Jumblatt condemns Russian-Iranian support for Syria

Walid Jumblatt condemns Russian-Iranian support for Syria The head of Lebanon's  Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) Walid Jumblatt strongly criticised Russian and Iranian support for the Syrian regime, which has been cracking down on opposition rebels in the country, with deadly force. Recently in Tremsa, the government carried out a sustained and deadly attack against the population, in which more than a hundred people lost their lives. Jumblatt said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s systematic destruction of the country is becoming worse as time goes by and that it is only a matter of time before the country descends into civil war.
The PSP leader also called on Russia and Iran to hasten the departure of the Syrian leader before it was too late.  Jumblatt posed the questions: "Don’t the Syrian people have the right to decide their political destiny like the Tunisians, Egyptians, Libyans and Yemenis? Why does Russia and Iran fear such a democratic experience?”
Walid Jumblatt, made the comments in an interview with the Lebanese weekly "Aln Baal" newspaper, which is distributed by the Progressive Socialist Party.  He said: “After the policy of repression failed at the beginning of the revolution and Hauran’s people were still steady, the revolution spread to Baniyas, Latakia and others cities and villages.  But the regime is still destroying and killing in Homs and its surroundings.  It is creating a mini-state separated from the unity of Syria.”
Speaking about Russia’s role in the Syrian conflict, Jumblatt said: "We should take notice whether Russia supports the Syrian regime and rejects external interference because it has hidden oil, economic and military interests at heart at the expense of the Syrian people and the unity of Syria. Does Putin’s visit to Israel serve this idea? Is this just a beginning to re-draw a new map of the area starting from Syria?”
 “We have the right to ask whether the Islamic Republic has considerations relating to oil interests… including future promises of arms deals with Russia.  Therefore it adds fuel to the conspiracy theories going around and continues to provide support to the Syrian regime even at the expense of the Syrian people and the unity of Syria
But Jumblatt said Russia and Iran were not the only ones to blame for the worsening crisis: "What about the position of the international community which is hiding behind the Russian-Chinese veto?" he asked. "The only action being taken by the international community is to hold successive conferences in different capitals, using flowery expressions full of condemnation and denunciation… I call on the Tunisian President and some of his friends in the Syrian opposition to find ways in which to save the people from this Syrian tyrant, in light of their insistence on rejecting foreign interference.”
  "Despite hardships, sacrifices and the silence of the international community, as well as the absence of the Arab League and any support for the revolution, I believe that Syrians will triumph in  the end. They were victorious against foreign colonialism and refused Syria’s fragmentation, maintaining Syria’s unity, saying that, they now have to confront a fascist and merciless gang, which is more brutal than the colonial destruction."
Jumblatt was also critical of Kofi Annan, who he said, already had a history of failure in conflict resolution. "After all this killing, destruction and displacement, what about the so-called task of Kofi Annan, who has already scored a failure in Bosnia leading to its division? Annan himself, in spite of  everything being said about his role and mission, acknowledged  a massacre had taken place in Tremsa last week."
The PSP leader condemned warnings against arming rebel groups for fear of an all out civil war:  "The common, most petty excuse for not arming the opposition is that more weapons could cause an outbreak of civil war.  But wouldn’t the bloodshed from the daily massacres against the Syrian people provide the same outcome as a civil war?”
The PSP leader was also asked about his stance on the issue of arrest warrants against officers linked to the murders of two Sheikhs. There was outrage in Lebanon after the two religious leaders were shot dead by the Lebanese Army in May.  Sheikh Ahmad Abdel-Wahed and his companion, Sheikh Mohammad al-Mereb, were killed at an army checkpoint in Kwaikhat on May 20, while they were on route to a rally organised by MP Khaled Daher in Halba, to commemorate the killing of Future Movement supporters during clashes in 2008.
Jumblatt said the arrests of the officers linked to the murders was a step in the right direction"which will help resolve the issue once and for all and protect the military institution against any attempts to drag it away from its duties which are to maintain stability and civil peace.”