Hariri Denies Having Militia; Facts Prove Opposite

Hariri Denies Having Militia; Facts Prove Opposite

Readers Number : 75

14/05/2008 And on the sixth day, he broke his silence. Five days of provocations by his militiamen in different Lebanese regions were not enough for the head of Future (Mustakbal) movement MP Saad Hariri to perceive the dangers of the current situation and the position he has taken himself to. The Halba massacre, committed by his bloc gunmen, also didn't seem to have any impact on Hariri. Hariri's Mustakbal militiamen had brutally and barbarically murdered 11 people from the opposition. In a press conference on Tuesday, Hariri simply ignored what all the Lebanese had seen on TV from weapons, ammunition and alcohol found in Future movement centers, and instead listed a series of delusions. "We awaited an open war on Israel, and yet here is an open war on Beirut and its people. Did Beirut assassinate (Islamic Resistance top commander martyr) Imad Moghniyeh?" asked Hariri, threatening of punishing the opposition later on, "when things calm down." Hariri also said that Beirut security was the fundamental issue, conditioning that it should be on top of the roundtable dialogue agenda. "Some invite us to the roundtable at gunpoint. We will not go, even if they shoot,” he warned. Hariri did not forget assail the Lebanese army, while denying the government's responsibility for the crisis. He claimed the army was not able to defend the citizens. Hariri said that the government's decisions on the Resistance communications network and the head of the airport security were in the hands of the army. FACTS REFUTE HARIRI CLAIMS! The major part of Hariri's press conference was devoted to deny the fact that his Al-Mustaqbal militia was armed. However, all Hariri's attempts to prove the opposite failed as the old and new records of his militia refute his claims. Indeed, last week, when Future gunmen were terrorizing civilians, residents of the Nuweiri area decided to storm into their office. A military unit was dispatched to the site and evacuated 21 Mustakbal members from the office. While everything was being recorded on camera, the army confiscated automatic weapons and ammunition. They also found applications for new Future Movement members as well as alcohol. The Mustakbal militia surrendered many other offices to the Lebanese army in Beirut, Chouf, south Lebanon and elsewhere. Their arms have been handed over to the Lebanese army. This is in the present. A reminder of past incidents: All the Lebanese remember the famous Arab University incidents that took place one year and four months ago when Al-Mustaqbal militiamen opened fire, even sniper fire at university students. They also remember the shooting spree by Hariri's militiamen and their allies in the Progressive Socialist Party in the populated region of Aramoun a few months ago. Al-Manar broadcasted footage of this incident with the faces of the gunmen clearly showing. All this adds to the long list of last week's provocations, with Al-Mustaqbal militia attacking offices of national parties, cutting roads and burning homes owned by pro-opposition politicians and supporters, namely the family house of Lebanese National Opposition martyr Ahmed Mahmoud. Mahmoud was killed execution style by Mustkbal militiamen in Tariq el-Jdideh as he was returning home after taking part in the opposition's demonstration in downtown Beirut. It's been more than one and a half years on this crime. Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Times quoted Lebanese security experts officials as saying that the main Lebanese political faction backed by the United States built a Sunni Muslim militia in Lebanon under the guise of private security companies." The fighters, aligned with Saad Hariri's Future movement, were trained and armed to counter the heavily armed Hezbollah group", the daily said. Secure Plus employees, in beige pants and maroon shirts, were drilled for months in basic military training, including hand-to-hand combat, for a monthly salary of at least $350, the Los Angeles Times reported. HALBA MASACRE AN EXAMPLE OF SAVAGE CRIME Meanwhile, Al-Manar and other TV stations broadcasted on Tuesday footage of a massacre in the making in the Halba village by Saad Hariri's Mustakbal militiamen against members of the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party (SSNP). The horrific footage showed the barbaric and brutal nature of the perpetrators. The footage showed how some executed SSNP members were lying on the ground, while others were still dying. Hariri's Mustakbal militiamen were beating up those dying. In the footage, heavy stone blocs with sharp edges were seen saturated with blood. A young man, still in his 'teens, was dying and coughing blood out of his mouth. This cruel crime took the life of eleven young men. The head of the SSNP, Former Minister Ali Kanso called on Hariri to handover the killers to judicial authorities. "I hope that judicial authorities take action and punish the killer, if not…well our blood is not cheap." Kanso stressed.