Excerpt of the press conference held by the Secretary General of Hezbollah, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah on May 8th, 2008
The Israeli hand has approached the arms of the Resistance in the
July war and we had it cut.
The content of this press conference which we are holding for the
first time after July 2006 is for sure about the latest, crucial and
dangerous developments taking place in the Lebanese arena.
In the beginning, I have to say after the decisions of the authority
group on that dark night that a new phase has completely started in
Lebanon, i.e, the date of that session according to us is very
similar to the date of February 14th, 2005 which presented an
earthquake that entered Lebanon completely into a new phase, i.e.
after the martyrdom of Lebanese Premier Rafiq AL Hariri. We are now
facing a new phase completely in Lebanon. Lebanon after that dark
session is different from Lebanon before that dark night session.
The authority group must know that it has entered Lebanon into a new
phase completely. Due to the dangerousness of the decisions taken
and their background and dimensions as well.
I will talk about some main titles: the first one is the
communication network, we are going to talk about the issues as they
are. We`re not going to deliver a speech or raise slogans. This
stage is a difficult stage, but it`s a stage for logic,
consciousness and responsible decisions. the first heading is the
communications network, the network of the Resistance. The second
heading is the airport/ the Brigadier General Shouqier, and the
third heading is the severe political crisis that is currently
taking place and how to deal with it, and the way for exit from it.
First of all, I would like to formulate a description because it`s
well known in Lebanon what is the network about, but abroad one
might think that we are establishing a telecom network raising
money, taxes and fees from it, "as if we are opening for our
interest" a communication ministry to finance benefits illegally.
And I would like to reply on the derivations of that group who knows
the truth and denies it.
First of all the description: there`s something called the “weapon
of signal”, used by all armies in the world, even by old armies who
used to depend on pigeons, sounds and other means of the infantry of
the fire weapons, or fighting tactics were developed, the “signal
weapon” was also developed in parallel time. The “weapon of signal”
is the weapon of communication, and after all in forming and
fighting whether in traditional army or in a resistant movement or
even militia or guarding group there must be a connection between
the leadership and the commanders who are in need of a means of
communication.
The issue of the communication or what`s so called the “signal
weapon” is a fundamental, central part; moreover it`s the primary
part of the leadership system and the control which is the main
element of any victory and the first element in managing any battle.
Well, this communication has different shapes, this is a technical
dimension anyway, but it`s beneficial to mention that there`s a kind
of wireless communication, air communication whether by wireless set
or cellular or any other way where sound is transmitted through the
air. The different technological means available now, and there`s a
second form of communication, it`s a simplified one, the wired one,
where sound is not transmitted through the air, but through the
wires from one machine to another. Consequently, the sound is kept
in control in communication; however, the wireless communication of
course is more effective and easier in management "one can carry it
and move from one place to another" today, every one of you carries
a cellular that he uses and talks even from a street or any other
place one wants. But the wired doesn`t have all of these facilities,
i.e. its flexibility is limited, while the wireless set, or air set,
has a number of obstacles for it could be under or reached by wire
tapping. And there`s no code that couldn`t be decoded. And there`s
no coding communication that couldn`t be analyzed.
This is determined depending upon the development available today in
the world.
This is determined by the scientific development available today in
the world there`s the obstacle of the wire tapping secondly there`s
the problem of the jamming. The enemy would be able to interfere
through the network of communication leading up to a disconnection
between the leadership and commanders, bases, centers, and as a
result the entire leadership and control would be lost.
The third obstacle is simply that the cellular station could be
bombarded. The wireless set could be shelled just like what happened
during the war and previous wars. The wired network, especially if
it is clandestine it could be difficult to be targeted on the first
days and it could be a means that one benefits from in a wider
margin. We as a resistance we own neither the abilities (facilities)
that great armies have nor the technology of the United States of
America or “Israel.” Eventually we want to face the well-developed
and complex technology we tend to depend upon simplified means so
since we can`t establish a balance on the technology level, we go on
using the best way of confronting the complexity of the technology
by depending on simplification, and here it is the land wired
network. If I wanted to use a more accurate expression I would say
the wired network owned by the resistance, and it is made of a
central and a number of lines connected to the houses of the
leaders, centers, locations of the resistance, that is the network
communication and that is the wired telephone set. The wired
communication is a part of the “signal weapon” available for the
resistance in Lebanon. And this weapon is not attached or extra but
it is the most important in any battle. Before 2000, one of the most
important elements of the resistance victory was that when 2-3-4
hundred fighters attack Israeli locations in the occupied (previous)
occupied territory, the Israelis weren’t able to discover that,
until the moment of opening fire. The reason for this is that we
weren’t depending on a wireless set, but the wired one instead. In
July 2006 war, the most important point, the most powerful element
we had was the leadership and the control due to the available
connections between the leadership and the other different leader
locations and on field fighting locations, that is what the enemy
had admitted. Remember after the second Qana massacre when there was
a 48-hour ceasefire agreement to facilitate the evacuation of the
injured, attacked and others; how could we have stopped shooting
although we are not a traditional army? Simply because we had the
ability of communication with all our posts at those locations.
