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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 4, 2007
President Bush Meets with Leader of the Parliamentary Majority in Lebanon, Saad Hariri
The Oval Office
11:01 A.M. EDT
PRESIDENT BUSH: It is my honor to welcome the honorable Saad Hariri here
to the Oval Office. Saad is the Majority Leader in the Lebanese
Parliament.
I told this courageous leader that the United States strongly supports the
success of democracy in Lebanon; that we respect your country and that we
understand the obstacles that you face. First, I was very impressed by the
response of the government and Prime Minister Siniora in dealing with
extremists and radicals; impressed by his willingness to have the Lebanese
forces work for security in Lebanon, and so impressed that I asked Admiral
Fallon to go to Lebanon to assess how we can further help the government
and the forces protect themselves from radical elements who are willing to
use violence and terror to achieve objectives.
We talked about the upcoming presidential election, and I am deeply
concerned about foreign interference in your elections. It is -- the
message has been sent to nations such as Syria that they should not
interfere in the election of the President. The international community
has spoken, and we expect Syria to honor those -- that demand.
Saad Hariri suffered incredible tragedy when his good father was
assassinated, killed in Lebanon. And as a result of that cold-blooded
murder, the international community has demanded accountability. That
tribunal is taking too long to get started. The international community
must work more quickly to stand up this tribunal so people will be held to
account. And not only that, this tribunal will send a clear message that
there will be justice delivered for not only the murder of your dad, but
for the murder of others that have taken place on the streets of Beirut.
You know, I admire your courage. This is a tough time. And I appreciate
the fact that you care enough about the people of Lebanon that you're
willing to work hard for peace and democracy and freedom. And I reiterate
what I told you, is that the United States is more than just an admirer; we
want to help as best as we possibly can.
So I welcome you here to the Oval Office.
MR. HARIRI: Thank you. I thank you, Mr. President, for the political and
all the support that you have given Lebanon, from the international
tribunal, from helping the security forces also, and fighting those
terrorists in Lebanon. Also we in Lebanon have a very important
constitutional presidential election that we don't want any foreign
interference in this presidential election.
We've had members of our parliament being killed. We ask -- I ask Mr.
President that this action is taken by terrorists that want to finish our
democracy. We will stay resolved, we will stay focused on our democracy.
We will not let those who want to destroy our democracy succeed. We have
paid very dear blood, from my father to Mr. Antoine Ghanem lately, who were
willing to pay the price to preserve our democracy. And we shall preserve
our democracy with our country.
Thank you, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.
END 11:06 A.M. EDT
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