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Ghazali ready to quit if ordered
 Rustum Ghazali, erstwhile head of the Syrian military intelligence in Lebanon who has been implicated in the murder of Rafiq al-Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, says he is ready to step down if asked by his president.
| "Not suicide, though. I'm not ready to bump myself off..." |
Aljazeera's correspondent in Damascus reported earlier on Tuesday that rumours were circulating in Damascus and Beirut that Brigadier-General Ghazali had committed suicide or had been assassinated.
| "Yeah. I tried to commit suicide, but I got away." |
Ghazali later told Aljazeera by phone that the rumours were just that. "These rumours are not new, as similar rumours have been previously reported. They only aim to create confusion." But he said he was ready to resign if asked by Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president. "If the leadership asks me to die a martyr, I am ready ... and if they ask me to resign, I am also ready."
| "But really, I'd rather resign. Gay Paree is so nice this time of year..." |
A UN investigation has implicated Lebanese and Syrian officials in the 14 February 2005 assassination of al-Hariri that triggered protests which led to the end of Syria's 29-year presence in Lebanon. Ghazali was among a number of Syrian officials interviewed by a UN murder inquiry in Vienna in November. Ghazali declined to comment on the threats he allegedly made to the late al-Hariri, saying he prefers to protect the confidentiality of the probe and avoid obstruction of the truth's revelation. He, however, denied all accusations of corruption, including the charges levelled last week by Abdul Halim Khaddam, Syria's former vice-president, that Ghazali took $35 million from Lebanon's Al-Madina Bank, which collapsed two years ago. "This is all baseless, part of the unjust campaign against Syria," he told Aljazeera.
Posted by: Fred 2006-01-04 |
