Nasrallah Says Aoun Can't be 'Isolated or Defeated', Hints FPM Allies May Join Street Action
Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah stressed Friday that no one will be able to “isolate” or “defeat” Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun, his party's main Christian ally, describing him as a “mandatory pathway” in the presidential elections and in the government.
“We won't accept that any of our allies be defeated or isolated, especially those who stood by us in the July war … Since the one being targeted these days is General Aoun, I tell you that you won't be able to isolate General Aoun,” said Nasrallah in a televised address marking the end of the 2006 war.
“All Lebanese need to exert strenuous efforts to preserve coexistence. We must all believe in the rise of a state that can reassure everyone ... There is no sect in Lebanon that can lead the entire country and this approach must end,” Nasrallah said.
“When we are all present in state institutions, we can be reassured that no one is seeking to eliminate anyone,” he added.
Nasrallah described the Lebanese state as “the guarantee and the solution” for all Lebanese, rejecting calls for “partitioning” and “federalism.”
“But it should be a state of real partnership,” he underlined, noting that partnership “can resolve all of Lebanon's crises.”
“We must find solutions to all our problems. But a major problem is that a significant segment of Christians in Lebanon is sensing marginalization and elimination,” Nasrallah lamented, referring to Aoun's FPM.
Turning to the presidential vacuum and governmental crisis, Nasrallah described Aoun as a “mandatory pathway.”
Hinting that Hizbullah and its allies might join the FPM's street protests in the future, Nasrallah added: “Do those thinking of defeating and isolating an essential component have guarantees that the FPM's many allies won't join its street action at a certain time and stage?”
“To support any of our allies in their legitimate demands, our options are open, despite our preoccupations in Syria and the South,” said Nasrallah.
“We are before a real national crisis and turning the back to each other won't yield any results,” he added.
And in an apparent reference to a recent visit to Lebanon by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Nasrallah said that “those who think that Iran might pressure its allies in the presidential issue are delusional.”
“Only dialogue can lead to partnership,” the Hizbullah leader underscored.
He also called on Christian leaders to “reevaluate their stances and consider reactivating the parliament to address the issues of the Lebanese and pave the way for reaching solutions to the other crises.”
On Thursday, Aoun said that he would take more escalatory measures if needed but stressed that he would give dialogue a chance.
“We won't allow our Christian and patriotic rights to be violated,” he warned.
Aoun spoke a day after he mobilized his supporters to hold street protests against what he terms as the violation of the rights of Christians and Defense Minister Samir Moqbel's decision to extend the terms of top three military officers, including the army commander.
The FPM has accused Prime Minister Tammam Salam of infringing on the rights of the Christian president in his absence.
The movement's ministers want to amend the cabinet's working mechanism to have a say on its agenda. They also reject the extension of the terms of security and military officials, calling for the appointment of new ones.
Prior to Moqbel's move, Aoun had been reportedly lobbying for political consensus on the appointment of his son-in-law, Commando Regiment commander Chamel Roukoz, as army chief.
Y.R.
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