Inter-Lebanese split over the assassination of Hariri

The way the assassination of the Lebanese journalist Samir al-Qassir was dealt with increased the pace of division inside the Lebanese opposition.

Before the end of the meeting which brought together symbols of the Lebanese opposition including the chairman of the al-Mustaqbal movement Saad al-Hariri and the Druze leader Walid Junblat, the representative of the free national trend led by Michael Aoun, Jubran Bassil pulled out from the meeting and criticized before journalists what he called investing this ugly crime, politically.

Bassil said that the ministry of the interior and the ministry of the justice are ruled by two ministers from al-Hariri trend, a reference to the two ministers Hassan al-Saba and Khaled Qabbani, and therefore "they should shoulder the responsibility of disclosing the assassinators."

Walid Junblat, on the other hand, accused Aoun of blessing the security system noting that "no bargaining with the security regime. It is to be either kill or being killed. To defeat or be defeated." These reciprocated accusations inside the opposition camp came at a time when Aoun announced his parliamentary list in alliance with the Druze parliamentarian Talal Arsalan, a traditional Druze rival for Junbklat in the Aleye-Baabda circle in the mount of Lebanon.

The opposition accuses Aoun of seeking to cooperate with pro-Syria faces in other election circles after he failed in maintaining an agreement with the opposition trends after he had returned back from his exile on May 7.