With respect to what the Minister of Information has said, and I
feel sorrow for him as he used to be a former friend, “it is a
mistake to consider this weapon as a means for Hezbollah
protection.” I would like to say to them that many of our leaders
have been martyred because of the wireless set and cellular as well.
And in the July war, in many locations where we lost connection and
we were obliged to call through wireless set or use cellular, many
of our commanders and leaders were killed in the field. And today
when we approach the Winograd report we find that the most important
recommendations is the necessity of destroying the ability and the
system of the leadership and the control of Hezbollah in which the
communication element is a decisive factor. That was the
recommendation of Winograd report and we must not forget that, and
you may go back and check it out.
Now we come to talk about the flow of negotiations between the
authority group and us in the past period. You all know that this
network was set before year 2000, and it continued after that year,
so it isn`t a new one or renewed, yes it has been developed, that`s
true and that`s natural and logic. I want to remind them that when
they allied with us in that ill-omened quartet alliance the network
was available at that time, and it wasn`t considered as an outrage
upon the sovereignty, the law or the public money! When the
ministerial statement was set where the resistance and its weapons
were mentioned – and this is apart from its weapon- the network
wasn`t considered as outrage upon the sovereignty, the public money
and the sovereignty!!! Now, because the quartet alliance has become
chimeras since they aren`t going to see it either on earth or in the
afterlife, anyway in the afterlife we are not going to be together
for sure, but on this earth they are not going to see it anyway,
after the recommendations of Winograd and Welch and the "hot summer"
and after enlarging the Lebanese crisis and after Larsen and his
useless report- unless it had been backed by what the government
said- "the Lebanese government said…" and after the report of
"insults" of the US State Department addressing the authority, they
have come and opened this file again, although in the previous past
months we were negotiating about it and we came to certain and
limited number of results. And we answered all questions. They have
come before and we held a kind of communication, the topic was
evoked and the great leaders of the Lebanese forces were assigned to
make a contact with us and hold a conversation about the land wired
network to evoke some suspicions. We met and had all suspicions
answered and they said well there was no problem, but there`s a
cable extended from AL Dahiyah (Beirut Southern Suburb) to Western
Beirut –this cable was established during July 2006 war and after
days of attacking Al Dahiyah not in the first day- we extended a
wired cable from AL Dahiyah to Beirut. And they said that this cable
is evoking suspicions to a person and another and we hope that you
remove it, and we responded positively and said that if removing it
would comfort you, we are going to remove it. And the issue was
finished.
A couple of weeks ago, indeed there`s a phase in the region, the
matter doesn`t relate to the wired network, but there are bets
through the authority, and these bets have fallen, there are bets on
regional and international developments that have fallen, there are
bets on wars that have backed away, consequently what is wanted is
to go though a battle in a different way, in Iraq, in Lebanon, in
Palestine, and even against Iran and Syria, this is an option, so
they have come and opened the issue of the wired communication. The
officers have come and there was a good meeting, we said okay what`s
wrong they said we have a number of problems you have to tackle for
us. And we are people who converse, we are problem solvers, we want
to keep the weapons, we don’t want to fight for the weapons,
fighting is not our purpose. They said you wanted to extend a
telephone network to Jbeil and Kisirwan, we replied that it wasn’t
true. And the one who held a press conference and has been lying for
25 years, he himself knows that he was lying because we informed the
officers, and they in turn informed the ministerial committee which
in turn reported to the illegitimate cabinet that Hezbollah says and
eventually the party doesn’t want to extend a telephone network to
Jbeil, and we don`t need such a network in Jebil and Kisirwan. We
told them that we established it where we need to contact the
commanders and the centers of the resistance and where they could be
targeted, they said well and what about the North, we said even
there or in Kisirwan or in Jbeil , they said well and what about the
line extended to the South, we said that it`s natural to have it.
