Kouchner Hammers Hizbullah, Berri and Says Siddiq 'Disappeared'

by **Admin** Thu Apr 10, 2008 6:41 am

French
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Tuesday slammed Hizbullah as a
non-domestic issue in Lebanon; and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri for
lacking freedom of movement, stressing he is not invited to France.

Kouchner
also announced that Mohammed Zuhair Siddiq, the main Syrian witness in
the 2005 killing of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, has "disappeared" while
under close watch in France.

He told a press conference "with Hizbullah the issue has passed over the domestic stage in Lebanon."

"I
believe that the re-arming of Hizbullah that is known to everybody is a
serious issue," Kouchner said, adding that the pro-Iranian party's
stand in Lebanon also is "serious."

He called for renewing dialogue with the Lebanese, noting: "It would be difficult."

However,
Kouchner Hammered Berri for seeking to re-launch inter-Lebanese
dialogue, asking: "Why dialogue is not held in Parliament? Why does
Berri close parliament while he is speaker of the legally-elected
house? Why doesn't he benefit from this place so that Christians,
Druze, Sunnis and others can engage in dialogue?"

The
reason for that, according to the French foreign minister, is that
Berri "lacks freedom of movement" and said the Lebanese parliament
speaker is not invited to France.

He
also announced that Siddiq has "in fact disappeared. I'm sorry for that
and I don't know the conditions for his disappearance."

Siddiq,
according to Kouchner, had been under "house arrest" in France, but he
did not know if the Syrian witness was under surveillance when he
disappeared.