National Struggle Front leader MP Walid Jumblatt testified on Tuesday, for the second consecutive day, before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).
MP Jumblatt described Syrian President Bashar Assad as a tyrant who ruled the Arab world, but not solely, pointing out that the relations between Hezbollah and the Syrian regime have remained positively stable since the mandate of late president Hafez Assad.
In response to a question related the United Nations Security Council resolution 1559, MP Jumblatt assured that he had never voiced his support to the latter, pointing out that the failure to properly address political confessionalism was what created a leeway for the longstanding Syrian occupation of Lebanon.
On Monday (May 04) MP Jumblatt accused the Syrian regime of being behind the assassination of his father Kamal Jumblatt, noting that the latter had opposed the entry of Syrian troops into Lebanese territories and briefed late Syrian President Hafez Assad on his decision”.
MP Jumblatt also said his ties with the Syrian regime began in 1977, adding “I once backed the Syrian regime as coordinated with one another against Israel”.
“I was compelled to make a deal with the regime that will go on to assassinate the finest intellectuals and politicians of Lebanon,” the Progressive Socialist Party leader said.
He also mentioned that the Lebanese Armed Forces once took orders from the Syrian army, noting that former Lebanese President Emile Lahoud was at the receiving end of the Syrian regime, thus "relaying" instructions to the Lebanese security apparatuses accordingly.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon was set up by the United Nations at the Lebanese government's request to try the alleged perpetrators of the 2005 bombing in which former Lebanese PM Hariri and 21 others were killed.