Jumblatt revealed to Press TV, an Iranian ( English language ) news agency that in order to avoid the same destiny as his father , who was assassinated by the Syrians he had to deceive the brutal Syrian regime during the occupation of Lebanon and had to mislead them and lie to them in order to survive.
Jumblatt said “ the majority under no circumstances will allow Hezbollah a blocking third share in the government and added “ If Hassan Nasrallah ( Hezbollah chief ) wants this he has to take it by force , but not over our dead bodies will we let him get a blocking third.
On the issue of half plus one quorum for presidential elections he responded by saying : Either the opposition has to accept General Michel Suleiman as the next president or the status quo will continue and in this case ( Prime Minster Fouad ) Siniora will exercise the power of the president.
The Information Office of the Progressive Socialist Party which is headed by Jumblatt issued the following clarification regarding the news report that Iran Press issued after the interview with Jumblatt.
“The news report circulated by Press TV after the Dec 31, 2007 interview with Walid Jumblatt is a gross misrepresentation (of the interview )since words were taken out of context which ultimately changed the whole meaning and intent of the interview .”
“In view of the above, the PSP Information Office takes exception to this news report since once words are taken out of context the whole meaning of the report is lost. For this reason we call on Press TV to release the entire interview which lasted about 45 minutes and covered various of complex issues”
“The PSP information office urged Press TV to be accurate, factual and objective in reporting on the Lebanese political issues due to their sensitivity “.
Jumblatt’s father Kamal, who was the leader of the anti-Syrian force that resisted the Syrian occupation was assassinated on March 16, 1977, near Mukhtara , his home town in the Shouf region of Mount Lebanon . The Syrian intelligence confessed to the crime and Walid knew all along that his father was assassinated by the Syrian leadership. Walid knew all along that he was next in line to be assassinated by the Syrian regime , but somehow he managed to survive as we could tell from this interview.
Jumblatt did not provide any details or proofs regarding Hezbollah role in the assassinations. There were however some reports that some of the booby trapped cars that were used in some of the assassinations were equipped with the bombs at Hezbollah controlled facilities. This is why Jumblatt accused Hezbollah of facilitating the murders. The Hariri International tribunal that will soon be operational in the Netherlands will of course be able in due time to shed more light on this issue.