It`s necessary since it allows a connection between AL Dahiyah and
the South. They said we were afraid that we would extend a line to
Al Shouf to your allied parties. We said that we would not extend it
to Al Shouf and we made a commitment that we would not extend it to
our allies there. It`s the first time we mention this information.
We said it`s OK, no problem. They asked whether this network was an
alternative to that of the government and consequently this would
make the treasury lose. We replied that this network is specifically
for the resistance leaders and commanders and it wasn`t for the
public use. And if you would like to inspect the issue, you would be
welcomed. They said that there was a third suspicion that you might
use this network for international communication. We said that this
was impossible and you could detect any connection or international
call. Tell us if you detected any international call and we can deal
with it together. We believe that illegal calling is out of laws and
its money to us is an ill-gotten property, corruption and stealing
of the public money. They said fine. The officers went and reported
that the atmosphere was good and everything was going smoothly.
Then, they came back and asked us whether we want to make an
agreement, a bargain: they turn a blind eye to the wired network of
the resistance and correspondingly we end up the sit-in in Beirut?
i.e. a bargain and turning a blind eye to the wired communication of
the resistance. I want to ask now: if we agreed to that offer that
time, would the network become in accordance with the laws and the
cabinet and not considered as contradictory to the laws and not a
squander of public money? What a government?!! This is not a
government at all; it`s a gang. It`s neither a state of laws nor a
state of institutions; it`s a gang!!! It isn`t even a militia; it`s
a gang!! It`s a shame, shame in order to turn blinded –eyes to the
weapons of the resistance you are abusing internal issues and
affairs. It`s an internal and national affair related to the defense
of the country and confronting the Zionist enemy. Secondly, the
decision of the wired network is in my hand; however regarding the
sit-in strike it is in the hand of the opposition. The issue has
finished to this point and we made assurances and we showed
readiness that you could come and check the network and make sure
that there were no international calls vis a vis this network, and
it wasn`t available for the public use, and it doesn`t affect the
government. Knowing that there are telephone networks in a variety
of places in Lebanon, and they belong to religious institutions and
political sides in Lebanon and some of them are licensed while the
others are not. By God`s Will soon, the MPs will deliberate details
concerning this (other available networks). But apart from that,
this issue is related to the resistance and the Israeli conflict
which in turn is related to the defense of this country, and we have
overcome the issue. But we`ve got surprised that the issue has been
evoked again through the premier Walid Jumblat because it has become
evident it`s too pitiful to say that the premier is Fouad Seniora
since he (Seniora) is just a poor employee of Walid Jumblat, who
whenever he wants to fire an officer he asks his employee to fire
him, and indeed he himself (Jumblat) is an employee at Condileeca
Rice. The government of Mr. Walid Jumblat has evoked the issue
again, and it has established a campaign that has a beginning with
no end, starting the cameras, all the way to the airport, and it
could be that Jumblat is the one who has brought this French
representative to Al- Dahiyah willingly, and occasionally: do you
know where was this French representative arrested? He was arrested
in the alley leading to my own house carrying a camera and taking
pictures there!!! Who has brought him there? A guy from the
Progressive Socialist Party. They have taken him there to lead to
his arrest! And from now I inform them that we will never tolerate
anything related to the security of our own commanders and leaders.
They would say kidnapping, arrest, no problem. The issue has been
evoked and the file has been opened again and for this reason the
government has gathered and taken the decision that you know, that`s
what happened.
The second point about the wired communication is the description of
the decision; I want to describe it after the U.S. State Department
report that has insulted them. They have used the same expression
that appeared in the U.S. State Department report. They are
employees tied to the text. Well, "hot summer", "makes it
international" and after 10 hours of communication with the same
states and capitals that covered July 2006 war, the ill-omened
decision- that you heard about, that considers the wired network
that belonged to Hezbollah as an outrage upon the sovereignty, law
and public money - was taken. And they asked the judiciary and the
Security forces to chase after everybody involved in this network
and its establishment. This decision is first of all a sort of a war
declaration and starting the war thru the government of Walid
Jumblat against the Resistance and its weapons. And starting this
war by Walid Jumblat against the resistance and its weapons is for
the interest of America and “Israel” and on behalf of them. We don`t
have any disturbance or hesitation concerning this decision, it is
as clear as the sun in the mid-day.
