By Hadi Khatib
Lebanonwire staff

On the second day of a visit to Saudi Arabia, French President Jacques Chirac reiterated his country’s position with regard to the need for Syria to respect Lebanon’s drive for independence. Meanwhile in Damascus Syrian President Bashar Assad spoke at length about the west’s repeated attempts at interfering in the region’s domestic politics.

Addressing the Saudi Shura Council, Chirac said “the entire Lebanese people are waiting for the international investigation into the former premier Rafiq Hariri’s murder to announce who was responsible for the assassination in order to prosecute them.”

“Syria has to change its ways especially with respect to Lebanon,” Chirac said.

Chirac said that the truth and justice are essential elements in restoring the confidence needed to build a future that guarantees a suffering Lebanon its independence and unity. Chirac clarified “Syria which enjoys a vital position in the region and has the right to preserve its interests has to also take into consideration the aspirations of the Lebanese people and the developments in the Middle East and the world.” Chirac said Syria has to change its behavior especially with respect to Lebanon and needs to fully cooperate with the UN investigative team. “For our part, we need to insure the full implementation of UN resolutions and stop foreign interferences and ensure the success of the international aid conference that Lebanon so eagerly awaits,” Chirac said. Chirac highlighted France and Saudi Arabia’s important roles and responsibilities in maintaining peace in the region.

In a speech delivered on Saturday, Assad said that two important points are related to UN Security Resolution 1559. “The first is whether we will approve of the foreign interference in our domestic affairs and second to determine our position with respect to Lebanon’s resistance,” Assad said. Assad said that following UN 1559, Syria was harassed and constantly asked by foreign powers to withdraw support for Hezbollah and remove its weapons as well as those of Palestinians prior to fully withdrawing from Lebanon. “We told them that we are proceeding with removing our troops and those issues are for you to deal with,” Assad said.

Assad said that when any portion of the Lebanese are showing their displeasure with Syria, “then no way will Syria remain in that country, but there is a common misunderstanding that Syria is holding on to Lebanon for economic or political reasons, which is not true.”

Assad said that when things did not turn out the way the west wanted them “they shifted gears towards the UN investigative team which has miserably failed in its attempt at implicating us, while producing unreliable witnesses who were found to have lied under oath.” Assad described the last February 14th street demonstrations in Beirut as “a hysterical expression of these collective failures.” He said “they are now launching a new frontal attack with the truth being the central point of the campaign, but the truth is a farce promulgated by puppets receiving orders from idiots.”

Assad said that the issue of the illegitimacy of president Emile Lahoud is but another attempt at covering up the west’s failure with respect to removing Hezbollah’s arms, a cause which Lahoud was the only Lebanese president to fiercely defend. Assad said that the problem was not between Syria and Lebanon, but rather between a movement in Lebanon that has a problem with Syria, in clear reference to the Future Movement led by majority parliament leader Saad Hariri.

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