interference is a fundamental principle,” Le Drian said as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

He said France was “worried by the situation in Lebanon” and wanted to see the government there “stabilize as quickly as possible.”

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Lebanon, Maronite, Saad Hariri

Lebanon demands Saudi Arabia return Prime Minister Saad Hariri

November 11, 2017 By administrator

Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri

Lebanese officials have demanded the return of Prime Minister Saad Hariri from Saudi Arabia. The head of the militant group Hezbollah said the Saudis had “declared war” on Lebanon by holding Hariri against his will.

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun has called on Saudi Arabia to dispel the “mystery” surrounding Hariri’s whereabouts.

In a statement released by his office on Saturday, Aoun asked Riyadh “to clarify the reasons that are preventing” Hariri from returning to Lebanon.

Aoun, who is yet to formally accept Hariri’s resignation, added that anything Hariri has said or may say “does not reflect reality” due to the “dubious and mysterious situation that he is living in the kingdom.”

Tensions are rising in what is seen as a new front line in the regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

A free man

Riyadh said Hariri (pictured above) is a free man and he decided to resign because Iran-allied Hezbollah had become dominant in his government.

Hariri had headed a coalition government for the best part of the last year including members of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech Friday that Hariri was being detained in Saudi Arabia and that his “forced” resignation was unconstitutional because it had been made “under duress.”

“It is clear that Saudi Arabia … declared war on Lebanon,” he said. Saudi Arabia says Lebanon has declared war against it

US chips in

The United States said Hariri should be allowed to return to Lebanon. In a message aimed at the Saudis, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned on Friday against using Lebanon as “a venue for proxy conflicts.”

Tillerson said if Hariri wants to step down he should “go back to Lebanon” and formally resign, “so that the government of Lebanon can function properly,” adding that he had seen “no indication” that Hariri was being held against his will.

Tit for tat?

Saudi Arabia said on Friday that a Saudi citizen had been kidnapped in Lebanon.

“The embassy is in contact with the highest ranking Lebanese security authorities about securing the unconditional release of a kidnapped Saudi citizen as soon as possible,” it said in a statement quoted by the Saudi state news agency SPA.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have advised their citizens against traveling to Lebanon and urged those already there to leave.

Saudi airstrike on Yemeni Defense Ministry

The other front in the war also saw action on Friday, when fighter jets from a Saudi-led coalition bombed the Houthi rebel-controlled Defense Ministry in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa late on Friday. Three civilians were reportedly wounded.

The coalition has increased attacks on Yemen since the Houthis — who control large parts of the country — fired a rocket at the Saudi capital last weekend.

Saudi Arabia and its allies shut down Yemen’s borders earlier this week after intercepting a missile fired by the Houthis near Riyadh airport on Saturday.

The UN said on Friday that the coalition is still blocking UN aid deliveries to Yemen despite the reopening of the Yemeni port of Aden and also a land border crossing.

The Houthis continue to control the capital, Sanaa, and much of Yemen’s north.

The conflict has left more than 8,650 people dead, including many civilians.

ap,jbh/jlw (dpa, AFP, Reuters, AP)

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Lebanon, Saad Hariri, Saudi Arabia

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