Jumblatt urges Hariri to quit. ‘Hezbollah will not allow reforms’

Key Points

Jumblatt calls on Hariri to quit

Says Hezbollah will not allow the country the freedom to undertake reform, which must start with electricity  the port explosion files

Accused the Syrian regime and its allies of being behind ammonium nitrate  shipment that exploded at the port

Called for removing ” The free economy” from the constitution and impose taxes on foreign properties and money of the Lebanese

Said the theory of a strong president was the biggest calamity for Lebanon and the Christians 

Nothing remained in terms of sovereignty and independence

Ruled out the establishment of another March 14 alliance

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt called on PM-designate Saad Hariri to quit the government formation efforts and let the Hezbollah-led camp pick their own PM designate regardless who that may be

He also advise him against wasting more time by meeting with president Michel Aoun and Patriarch Rai describing such efforts as futile

“Once again, I call on Hariri to step down and let the Hezbollah-led camp appoint their desired PM whoever that may be , it will be better for everyone. He made the statement Thursday on MTV’s show Sar El Wa2et.

“Let the resistance team, that is the Free Patriotic Movement (of Aoun), stay at the forefront and behind it Hezbollah. Nothing is left (in Lebanon). We have become a missile venue,” said Jumblatt, referring to the latest statements of an Iranian general about Lebanon.

“ My problem lies with Aoun and those standing behind him. We have to confirm Lebanon’s principles of diversity, borders and truces. We are not a battlefield , he added.

Jumblatt said that leader of the FPM , Aoun’s son-in-law of Aoun, Gebran Bassil is insisting on getting the blocking third in the new cabinet in case anything happens to the President.

Jumblatt says he has no problem with allocating the Druze share in the cabinet to his rival MP Talal Arslan . “Let us see if they can eliminate us,” he warned .

Jumblatt said that “nothing remained in terms of sovereignty and independence, neither in the air, nor on land, nor in the sea,” He added that the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) “wants to use Lebanon and Gaza to defend Iran and Syria ” stressing :” We became a missile platform and Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah knows exactly what I mean . “

He told Hariri Hezbollah will never allow you the freedom to reform the country starting with secret Electricity file and the devastating port explosion

Port explosion

With regard to the Beirut port explosion, Jumblatt accused the Syrian regime of bringing the ammonium nitrate shipment to Lebanon for using the explosive material in its barrel bombs .

A barrel bomb is a type of improvised explosive device used extensively by the Syrian Air Force during the Syrian civil war. They are typically made from a barrel that has been filled with High Explosives, along with shrapnel and/or oil. In Syria they are typically dropped from a helicopter. Due to the large amount of explosives that can be packed into a barrel the resulting detonation can be devastating.The Syrian military often dropped these bombs in civilian areas leading to multiple civilian deaths. By the end of 2017, over 97% of barrel bomb deaths were civilians, and more than 25% were children.According to the UK-based Syrian Network for Human Rights, since the start of the war through to December 2017, at least 68,334 barrel bombs have been used.

The shipment that was stored at the port was 2755 tons , but the actual amount that exploded was about 500 Tons . Most of it was reportedly looted by Hezbollah with the help of president Aoun’s ally at the port , customs chief Badri Dhaher .

Jumblatt asserted that “the theory of a strong president was the biggest calamity for the Lebanese people and Christians since the days of Bashir Gemayel until today,” considering that “the only one who was truly strong i was the late President Fouad Chehayeb.”

President Aoun is behind the theory of a strong president but he has been acting as figurehead , since Hezbollah controls all the branches of government , the parliament, the government in addition to the presidency