In Tripoli, Hariri Lashes Out at Rifi, Says Moderation 'Rescued Lebanon'

Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri lashed out Friday at resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi without naming him during an iftar banquet in the northern city of Tripoli, as he stressed the importance of “moderation.”

“Peace be upon Tripoli, that is dear to my heart, that faced incitement and expelled from its ranks the tools of evil and the brigades of destruction and displacement. Peace be upon Tripoli’s martyrs, its youth and heroes and those who remained in its neighborhoods and faced the campaigns of deceit and arbitrary arrests,” Hariri said.

Commenting on the municipal elections that were held last month, the ex-PM added: “I am not here to admonish you. I am here to express my respect to you, your votes and your will.”

“We are from the school of democracy and when Tripoli elects its municipal council, we cooperate with it for Tripoli’s interest. Let me tell you this: all members of the new municipal council are my brothers and friends and Tripoli’s interest is above any consideration,” Hariri added.

A list backed by Rifi achieved a stunning victory in May's municipal polls against a list backed by Hariri, ex-PM Najib Miqati, ex-ministers Mohammed Safadi and Faisal Karami, the Jamaa Islamiya, al-Ahbash and the Arab Democratic Party.

The Rifi-back list clinched 16 seats on the municipal council while the Hariri-backed one garnered only eight. The justice minister has been accused of resorting to “sectarian incitement” and to the use of the assassinations that targeted March 14 figures in his political rhetoric.

“I am here to say to each citizen who voted for this list, or that list, or stayed home and withheld their votes: I heard you… I got your message and I am responsible for it. Our understanding of politics is to serve people, their expectations and aspirations. We did not enter politics for the sake of positions, gains or money,” Hariri went on to say.

“There is a trend today, and everybody is explaining to us the meaning of national Harirism and the thought of Rafik Hariri, even to the extent of calling on Saad Hariri to return to Harirism and to Rafik!,” Hariri lamented.

Reminiscing 2004 remarks by Rafik Hariri, al-Mustaqbal's leader noted that one cannot rescue “a kidnapped civilian plane” through force without jeopardizing the “safety of the passengers.”

“Someone has a different approach, which is to break the plane’s window or to blow up the cockpit or to kill the captain or to throw himself from the air at 30,000 feet. This is his opinion and he is free to have it. But he should stop involving the name of Rafik Hariri in his political rhetoric and should stop attacking the Hariris in the name of Rafik Hariri,” the ex-PM added, in an apparent reference to Rifi.

“To all those who suddenly became experts in Rafik Hariri, Harirism and its principles, a small reminder: Every time Rafik Hariri was asked about the most important thing in the world, he answered: Honesty! And what is the basis of honesty? Loyalty,” Hariri added.

Decrying that some parties are trying to “depict moderation as weakness,” Hariri underlined that “moderation is not a weakness” but rather “real strength.”

“The moderation that faces terrorism, discord, and barbarism is strength. The moderation that rescued Tripoli and entire Lebanon from the black fate that our brothers in Syria are facing is strength and not weakness. The moderation that adheres to the project of the State and that clings to its stances even when engaged in dialogue is strength and not weakness,” the former premier stressed.