DUBAI (AlArabiya.net)
Outspoken Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt referred to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) head Michel Aoun as "Romeo and Juliet," adding sarcastically that "love kills".
"On the eve of Saint Valentine's Day, the Lebanese were impressed by the ... love tragedy," said Jumblatt, the leader the Lebanese Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), after a joint TV interview by the Shiite and Christian allies aired on FPM's Orange TV network on Wednesday night.
He said that for an instant, the Lebanese people thought they were watching "Qais and Laila" – the Arab world's literary equivalent to Romeo and Juliet – adding that the two leaders were part of a "love tragedy" that had cost the Lebanese dearly.
"We hope you give some of this blind love to a state that you have smashed at its base, assailed its principles, targeted its security and stability, shut down its institutions, burned its roads and occupied its public squares," he said.
"Given this impressive scene, we could only bow to the emotions and passion between these two and hopefully they will be able to figure out an end to the cultures of violence, death, tire burning and blocked roads."
Jumblatt cynically concluded by saying, "Some love kills."
His statements drew opposing reactions from the Lebanese. Some saw the statements as being provocative and demeaning, indicating his inability to grasp the alliance between the two leaders.
But others said the Druze leader's remarks were humorous, adding that they were not surprised as Jumblatt is known for his fiery rhetoric. |
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Prior comments In the past, Jumblatt – one of the most outspoken anti-Syrian politicians in Lebanon -- called Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad "a half ape," U.S. leader George W. Bush a "mad emperor," U.S. state secretary Condoleezza Rice "oil-colored," and former British prime minister Tony Blair a "peacock with a sexual complex."
At a 2007 conference organized by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in Virginia, Jumblatt proposed that the U.S. "send car bombs" to Damascus as a way to prevent further Syrian interference with Lebanese politics.
And in a 2007 New Year's Eve interview, Jumblatt said he had lied to the Syrians for 25 years.
The Druze leader has a reputation for switching sides for political gain. He is currently allied with the ruling March 14 Alliance, headed by Mustaqbal Movement leader and MP Saad Al-Hariri.
The controversial comments came in the wake of the failure of Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa to end the stalemate over electing a new Lebanese president – an issue that has remained unresolved since the expiry of Emile Lahoud's term in November 2007.
Moussa blamed a lack of trust between the government and opposition for the deadlock, while Aoun alleged that Moussa was trying to blame the opposition for the crisis.
(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid). |
