Naharnet

Nasrallah Supports Dialogue after Presidential Vote, Says Equation Remains Golden 'Even if Someone Changes Their Opinion'

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah hinted on Saturday that his party will boycott national dialogue, encouraging instead the election of a new president before resuming talks.

Nasrallah also lashed out at president Michel Suleiman's stance on the army-people-resistance equation.

“What is golden remains golden, even if someone changes their opinion about it and said it became wooden,” the Hizbullah leader said in a televised speech he gave at an event celebrating the launch of the Jabal Amel Culture and Literature club in the southern town of Ainata.

“Others' description of things does not change the reality of these things,” he stressed.

Suleiman announced in February a “permanent equation” consisting of the land, people and common values, as a substitute to Hizbullah's army-people-resistance equation, which the party holds onto.

Nasrallah remarked that the president's comments on the equation will be reflected in Hizbullah's take on participating in the national dialogue sessions, preferring instead to launch talks after the presidential vote.

“We insist more than any other group on holding the presidential elections at the earliest possible time, we even call for an early vote, to establish a new phase, resume dialogue over a defense strategy, and get the country out of its problems,” he said.

Nasrallah had started his speech on Saturday by talking about the literature and cultural achievements of Lebanon, and of southerners in particular, noting the important roles of literature, language and culture in the act of resisting.

He considered that the resistance is not exclusively linked to a certain person, a group of people, or a region.

“The resistance is a culture and a political ideology that embraces different groups,” he said.

“Media outlets run by our political foes are still attacking the resistance, but the resistance is far more significant than a dispute with a party,” he added.

Nasrallah assured that the resistance will “remain strong and defiant.”

“Those who say that the fighting in Syria opens the doors in front of Israelis to wage a war against Lebanon, we tell them that they are mistaken,” he insisted.

“Israelis know very well that the resistance is not only strong, but it is stronger today, and more capable on the human, financial, and military levels. It is more ready for victory.”

Nasrallah said that the resistance succeeded in liberating the land “when the entire world failed in this regard.”

“It succeeded in freeing prisoners from Israeli jails, and it cemented Lebanon as a strong nation in the regional equation.”

On the party's involvement in the Syrian was, Nasrallah said Hizbullah fighters first entered the neighboring country to defend the Sayyeda Zeinab shrine.

“We did not violate Syria's sovereignty. We went in after receiving the Syrian cabinet's approval,” he revealed.

“But today, there is a nation preparing to enter the country and violate its sovereignty to defend a shrine that is not even famous,” he added, referring to Turkey.

He continued: “From the beginning we said we are with dialogue and reform and we are not with implementing strategic choices in Syria. Why did Arabs wait for three years of suffering, killing, and hardship before becoming convinced of a political solution? You rejected to take part in dialogue and you held onto overthrowing the regime.”

Again, Nasrallah reiterated his warning against the “Takfiri danger.”

“We said since the beginning that what is happening in Syria subjects the entire region to the danger of Takfiris. You said it was about human rights and revolutions.”

“Some Lebanese have not realized yet that what is happening in Syria is a threat to the country,” he stressed.

“I call on you to reconsider your stances and reevaluate what's happening. The problem in Lebanon is that Hizbullah was late to join the Syrian war, and your problem is that you are still in your place and did not go fight in the country.”

Source: Naharnet


Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/124403