Hariri calls for Lebanese unity

Head of the Lebanese Future bloc in parliament MP Saad al-Hariri called in Germany for Lebanese unity.

said for the first time in more than three decades the parliament was chosen in recent elections by Lebanese themselves, and the country is "almost free of foreign occupation."

He also expressed support for reform despite the challenges that the country is facing, and said Lebanon has made strides towards freedom, stability, independence and democracy.

Hariri called on the Lebanese to put behind their differences and to unite citing the grief of Muslims and Christians alike when Premier Hariri was murdered. Today coincided a year after Lebanese journalist Samir Qassir was murdered in a Beirut car bombing. Qassir, a columnist for the daily Al-Nahar, was killed outside his home in East Beirut by a bomb placed in his car. A leading figure in the Democratic Left movement, Qassir wrote extensively about the need for Lebanese independence from Syrian influence.

Hariri said the international community has been supportive of reform because of Lebanon's unique democratic tradition and liberal market economy in the region. He stressed that Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri's assassination last year sparked Lebanese calls for sovereignty. He told the gathering that if Lebanon overcomes the gathering storm in the region, with the help of the international community, it will regain its regional status.