Mikati calls for building a modern state, achieving justice

PM-designate Najib Mikati called for “multiplying efforts to build a modern state and to achieve justice.”

In statement Mikati said on Saturday that the Lebanese people’s loyalty to former PM Rafik Hariri should be reflected through their commitment to his principles “to preserve Lebanon’s unity.”

Mikati’s statement comes two days before the 6th anniversary of Hariri’s assassination,

Mikati hailed Rafik Hariri, MP Basel Fleihan and their 22 companions who were killed in the February 14 blast in 2005.

He described the killing as “a murder that rocked the feelings of the Lebanese people and touched their security and ambitions.”

Mikati’s statement also comes after he was criticized by the Hezbollah led March 8 alliance leaders for attending Thursday’s meeting of Dar al Fatwa .

“Attendance means agreeing to the statement , and therefore I was surprised that PM Mikati went to such a meeting.” Former Prime Minister Omar Karami , a key member of March 8 alliance explained in a statement on Saturday about his absence from Thursday’s Dar al-Fatwa meeting .

Hezbollah brought down PM Saad 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 government would not have collapsed without the help of Suleiman’s minister of state Adnan el Sayyed Hussein.

Mikati, who was backed by Hezbollah and its March 8 allies including MPs Walid Jumblatt and Mohammad Safadi, was appointed 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.