Feltman: Hizbullah’s Repute Dwindled under Protests

Jeffrey Feltman, former US ambassador to Lebanon, said that Hizbullah’s reputation “dwindled” throughout the demonstrations in Lebanon and has become part of the political problem in the country, the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat daily reported on Saturday.

In a statement he made to the daily, Feltman said: “We have seen and listened to Nasrallah’s speeches, in four of them he demanded the demonstrators to go back home but they did not, when he asked the Shiites (community) to get out of the streets, some listened to him but many paid him no attention, Lebanon has never seen it before.”

Feltman pointed out that Hizbullah’s attempt to “discredit” the demonstrators and their intentions undermined the reputation they had worked on for many years, and today they are like other political parties in Lebanon that have lost credibility, reported the daily.

Feltman described the uprising in Lebanon as “inspiring” and different in many aspects from the March 14, 2005 demonstrations, which he believes were “politicized.”

Today’s demonstrations are strong because they are driven by “purely humanitarian and livinghood motives,” he said.

He expressed hope that Lebanon’s political class lends a listening ear to the demonstrators to initiate the required reforms, fight corruption and activate accountability in order for Lebanon to recover from its economic crisis by attracting investors.

He urged the US administration to release millions in U.S. military assistance to Lebanon because the freeze “serves Hizbullahh and the Iranian and Russian influence in Lebanon.”

“The US government should provide an international aid package to Lebanon for reform,” he said. Feltman was keen to point out that he did not represent the official American opinion, and that he spoke only as an expert.