Lebanon

Beirut and Beyond after Hariri

BY MANZOOR AHMAD

Voice of Islam, Mar 2005

A powerful bomb blast hit heavily armoured motorcade on the coastal area of Beirut on 14th February 2005 killing Rafik Hariri, ex-Prime Minister of Lebanon. So powerful was the blast that it devastated a large area. A dozen other people died and over 100 were injured as a result.

Rafik Hariri was a self-made billionaire rated among the 100 richest men in the world. He was born in Sidon on 1st November 1944. He left his poor farm worker father’s home to try his luck in Saudi Arabia at the age of 18. After years of struggle he formed his own construction company in early seventies. His big breakthrough came as a sub-contractor, to Ogar, a company affiliated to a French group. He built a palace for King Khalid at Taef in six months in time for an Islamic summit in 1977. This pleased the royalty to no end. King Fahd, then Crown Prince, gave him the unique privilege of Saudi nationality. His entrepreneurial skills started surfacing fast. Hariri went on to acquire Ogar in 1979 and formed Ogar International based in Paris.

He was the largest shareholder in Solidere that sent bulldozers to Beirut after the civil war there. In 1982 he donated 12 million dollars of his personal wealth to the victims of Israel’s devastation in Lebanon. He also financed the entire cost of Taef national reconciliation conference in 1989 that put an end to the 15 year old civil war in Lebanon.

Hariri then moved on to the task of restoration and reconstruction of Beirut. Hariri used all the assistance he could get to rebuild Lebanon. Most of the donations came from Saudi Arabia. His business interests extend to real estate, construction, banking, telecommunication and oil industry.

Rafik Hariri made two successive trips to Pakistan as Prime Minister of Lebanon. It appears that he wanted one of his companies to take over Pakistan’s telecommunication company (PTCL) lying on the altar of privatisation. Orascom is one of the companies that is headed by Hariri’s son. Orascom is a big name in mobile phones in the whole of Middle East and Pakistan. In Pakistan it operates under the name of Mobilink and was at one time considered to be front-runner for acquiring Pakistan Telecom (PTCL) through privatisation. Such is the goodwill of Hariri family that his son, Sad-al-Harari, a Saudi national of Lebanese origin, was accorded VIP treatment at Islamabad on 9th July 2001, merely a week after the closing date for Expressions of Interest (EoI) in the purchase of Pakistan Telecom. He was received by Mr. Shaukat Aziz the then Finance Minister of Pakistan now Prime Minister, at the Chaklala airbase and driven to Islamabad for talks with the minister and other high level officials. Hariri family was making two-pronged attempt to take over PTCL, one through Ogar of Saudi Arabia and the other through Orascom of Egypt. Privatisation of PTCL was, however, delayed. Orascom has extended its interests in Pakistan and has recently acquired Chakwal Cement.

Bringing peace to Lebanon was Hariri’s biggest gift to his country. The Taef summit virtually legalized Syrian troops’ stay in the country. The presence of Hisbollah and nearly 15,000 Syrian troops made sure that Israeli excursion into Lebanon were checked. Israel had in the past exploited the Christian minority against Muslim majority.

While peace prevailed, Hariri went on to restore the infrastructure of the country. His companies prospered in the process. He became Prime Minister of Lebanon at the early age of 48. A patriot through and through, he left no stone unturned to keep his country at peace. His burly, handsome smiley face became more popular in recent history than any of his predecessors. Businessman turned politician Hariri had good working relations with Syria.

According to Lebanon’s constitution country’s President has to be a Maronite Christians. Although the Muslim population is greatly in majority compared to Christians, Hariri managed to keep both sides happily apart. Syrian troops kept peace in the cities but moved to suburbs once calm prevailed.

Hariri’s friendship with Jack Chirac the President of France also had dual connection. Firstly, Ogar International was registered as a company in France. Secondly, and more importantly, the Lebanese Christians owe their allegiance to France and generally speak French language. While he felt comfortable dealing with French companies he befriended Jack Chirac. His charming personality did rest of it.

Why would anyone kill such a charming and popular person? The answer is really not so complicated. It was virtually re-enactment of 9/11 drama played in New York in 2001. Throw the stone at one end and let the ripples do the rest-a kind of man-made tsunami.

Americans had asked Prime Minister Hariri to get rid of the Syrian troops from Lebanon. He resigned instead. Once in Prime minister’s seat Omar Karame, his successor for the last six months also realised that with Syrian troops gone the country would go back to civil war. Americans have been accusing Syria of sending terrorists into Iraq.

