Naharnet - Kouchner Hammers Hizbullah, Berri and Says Siddiq 'Disappeared', 9 april 2008
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Tuesday slammed Hizbullah as a non-domestic issue in Lebanon; and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri for lacking freedom of movement, stressing he is not invited to France.Kouchner also announced that Mohammed Zuhair Siddiq, the main Syrian witness in the 2005 killing of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, has "disappeared" while under close watch in France. He told a press conference "with Hizbullah the issue has passed over the domestic stage in Lebanon.""I believe that the re-arming of Hizbullah that is known to everybody is a serious issue," Kouchner said, adding that the pro-Iranian party's stand in Lebanon also is "serious."He called for renewing dialogue with the Lebanese, noting: "It would be difficult."However, Kouchner hammered Berri for seeking to re-launch inter-Lebanese dialogue, asking: "Why dialogue is not held in Parliament? Why does Berri close parliament while he is speaker of the legally-elected house? Why doesn't he benefit from this place so that Christians, Druze, Sunnis and others can engage in dialogue?"The reason for that, according to the French foreign minister, is that Berri "lacks freedom of movement" and said the Lebanese parliament speaker is not invited to France.He also announced that Siddiq has "in fact disappeared. I'm sorry for that and I don't know the conditions for his disappearance."Siddiq, according to Kouchner, had been under "house arrest" in France, but he did not know if the Syrian witness was under surveillance when he disappeared.
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