Secondly, this decision has unveiled the truth about this group, its
background and the truth of their commitments and behaviors and
performance during July 2006 war to which they felt sad for its
results.
Thirdly, this decision is targeting disarming (the resistance) from
its most important factor that protects its leadership and
commanders, and its infrastructure as well. It aims at disclosing in
an introducing step to assassinate it, kill it, and destroy its
infra structure. Consequently, they are partners in the killing, at
least by providing the introductions and opening the roads.
Fourthly, this decision aims at causing a topple between the
Lebanese national army and Security Forces on one hand and the
Resistance on the other after the failure of all the previous
conspiracies and involvements that have been bringing down due to
the tolerance, wisdom, desire and the responsibility of both the
Resistance and the leadership of the army. Today they want to drive
Lebanese army and Lebanese Security Forces to a direct confrontation
against the Resistance by assigning them the task of the removal and
a breaking off of this network. This is our description of the
decision. Indeed it has also another purpose that is to supply Mr.
Teri Rod Larsen with material to the Security Council, the beholder
of 1559 decision in order not say that Larsen said so but the
government said. At least this is our description of the decision,
and I don`t want to go further on the regional, international level
and the visit of Bush to the region, the long and wide commitments…
Our response to this decision is certainly: who declares a war
against us and who starts a war against us even if he is a father or
a brother we have the right to confront them in defending our right
and defending our weapon and defending our resistance and our
presence. The wired network is the most important part of the
resistance weapon; it isn`t a part of the weapon, it`s the most
important weapon. While I was in Bint Jbeil delivering a speech, I
made it clear and a transparent fact- and it was an election season
at that time, and I was looking after elections votes- then the
Premier (Jumblat) was sitting shaking his leg while I was standing
delivering the speech and I clearly said that "the hand that
approaches the arms of the Resistance of whoever or wherever it
might be, it shall be cut" and today is the day we fulfill this
decision. The Israeli hand has approached the arms of the Resistance
in the July war and we had it cut. Internally many attempts have
been done, but hadn`t reached the seriousness, the action and the
starting of war; however, after these decisions of the government on
that dark night, we consider that a war has started and it`s our
right to defend our weapons and our Resistance and the legitimacy of
these stipulations and "who has warned shall be excused" according
to us the issue has crossed all red lines, no leniency with anybody
"whoever he is or from wherever he comes". We also know and our
information confirms that the issue of the wire communication is an
introductory step that will be followed by later steps. And if we
show any slacking in concerning the wired network, tomorrow the
battle will be about the rocket, and the bulletproof and every power
of the resistance to defend itself and its country or to confront
any Israeli aggression in the future. I will be satisfied by
mentioning that the issue is not delivering speeches or raising
pompous slogans, it`s a matter of action and you well-know us and
you have experienced us and you can experience us but I don`t advice
you to do that.
Secondly the issue of the judicial renvoi, this network belongs to
Hezbollah, and consequently Hezbollah is the one who owns this
network, myself, the Secretary General of and let`s say I am the
owner of this network and I am the one concerned and the
editor-in-chief as you journalists say- and its financer and the one
who uses it. All youths who worked for it are loyal Moujahideen
carrying out this decision. And the judiciary can- although the
issue of renvoi is coming from an illegal government and I don`t
recognize this renvoi- but the Lebanese Judiciary can send a judge
to a place that suits the security level and allows me to meet him.
And I myself have a prosecution against those who have taken this
decision, for they have taken it serving the interest of America and
“Israel” by igniting a civil war and let the judicial system be
between us. While the rest of the people who have facilitated and
helped and considered that they are serving the Resistance, it`s a
taboo to anyone to come in touch with them, whoever he`s whether an
engineer , a company, a mayor, an employee, a contractor, a daily
based employee, approaching them is approaching me. Approaching any
leader of the Resistance leaders in Lebanon is unallowed and also
approaching them is approaching the arms.
