MP Sakr blasts Jumblatt’s most recent stance

Future Movement Parliamentary bloc MP Oqab Sakr criticized on Friday Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt accusing him of changing his stance on an hourly basis in order to justify Iran and Hezbollah’s invasion of Syria.

This comes after Jumblatt told As Safir newspaper in remarks published on Friday that the” March 14 camp, starting with Sakr, was the first to meddle in the Syrian crisis.”

Sakr said in a statement: “The PSP leader has recently resorted, in his contradictory remarks, to mentioning my name when it comes to Syria in order to justify Iran and Hezbollah’s invasion of the country.”

“I would like to draw Jumblatt’s attention to the political, media, and humanitarian support that I have provided to Syria, which is the least of what any human being can offer to a people that is being massacred on a daily basis,” Sakr said

“Jumblat has been amazing us with his long-winded statements on the need to support him in confronting whom he calls a sick criminal,” added Sakr in reference to the MP’s recent labeling of Syrian President Bashar Assad as a “schizophrenic person”.

“If he believes that our support for the Syrian people carries equal weight as oppressing the people and killing prisoners, then anyone has the right to reveal the MP’s meetings with Muslim Brotherhood members in Istanbul and his attempts to mediate between the Syrian opposition and Russia,” he said.

If he considers aiding the Syrian people a crime, then his attempts with the Syrian opposition and dealings in Istanbul should be labeled as war crimes, he stressed. A possible reference to Jumblatt’s efforts to try and unify the Syrian oppoistion

“We realize that only Jumblatt is allowed to change his political positions on an hourly basis and we are aware of his political moodiness, but he must realize the limits of his authority,” Sakr said.

Moreover, he said: “We have sided with the Syrian people since the beginning of their revolt as we have always sided with any Arab people in revolt.”

“We have always counted on the will of the people and the martyrs because we believe that freedom may be achieved through powerful speeches, not secret messages appealing to a former U.S. ambassador to plan the assassination of Assad,” he added.

Jumblatt refuses to respond

Jumblatt refused to respond to Sakr’s remarks.

“Am I crazy to comment on Sakr’s statement?” Jumblatt asked in an interview published Saturday by Al-Akhbar newspaper.

Asked whether former Lebanese Prime minister MP Saad Hariri participated in drafting Sakr’s statement, Jumblatt said: “I do not know.”

Allied with March 8

Future bloc MP Ahmad Fatfat said in remarks published on Saturday that his party can no longer understand Jumblatt’s logic, and accused the latter of joining the March 8 coalition.

“Jumblatt’s statements surpassed the limits, and he is no longer playing a centrist role. He decided to become a direct ally of Hezbollah and the March 8 coalition, not only concerning the cabinet formation but also in his political analyses,” Fatfat told Al-Joumhouria newspaper.

“Unfortunately, we can no longer understand Jumblatt’s [logic]. A week ago he said that Assad is a criminal who suffers from schizophrenia and now he says that the revolution was made with money,” Fatfat added.

Meanwhile, Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour, who is a member of the PSP, denied that there is a shift in Jumblatt’s stances

“There is no shift towards any direction, but the one and only direction, which is to protect stability and protect Lebanon from disasters,” Abou Faour told An-Nahar newspaper.

“I call on some [figures] to stop their hateful comments [on Jumblatt’s stances],” he added.

He also said that the 9-6-9 lineup formula that gives both March 8 and March 14 coalitions nine ministers, and the centrists six was “the most suitable for the current period.”

“We want the upcoming cabinet to open the door for consensus and not clashes [among parties],” he said.

In remarks published Friday in As-Safir newspaper, Jumblatt voiced his support of the 9-6-9 ministerial lineup formula.

Jumblatt also reportedly told As Safir : “If I were in March 14’s place, I would have cared less about the number of ministers that March 8 gets and more about the need to return to the government and participate in government. If I were in their place, I would have given Hezbollah two-thirds [of the cabinet ministries] and entered [the government] to administer the country’s affairs.”