BEIRUT, Feb 15: Former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri will be buried on Wednesday in a ceremony at which government officials have been told to stay away, close friends said.
"The family has categorically and definitively refused" that the funeral be organized by the state, one friend said. However, the family hopes for a massive public turnout and expects the authorities to ensure security, said former finance minister and close Hariri colleague Fuad Siniora.
After the assassination, the government had said that a "national funeral" would be held. A relative said the funeral would be held at 1000 GMT at Beirut's Mohammed al Amin Mosque, a place of worship that billionaire Hariri had helped restore following Lebanon's civil war.
"The family does not wish the government to attend the funeral," the relative added. Walid Ido, an MP from Mr Hariri's parliamentary bloc, told reporters earlier that the chief mourners did not want the government at the funeral.
Lebanon's anti-Syrian opposition called for the pro-Syrian government to resign and for Syrian troops to quit the country, after a meeting held at Mr Hariri's family home.
The opposition blamed the governments in Beirut and Damascus for Mr Hariri's death and demanded a three-day general strike. While Lebanese officials have been told to stay away from the funeral, several leaders from abroad have said they will attend.
Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif is expected at the funeral, along with Foreign Trade and Industry Minister Mohammed Rashid. Also coming from Cairo would be Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa, the organization said.
Saudi Arabia will be represented by its foreign minister, Prince Saud Al Faisal, officials there said. Sheikh Nasser Sabah al Ahmed al Sabah, eldest son of Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al Ahmed al Sabah and adviser to Crown Prince Sheikh Saad Al Abdullah al Sabah, is also expected to attend. Iraq's interim government is to be represented by Transport Minister Luay Al Aris, said Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's office in Baghdad. -AFP
