Lebanon: Saad Hariri Retracts Accusation Against Syria

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has taken back the accusation that Syria assassinated his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. “At a certain stage we made mistakes and accused Syria of assassinating the martyred premier. This was a political accusation, and this political accusation has finished.” Hariri has been working to repair relations with Syria of late while a U.N. backed commission continues to investigate the 2005 assassination. Babylon & Beyond has an extensive wrap up of reactions to Hariri’s statement  including Jamil Mroue of the Daily Star who commented, “Hariri has shown his leadership” and a blogger called “Mustapha” who asked, “Could Mr. Hariri have sold-out justice for his father to political expediency (or Saudi pressure)?”