Excuse me, we are completely in a new phase, who wants to arrest us
we`re going to arrest him. And who shoots at us we are going to
shoot him. And the hand that approaches one of these youths we are
going to have it cut. There`s no need for such a story, let`s go and
talk and see who breaks the sovereignty and who squanders the public
money. Unfortunately who is heading the government today (Walid
Jumblat) himself has confessed that he is a liar and gifted in lying
for he admits that he has been lying for 25 years, he is a killer by
his own confession. Today, who rules the country, and it is wanted
from the scholars, leaderships and sects to follow his project. He’s
a lier. He`s a thief and a killer and sits on top of the authority
formulating commands and setting red lines. In the meantime, the
resistance fighters and the martyrs` fathers and sons- without who
Lebanon could have been Israeli- would be driven to courts?!!!
Anyway no one will drive non to courts. It`s not a state; it`s a
bossy gang upon the necks of the people and even if the whole world
supports it and (George) Bush gives them daily a kind of support
which is a condemnation against them not against us.
Thirdly, the issue of the airport; it`s not a matter of Brigadier
General Wafiq Shqeir, although it`s title is Brigadier General Wafiq
Shqeir, after the parliamentary elections there has been a great
pressure upon us to have Brigadier General Wafiq Shqeir resign and
bring another Brigadier General that I don`t want to name. Some
names have been nominated and we refused that, the issue that
created a problem. Why this insistence? I want to state that
Brigadier Shqeir doesn`t belong either to Amal Movement, Hezbollah
or to any party in the opposition. The Brigadier General Shqeir is
an officer in the Army institution, and like many other national
officers, who are the sons of this institution, and who have been
raised on safekeeping the law, not on obeying to the leader (al
Zaeem).
The first issue is that when the government was made, they wanted to
monopolize the airport not for stealing for they are already
stealing now, and right now there are many things related to them
which come in and exit things that even the Brigadier General knows
nothing about. It repeatedly happened that boxes and bags just God
knows what`s inside them: weapons, money, white, green, black…God
knows… that are coming in, but this isn`t the story. It`s wanted to
transform the airport into a base for the F.B.I. and C.I.A. and
Israeli Mossad. Honestly speaking that`s the story, otherwise
where`s the security defect in the airport? The incoming flights and
departing ones, people also, and never ever has a problem occurred
neither in the airport nor in its surrounding. Yes, the presence of
a national officer operating under the law, they know him very well,
he`s well known as a nationalist, yes he`s an obstacle standing
against transforming Beirut airport, and the airport Rafiq Al Hariri
into a base for the American intelligence, Mossad, Shabak, and the
Shin Beth, etc. that`s the story. That`s why it`s required to oust
Brigadier General Wafiq Shqeir, and they haven`t achieved that by
all their previous attempts. And even after we resigned from the
government, they made a try, but they couldn`t because then there
was Lebanese President Major General Emile Lahoud who didn`t sign
such a decree-law. Now this illegal government that considers itself
as having the authorities of the president has performed this step
and willingly the purpose is bringing an officer who belongs to one
of these leaders, an employee at the C.I.A. and F.B.I. that was the
story of the airport.
Honestly speaking, we can`t bear the presence of a base of the
C.I.A. or F.B.I. or Mossad. The blood of people, the dignity of
people, the security of the country is more expensive than any other
consideration; meanwhile, here comes the logic of the government and
the logic of the gang. Sheikh Abdil Amir Kabalan (May God Protect
him) has called the vice premier Fuad Siniora and told him " your
honor this issue couldn`t be dealt with in this manner, and if
Brigadier General Wafiq Shqeir was careless concerning the cameras
which is a very silly and clear issue, let’s have an investigation
and commit him to the judiciary. We don`t back up officers
contradicting the law or those who are negligent. And if he hasn`t
been neglectful why do you want to oust him?
Sheikh Abdil Amir Kabalan and all who stands with Brigadier General
Shqeir are not defending a Shiite officer, rather a national
officer, because when Brigadier General Shqeir is defiled, every
national officer would be defiled in Lebanon. And every officer
would feel that his security institution is not backing him, his
country is not backing him, and those who back him are the political
leaders. The last thing we still have in this country is the
military institution and if it had fallen, nothing would remain.
