Granting opposition veto power amounts to political suicide

Head of the Future Bloc in Parliament MP Saad Hariri said granting the opposition a veto power in the government amounts to political suicide, and stressed that the ongoing confrontation against the assassination of Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and plans to alter Lebanon’s Arab and sovereign identity and its free economy will require time.

However, Hariri said a solution to the prevailing political crisis could be reached “very soon.”

At a lunch banquet in Koreitem, held in honor of the Economic Forum led by Rafic Zantout, Head of the Future Bloc said Lebanon could again become a business and tourism center, although political problems have been withholding progress. He highlighted the success of the Paris III international conference, but said efforts to relaunch the economy have also been held up by the halt of sessions in Parliaments where draft laws await ratification.

Parliament’s paralysis, Hariri added, will end once the opposition realizes that the UN could create the international tribunal to try the suspects in Premier Hariri’s killing under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. He told the gathering that the Syrian regime is opposed to the court. But Hariri added, visiting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told him the Lebanese should reach an agreement on the court and that the UN has other ways to ensure its creation.