Lebanon’s Bahaa al-Hariri declared on Friday he was entering Lebanese politics, saying he would join a battle “to take back the country” and follow in the footsteps of his slain father days after his brother, Saad, stepped away from public life.
In a recorded message, Bahaa, 55, said he would “continue the journey” of Rafik al-Hariri, who, with Saudi backing, established the Hariri family as the dominant player in Lebanon’s Sunni community before his assassination in 2005.
“Through partnership and solidarity, we will enter the battle to take back the country and the sovereignty of the country from its occupiers,” said Bahaa, an apparent reference to the Iran-backed Shi’ite group Hezbollah of which he is a fierce critic.
Saad’s announcement upended Lebanon’s sectarian politics four months before a parliamentary election, adding to the uncertainties facing a nation grappling with a devastating financial crisis.
He attributed the decision to factors including Iranian influence which he said prevented positive change in Lebanon.
Bahaa is a Saudi-Lebanese national whose business interests include real estate developments in Jordan and Lebanon, according to his website.
“The son of the martyr Rafik Hariri will not leave Lebanon, I am with you and very soon I will be among you,” Bahaa said.
But he will not be a candidate in the elections and will instead back electoral lists across Lebanon under the banner of Sawa Li Lubnan, a movement he founded and financed with the aim of reform, Jerry Maher, his media advisor, told Reuters.
DIFFICULT VOID TO FILL
Saad was chosen to take on his father’s political mantle in 2005 and served as prime minister three times. The early years of his career were marked by confrontation with Hezbollah that sparked a brief conflict in 2008.
He later struck political compromises with the group, which he said spared Lebanon civil war. His political fortunes waned in recent years as Saudi Arabia cut him off, abandoning a Lebanon policy that cost billions and failed to curb Hezbollah.
“It’s a signal that he will not allow a void in Sunni politics, that he is stepping in to carry the mantle,” said Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Center.
“At the same time it is very difficult to see him filling the void, unless there is regional backing and solid financing behind him. If he is willing to spend money on the Sunni scene, perhaps he might have a chance.”
According to Reuters, Bahaa has been an open, fierce critic of compromises Saad made with Hezbollah and its allies.
Saad, in his announcement on Monday, said his decision aimed to spare Lebanon civil war but had cost him his fortune and “even brothers”, a reference to tension with Bahaa.
Full Bahaa’s address, as reported by Sawt Beirut:
“My Lebanese brothers and sisters…
Greetings from the heart…
The absence was prolonged, but you were always present in my heart and mind. I will not talk about the seriousness of the stage because you know its dangerousness and the accuracy of the upcoming stage.
First of all, it must be emphasized that neither our religion, nor our morals, nor our upbringing, we, the sons of Martyr Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, allow us to abandon our responsibility and we put all our capabilities for the sake of Lebanon’s renaissance, Lebanon the message, Lebanon the symbol, Lebanon the homeland.
The family of the martyr Rafik Hariri, the small as his big family, did not, does not, and will not disintegrate. In partnership and solidarity, we will fight the battle to restore the homeland and restore the sovereignty of the homeland from its occupiers.
I will continue the path of Martyr Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
We are continuing what we learned from the parents of the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
We learned that:
We are the people of moderation, not extremism;
We are the people of reconstruction, not collapse;
We are people of citizenship, not discrimination;
We are the people of sovereignty, not dependence;
We are the people of the Arab depth;
The son of the martyr Rafik Hariri will not leave Lebanon, we are with you and very soon we will show you.
Long live free and independent Lebanon.