The events that followed Hariri’s death make it amply clear that his death was no terrorist act. Firstly, The US said that it suspected Syria and recalled its ambassador from Damascus almost the moment news of the bomb attack flashed across the globe. The fact is that Syria had no reason to kill him and if there was even the remotest chance of that then it would require a lot of investigation before that can be determined. Then there were well-organized demonstrations with thousands of newly printed flags of Lebanon and placards telling Syria to get out. All this suddenly came to surface after Hariri’s assassination. There was no sign of any animosity towards the Syrians before 14th February. For both Muslims and Christians had started regarding them as their saviours who brought them peace and tranquillity after years of ravages of civil war. The situation became unbearable for Omar Karame who resigned on February 28,2005. One is reminded of similar scenes in Ukraine recently when an apparent pop concert turned into a full-fledged movement against the sitting pro-Moscow Prime Minister that eventually resulted in his ouster.

The United Nations, and pro America Europeans all started telling Syria to leave Lebanon. The departure of Syrian troops is not for the safety and security of Lebanese people but for the sake of its neighbour Israel.

Syria has agreed to withdraw its troops from Lebanon but says that it could take 4 months to do that. Is it likely to make life any easier for Americans in Iraq? One thinks not. America has been threatening Iran for continuing its development of nuclear power. In the wake of American threat to both the countries Syria has signed an agreement of defence cooperation with Iran.

American invasion of Iraq has raised more questions than solutions. The invaders were given the impression that once they over run Iraq rest of Middle East would lie in their feet. The resistance that the Iraqis have put up against the invaders has left them bewildered. The resistance shows no sign of let up if anything it is increasing day by day. It seems that the presence of Americans on their soil has made them even more battle ready than could be imagined.

The Jihad that was being waged in Afghanistan had northward trends towards Moscow, through Chechnya. Invasion of Iraq has changed its direction towards the root cause Israel. The objective of keeping Jehadis away from Israeli borders has in fact worked in reverse. If either Syria or Iran is attacked by America or Israel then there is every likelihood that Jehadi forces will join hands and find their way chalked straight to Israel.

The US is running out of financial steam and cost of war is ever increasing. There is no clear exit policy from Iraq as yet. The time is not far when Bush will be running out of options. He has already run out of friends. The so-called terrorist attacks claimed 250 lives on the last day of February 2005. Yes, most of them were Iraqi’s-working for the occupying forces. Well over 100,000 Iraqis had died before 2004 was out. Americans may not make their actual casualties known but the devastation of their trucks and APCs seen on TV daily give a very good idea that their casualties are significantly higher than what they tell the world. Things are certainly not progressing the way Americans had hoped for. The free oil that they were dreaming of siphoning off is aflame.

Many thousands of decent, innocent, pleasant looking and smiling faces like Rafik Hariri are alas being used as fodder for advancing treacherous designs of the unguided. Thanks to bush whacking by Americans the world is less safe today than it ever was. Could someone give them the message of God Almighty? I only wish they had read Qur’an with its fullest meanings. This world would be much safer to live as a result.

Assassination of Rafik Al-Hariri:

Key witness says, testimony against Syria was false

Voice of Islam, Dec 2005

A Syrian witness who has accused the son of Lebanon’s slain former prime minister of bribing him to testify falsely to a UN murder inquiry, said that his testimony was the main evidence against Syria. Hosam Taher Hosam said that a report by chief U.N. investigator Detlev Mehlis to the Security Council implicating Syrian and Lebanese officials in the Feb 14 assassination of Rafik Al Hariri was based mainly on his false allegations.

“It depended on my testimony by as much as 70 per cent,” Hosam, who had been an agent for CIA, Syrian and Lebanese intelligence agencies in Lebanon, told a news conference.

Taher Hosam said an elaborate scheme of torture, threats and bribery had forced him to testify against Syrian and Lebanese officials.

Taher Hosam said Saad Al Hariri had bribed him for telling that lie and further that Saad Hariri has done it on the behest of American authorities.

The U.N. International Independent Investigation Committee (UNIIC) confirmed Hosam was a witness and he was forced, threatened and even given incentives.

Ibrahim Al Darraji, spokesman for Syria’s own investigation into Rafik Hariri’s death, said Hosam’s new testimony has discredited the conclusions of the report of Detlev Mehlis which he submitted last month. The report is based on false testimony and it has collapsed al-together. His appearance came after Damascus agreed to allow five Syrian officials including CIA's to be questioned by Mehlis at UN offices in Vienna in connection with Hariri’s assassination.

Hosam said followers of Rafik Hariri and other anti-Syrian officials had held him for a while in Lebanon and had wanted him to go to Vienna to confront the Syrians to be quizzed by Mehlis.

He said his captors had wanted him to implicate Maher Al Assad, a brother of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, and his brother-in-law and military intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Asef Shawkat.

Hosam said he had been tortured, injected with drugs and offered $ 1.3 million to tell the investigators he had seen the truck used in Hariri’s killing in a Syrian-controlled military facility.

Hosam also told that Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh of arranging for other witnesses to testify falsely to Mr. Mehlis.

We already mentioned in last month's issue of voice of Islam that the report of Mehlis investigating Hariri's murder is totally fake and made-up one. Now it has been proved sufficiently. Consequently Bush has been yet again verified as a liar and demonstrator of the bloody agenda of the Zionists.