August 2, 2010 - Daily Star - Aoun: Tribunal must resolve issue of false witnesses

BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Michel Aoun said Sunday the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) to try suspects of the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri cannot issue an indictment before resolving the issue of false witnesses.


Aoun’s ally Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has cast doubt on the STL’s credibility, called for forming a Lebanese commission to investigate false witnesses and described the court as an “Israeli project.”


For his part, the FPM leader saluted all efforts to uncover the truth about the Hariri murder, while slamming all attempts to blame the crime on a certain group in a bid to destabilize the country. Nasrallah had expressed fears that the court might accuse “rogue members” of Hizbullah of carrying out the murder.


Aoun also stressed that only the Lebanese and Hizbullah were currently capable of protecting the country. Aoun had toured the region of Kesrouan on Sunday to mark Army Day.


The former Lebanese Army General kicked off his tour by placing flowers on the memorial site of former President, Major General Fouad Chehab and then headed to the Ghazir municipality, where he was received by a crowd of people carrying FPM flags.


Aoun said that his visit to Kesrouan was not a coincidence and stressed the importance of Army Day.



“We are honoring Chehab who was the founder of the army … There is no alternative to the army because it is the symbol of Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence,” he said.


He was responding to the speech of Ghazir Mayor Ibrahim Haddad, in which the latter praised Aoun’s efforts in protecting the Christians of the East.


“While other people gave up and stood by watching, you adopted our case and showed your usual courage and trusted strategy to fight for our right to exist, now and in the future. You based your actions on your Christian faith and your belief in the message of Lebanon,” Aoun said.


The FPM chief continued his tour amid a warm welcome from the locals and celebrated Sunday mass at the Saint Simon Church in Yahshoush.


After the mass, Aoun attended a lunch held in his honor at the house of Karam Azar in Aramoun. Several other MPs and local figures also attended the banquet.


Aoun also made a stop at the villages of Jdeidet Ghazir, Harhriah, Al-Qatin, Al-Kfour, Al-Ghineh and Ghbeleh, where he was greeted by eager crowds carrying banners and orange flags – the symbolic color of the Free Patriotic Movement. – The Daily Star