Outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Saturday said that the “the Saudi-Syrian compromise and all that is related to it is now part of the past,” according to a statement issued by the premier’s office.
“We were kicked out of the government at the behest of foreign countries,” he said during a meeting of the Future Movement’s political bureau.
“The Future Movement returned to its natural stance of defending democracy and protecting civil peace,” Hariri also said, adding that the protests earlier in the week were beyond the control of his party and its supporters.
“We will not resort to the sectarian speech, and we preserve coexistence.” he stressed
MP Najib Mikati, backed Hezbollah and its March 8 allies , was appointed last Tuesday by president Michel Suleiman as PM-designate to form and head the next cabinet , giving Hezbollah and its allies increased leverage in the country and provoking widespread protests.
The Iranian- and Syria-backed Hezbollah brought down Hariri’s government on January 12 over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s ( STL) indictment which is widely expected to implicate Hezbollah members in the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri in 2005 .
The March 14 alliance is demanding that Mikati, a political moderate with good ties to Syria, guarantee he will not disavow the tribunal.
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