Franjieh suggests "terrorist cells" involved in Hariri assassination

Source: Nowlebanon.com, 14-11-2008
Marada Movement leader and former Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh has said that "terrorist cells" discovered in Lebanon should be investigated for potential connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Franjieh, who was interior minister when Hariri was killed by a car bomb in 2005, said the March 14 alliance's accusations that Syria was responsible for the murders were unsubstantiated.
In an interview with LBC's Marcel Ghanem on Thursday night, Franjieh that the security coordination between Lebanon and Syria was necessary for the two countries to forge normal relations and added that Interior Minister Ziad Baroud made the right decision in visiting Damascus on Monday.
And on the state-run Syrian TV broadcasts last week, he said that the Syrian regime had no interest in fabricating stories at this point when it is attempting openness toward the west.
The former minister said his relations with President Michel Suleiman were normal and said Suleiman had supported his participation in the national roundtable dialogue but the March 14 coalition objected. Franjieh added that suggestions of the formation of an independent non-aligned parliamentary bloc aimed to create disagreement between President Suleiman and Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun.
Franjieh strongly criticized Saudi Arabia's role in Lebanon and compared it to "Israel". He said the Kingdom's support of one party against the other with funding during parliamentary elections in 2009 would encourage Iran other regional countries to follow suit.
He said his differences with March 14 General Secretariat member, and son of assassinated President Rene Mouawad, Michel Mouawad were "not personal but political" and left it to the voters of North Lebanon to decide the outcome of the differences.
Franjieh hoped that former Prime Ministers Omar Karami and Najib Mikati would ally for the 2009 parliamentary elections in Tripoli, which could bring eight MPs to parliament.
On relations with Syria, he said that former minister Michel Samaha mediated between MP Aoun and the Syrian authorities. No one was in a position to deal with Damascus better than Aoun, he added.
He concluded by saying that the fact that Hizbullah had been dragged into using its weapons against Lebanese was ultimately more dangerous than the actual violence that had occurred. Yet Franjieh said that Hizbullah's disarmament, before the resolution of major issues with "Israel", did not serve national interests.