Mustaqbal Holds Rally Commemorating al-Hasan in Tripoli, Vows to 'Smash' Rivals in 2013 Elections
The Mustaqbal Movement on Sunday vowed to “smash” the Hizbullah-led rival political camp in the 2013 parliamentary elections, stressing that it will not rest before seeing the killers of ISF Intelligence Bureau chief Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan “hanging from the gallows.”
“It is a day for loyalty, not a day for tears. It is a day for loyalty to martyr Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan and his companion, martyr Ahmed Suhyouni,” the movement's secretary-general Ahmed Hariri said during a popular and official rally held in Tripoli to commemorate 40 days since the assassination of Hasan in a car bomb attack on October 19.
“We came here to take an oath that we will not rest before we punish the killers,” said Hariri.
“We are carrying the salutations, love and loyalty of (ex-)PM Saad Hariri who assures you that he will remain the guardian of (slain PM) Rafik Hariri's approach and that he will not rest before the principles of justice are consolidated in Lebanon,” he added, addressing the supporters who gathered at the Rashid Karami International Fair Complex.
The opposition March 14 camp has blamed the bombing on Syria and its allies in Lebanon, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government.
Hasan was close to ex-PM Saad Hariri and hostile to the regime in Syria. He had been tipped to take over as ISF head at the end of this year.
The ISF played a central role in the arrest in August of former Lebanese information minister Michel Samaha, who has close links to Damascus and was charged with planning attacks in Lebanon and transporting explosives in collaboration with Syrian security chief Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk.
"History will not be merciful on any side or person who cover up for the crime. (PM Saad Hariri) assures you that the Syrian revolution will be victorious and that no one will protect (Syrian President Bashar) Assad," said Ahmed Hariri at the Tripoli rally.
"I salute the soul of martyr Wissam al-Hasan who exposed Mamlouk and Samaha," he added.
"God willing, the Syrian people will take a pride in toppling Bashar Assad who named Najib Miqati for the premiership and this is an irrefutable reality. We are demanding the fall of a government sponsored by Bashar Assad," Hariri went on to say.
"We swear to God that we will not rest before we see the criminals hanging from the gallows," the Mustaqbal official vowed.
He pledged a landslide victory by the March 14 forces in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
"We pledge to you, martyr of Lebanon, that the same as we forced the occupier, the Syrian army, to leave Lebanon, the cost of your precious blood will be smashing them in the upcoming parliamentary elections. We will defeat them through all the democratic means," said Hariri.
Delivering a speech at the rally in the name of the Internal Security Forces, Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous said: “After your martyrdom, we lost a great man, we lost a loyal, sincere and strategic man.”
“We promise you and promise everyone that we will carry on with the investigations no matter the sacrifices in order to unveil the truth,” Basbous added.
In a eulogy on behalf of al-Hasan family, Siraj al-Hasan said: “We heard someone saying that we must await the right time to announce the results of the investigations and someone saying we must wait for the sake of civil peace, but we want to ask why didn't the killer await the right time and why wasn't the killer keen on civil peace.”
“We want to ask every minister and the entire government: Why wasn't the case referred to the STL?” he added.
Al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Nohad al-Mashnouq addressed President Michel Suleiman in his speech. “I only have sincere appreciation for your patriotism, but what has dialogue achieved for the martyrs?” Mashnouq said, addressing the president.
“We will not return to dialogue except after the resignation of the government,” he stressed.
Lashing out at Miqati, the lawmaker added: “The Aren't you tired of the centrism of half stances? There is no centrism between the criminal and the victim.”
“We will avenge you, Wissam, in Lebanon and in Syria,” he promised. “Our support for the Syrian revolution is an accusation that we don't deny, it is rather an honor we claim. The freedom of the Syrian people is a national Lebanese interest," Mashnouq noted.
Speaking at the same rally, MP Samir al-Jisr said "they killed him because he worked for the country, not for the slaves who claim to be the heroes of defiance."
For his part, MP Mohammed Kabbara said "Wissam was martyred because he dealt a blow to the killing machine and unveiled the terrorist Samaha-Mamlouk plot."
"Toppling the government is a right we're practicing and a 'jihadist duty' we're performing," added Kabbara.
"Let everyone understand that we will not take part in any government with the killers, because we do not want to be the partners of the killers," he went on to say.
Kabbara underlined that "the era of the Doha settlement is over for good and this is an honest promise."
"We don't want stability through humiliation and submission and we will be arrogant against those who practiced tyranny against the Lebanese through their weapons," the lawmaker added.
Hitting out at Hizbullah in his speech, MP Ahmed Fatfat said "the Resistance has become a mafia at the airport and the port and it using telecommunications and Captagon narcotics to fund itself."
"We won't accept to discuss anything but the defense strategy at the dialogue table," he added.
Addressing Lebanon's judges, Fatfat said: "Those who are not courageous enough to take a decision because they're afraid of the militia of Velayat-e faqih must step down."
"The martyrdom of Wissam al-Hasan was the beginning of the battle for Lebanon's third independence and we will confront them in a civilized manner and achieve victory against al-Hasan's killers," said Fatfat.
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