Nasrallah Says Support of Aoun's Candidacy Unchanged, Slams 'Dictatorial' Proportional Representation Opponents
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday reiterated support for Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun's presidential bid, noting that an electoral law based on the proportional representation system would pull the country out of its political crisis.
“As long as Aoun is running for presidency, we will support his candidacy without any timeframes and no one can impose a president on us,” said Nasrallah during an interview with al-Manar television.
“Michel Aoun is not linked to any country, embassy or party and he has the courage to take his own decisions,” he noted.
Commenting on calls for electing a so-called “consensual president,” Nasrallah noted that “when you say that you want the election of any president, you would be insulting the presidency.”
“We want a strong president who cannot be 'bought or sold,' especially in this period that Lebanon and the region are going through. These characteristics apply to General Aoun,” he underscored.
Nasrallah also repeated the accusation that Saudi Arabia is impeding the presidential election in Lebanon.
“The obstacle in the presidential issue is well-known and even (al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM) Saad Hariri had the intention to endorse Aoun's presidential bid,” he said.
As for the national dialogue that got underway under the auspices of Speaker Nabih Berri, Nasrallah said the parties “can move to the other issues” should they fail to agree on the issue of the presidency.
Hizbullah's leader then proposed holding parliamentary elections under a proportional representation law as a way out of the country's political impasse.
“In any country, when the political process reaches a deadlock, the rulers would return to the people … The problem in Lebanon is that the Constitution did not mention a referendum, although it exists in most countries in the world.
“We don't have this mechanism and we can only return to the people through parliamentary elections,” he said.
“Holding parliamentary polls under any law will not solve the problem because the elections will yield the same results. Therefore, an electoral law based on proportional representation would be the gateway to give people a chance to elect a parliament that would improve the political life,” he explained.
Nasrallah then launched a scathing attack on the opponents of the proportional representation system.
“Any party that rejects proportional representation would be dictatorial, because it would be rejecting partners in its regions and confessional representation … Those who reject proportional representation are afraid it would expose their real political weight,” he suggested.
Turning to the flurry of international discussions about the situation in war-torn Syria, Nasrallah attributed the apparent changes in the stances of some world powers to the “perseverance” of the Syrian regime and its allies.
“The aim of the 5-year global war on Syria was to topple the regime and seize control of the country, but the perseverance of Syria and its allies was the main factor behind what we're witnessing today,” said Nasrallah.
“Today we're witnessing the failure of the U.S. strategy and the anti-Islamic State international coalition. The Europeans are now facing a new challenge, the challenge of the refugees, and they're facing two choices – ending the war in Syria or taking in the refugees” he explained.
Hizbullah's leader also noted that the recent nuclear deal between Iran and world powers was a factor that led to the current developments in the Syrian crisis.
“The Americans thought they could convince Iran through negotiations to bargain over Syria, but this has also ended,” he said.
Nasrallah also confirmed reports that Russia had called for a new anti-IS international coalition “comprising Iran, Iraq, Turkey and the current alliance” that is facing the group.
“Several meetings were held between senior officials of these countries and they engaged in a serious discussion about forming a real anti-terror force,” said Nasrallah.
He noted that the Russian stance on Syrian President Bashar Assad's role in any possible political transition “is not ambiguous anymore.”
“Russia and Iran are very decisive in their support for President Bashar Assad,” Nasrallah underscored.
Asked about the Russian reinforcements that are being dispatched to Syria, Nasrallah said Hizbullah welcomes “any force that enters Syria to support this front, because it would be contributing to fending off the major threats that Syria and the region are facing.”
“The Russian moves are coordinated with the four countries that I mentioned,” he said.
Asked why Hizbullah and the Syrian army were not able to finish the battle that they started in July in the town of Zabadani near Lebanon's border, Nasrallah attributed the protraction of the campaign to the rebels' military pressure on the Shiite Idlib towns of Fuaa and Kafraya.
“We started the Zabadani battle on July 1 and seized control of all hills around the town and most of the town's territory. The militants started issuing distress calls within less than two weeks … They later floated the Fuaa-Kafraya-Zabadani equation after their leaders thought that pressure on Fuaa and Kafraya would improve their situation in Zabadani,” Nasrallah explained.
“When they linked the issue to Zabadani, we saw a chance and we protected Fuaa and Kafraya by refraining from seizing full control of the town (Zabadani) before reaching a solution for the two towns,” he said.
He also described some media reports about Hizbullah's casualties in Zabadani as exaggerated.
Confirming that a six-month truce had been reached for the three towns, Nasrallah said the deal was reached under United Nations auspices, with the mediation of Damascus ally Iran.
It will entail the "evacuation of armed and wounded men from Zabadani to Idlib province in exchange for the evacuation of 10,000 civilians from the villages of Fuaa and Kafraya to zones controlled by the regime," he announced.
On Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the agreement was reached “under Turkish and Iranian sponsorship and with guarantees from the United Nations.”
Y.R.
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