Hizbullah, March 14 Accusations Put Dialogue in Jeopardy
The dialogue between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal was in limbo after the two parties' officials exchanged accusations, a few days before a new round of talks between them.
Over the weekend, Hizbullah officials Hashem Safieddine and MP Mohammed Raad lashed out at the March 14 alliance's formation of the National Council.
“There are in Lebanon those who form national councils when it’s too late,” Raad said.
Safieddine described the council as “useless” and hinted that the three-month dialogue between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal would stop if some “evil tongues” continued to target the Resistance.
Their criticism came in reaction to the March 14 coalition’s announcement of a political blueprint and the formation of the National Council on the 10th anniversary of its founding.
The blueprint, which was announced by al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora, warned that the Lebanese state institutions would no longer exist over Hizbullah’s role in Syria.
The party has sent its fighters to the neighboring country to help troops loyal to President Bashar Assad against rebels seeking to topple him.
The blueprint also accused Hizbullah-backer Tehran of inciting Sunni-Shiite conflict to serve its interests.
Sources expected in remarks to An Nahar daily that the next round of dialogue between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal on Wednesday would be affected by the accusations.
The two parties have been meeting under Speaker Nabih Berri's sponsorship since December to defuse sectarian tension linked to the war in Syria.
They are now discussing a joint national strategy to combat terrorism and the presidential deadlock.
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