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Nasrallah Warns of Civil War, Asks Hizbullah to 'Leave Squares' and Protesters to Pick Representatives

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday warned the Lebanese that the ongoing anti-government protests might descend into “chaos”, “collapse” and “civil war,” as he called on Hizbullah’s supporters to leave the protest squares.

“The protest movement is no longer spontaneous and it is being led by known parties and political forces and some sides are funding it,” Nasrallah cautioned in a televised address.

“The situation in Lebanon has entered the phase of international exploitation with the help of domestic sides,” he warned.

Expressing fear that Lebanon might be “dragged into political tensions and civil war,” Nasrallah said he fears for "the entire country, not the resistance."

“Any solution must avoid a plunge into vacuum, because vacuum would be very dangerous,” Nasrallah said.

“We do not accept the fall of the presidential tenure and we do not support the government's resignation, and amid these circumstances we do not accept to go to early parliamentary polls,” he added.

Addressing protesters, Hizbullah’s leader suggested that protesters will not be able to agree on an electoral law and said: “If you want early parliamentary polls, elect your representatives and agree on an electoral law and we will back you unconditionally.”

Nasrallah also acknowledged that the blocking of roads is a legitimate protest tactic but called for the reopening of roads blocked since October 17, accusing some protesters of "setting up checkpoints" and "asking for IDs."

Calling on “the supporters of the resistance” to leave protest squares, Nasrallah added that he “respects” the protesters who choose to stay there.

“Let the leaders of the protest movement show their real face and let them go to the judiciary to prove that they are not corrupt and let them lift their bank secrecy,” Nasrallah said, calling on them to “reassure the resistance.”

“Some of the protest movement's leaders are patriotic and honest while some of the protest movement's leaders are known political parties,” he suggested.

“It's about time this protest movement had leaders,” Nasrallah said, calling on the protest movement to dispatch representatives to meet with President Michel Aoun.

Noting that the reform paper presented by Prime Minister Saad Hariri “is for implementation” and is not “mere promises,” Hizbullah’s leader added that his party “will not allow procrastination in its implementation.”

“ The reform paper was ridiculed in a strange manner by some leaders of the protest movement and this raises suspicions. How can someone disavow their own achievements,” he lamented.

Source: Naharnet


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