Lebanonwire.com | Lebanese parliament begins stormy debate over Hariri killing

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February 28, 2005

Lebanese PM denies government role in Hariri murder, calls for unity
by Nagib Khazzaka

BEIRUT, Feb 28 (AFP) - Lebanon's Prime Minister Omar Karameh on Monday denied his pro-Syrian government had a role in the murder of Rafiq Hariri and appealed for unity as parliament held a stormy debate during which the opposition was expected to submit a censure motion.

"To fire off political accusations pinning the responsibility of this criminal murder on the government without any proof is a grave injustice," Karameh told parliament.

Outside the building in the Lebanese capital, at least 20,000 people massed for a demonstration calling for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.

Before the debate began, MPs observed a one-minute silence in memory of Hariri, who was killed in a bomb blast in Beirut on February 14 along with 17 other people in an attack widely blamed here on the government and its
political masters in Syria.

Karameh, who took over as prime minister after Hariri resigned last October, called for a vote of confidence in the government and urged "all parties to take part in dialogue... to come to an agreement, distant from all external interference."

He told parliament the cabinet had strongly condemned "this horrible crime".

"We rapidly took the crime to the Council of Justice (the highest body in Lebanon)... agreed to cooperate with the inquiry mission sent by the UN Secretary General (Kofi Annan)... in order to unmask as quickly as possible
the criminals."

He called for the Taef accord which ended the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war to be applied, in particular the withdrawal in stages of Syrian troops from Lebanon and for Beirut to "rebuild relations with Syria with a view to developing them."

Opposition MPs are demand the immediate pullout of Syria's 14,000 troops after a three-decade presence on Lebanese soil and an end to interference by Damascus in the affairs of its tiny neighbour.

Karameh listed the security and legal steps taken by the government since the killing and warned against outside exploitation of the situation.

His stance brought an angry reaction from opposition MPs, with parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri having repeatedly to intervene to call for calm.

"We are not enemies... we are here to listen to each other," he said.

"The Lebanese parliament, and all the Lebanese people want to know who killed Rafiq Hariri," said Berri. "But we call on all parties not to make unfounded accusations which risk dividing the Lebanese people and undermining
Lebanon's relations with its neighbours."

Before the session started, opposition MP Walid Eido said: "he who votes today for the government will be viewed as an accomplice in the assassination of Rafiq Hariri."