These two days, what prevented inflaming a civil war is the national
will in the country in addition to the presence of the military
institution and in case national officers have become defiled,
everything will have been finished in this country. We look at the
issue as farther from the airport issue; moreover, farther from the
issue of Brigadier General Shqueir, the issue is preserving the
remainders of the remaining of the military institution which is the
army, hopefully that things will be restored once again in this
country. And he promised him that yes by God`s will, but he is an
employee. The real premier said no. And he has taken the decision of
ousting Brigadier General Shqeir, why hasn`t he made the press
conference in Klemanso but rather headed to AL-Moukhtarah and has
taken the decision of the ousting from AL-Moukhtarah, whereas the
employees have to have decisions implemented.
They haven`t investigated, neither held a trial, nor given Brigadier
General a chance to defend himself, what is he accused of? That`s
how a gang behaves. We are the logic of the state and we are not a
state within a state. The day of the Mar Meckayel incident, on which
7 youths in the age of spring flowers were slaughtered. We didn`t
avenge from anyone. And we judged no one. And we didn`t take
revenge. All what we did is we showed tolerance against our
injuries, and we said that we wanted investigations and judiciary
take place and punish those who were negligent in this government
and in this gang. And who has the logic of the state and the logic
of the gangsters in this country? The killed people and the
slaughtered require an investigation and a judiciary, or the one who
has judged with default the commander of the security body of the
airport after spending tens of years in military service just as a
result of a silly and foolish accusation i.e. a camera fixed on a
container similar to many there in Lebanon and the region? Who`s the
gang and who`s the state? So, concerning this topic, this particular
decision is taken by an illegitimate government and eventually it`s
illegitimate too. Brigadier General Wafiq Shqeir has to stay as a
commander of the security body of the airport carrying on his
responsibilities of the security of the airport, and any other
officer who takes over this responsibility is personated and he has
to know himself that he is a personated and he has been in prior
convicted that he is going to implement the decision of transforming
the international airport of Rafiq AL Hariri into a base for the
C.I.A. and the F.B.I. and Mossad. Whoever the officer is, whether
Shiite, Sunni, Druze, Christian or Muslim, all are alike, betrayal
and mercenary know neither religion nor sect.
The third issue and the last is the current crisis, they are the
ones who have driven it to this current crisis. We were tolerant. We
had been killed, killed and killed and we considered that we`d been
killed in an internal affair. And no problem there`s a state and
judiciary and there`s a conflict on the state, but when they had
taken these decisions they gave birth to the new deadlock.
Concerning us, we`ve entered a new phase, I am here not to declare a
war, and I am declaring unjustly situation and a decision of
defending oneself. And I declare and say after these taking these
decisions on that dark night things will be different from what they
used to be, we will not be killed anymore in the streets and we will
not accept to be gunshot from anybody, we will not accept any
conspiracy on our arms, we will not accept anyone approaching our
presence and our legitimacy even if all the world armies will come.
This is our decision today clearly and transparently.
I want also to address both the Arab and Muslim nations, who are
being addressed today from all in Lebanon, yesterday we heard voices
that we didn`t hear during the 33-day of July 2006 aggression, we
haven`t seen this warmth and this motivation and this emotion and
this enthusiasm when “Israel” displaced more than one million
Lebanese and destroyed more than one hundred thousand houses and
desecrated the Lebanese infrastructure and threatened the entire
Lebanon. I want to address them all by saying: if the conflict were
about the authority of a partnership government or authority itself
we would have been satisfied by the political stance and protest or
strike (and God would like almsgivers) thousands of times I said
that we are not holding discussions for the purpose of an authority
or a government or a ministry or a position in the authority; and
all the sayings that the Arab and Muslim world is hearing about a
coup is extremely valueless, in fact what`s going on in Lebanon is
that there`s a group that follows and serves and is tied to the
Americans and it`s carrying out a project that America and “Israel”
themselves have fallen in having it implemented, and the project is
to disarm the Resistance. And it has been offering commitments since
2005 and has been incapable of fulfilling these commitments.
Therefore, I don`t request any support or help from anybody just
like what happened during July war while the entire Lebanon and AL
Dahiyah were bombarded. And I was myself in AL Dahiyah, and I
mentioned this and said that we don`t want any help or backup from
anybody, and who’d like to help us, he`s welcomed but I am not
requesting anything, but today, I request one thing that is
“broad-mindedness” and not to mislead the public opinion in the Arab
and Islamic world, because it always threatens us even for the
simplest things, look if you started there would be a Sunni-Shiite
sedition, they always threatened us by the sectarian strife.
Therefore, today I say that we are not worried anymore from the
Sunni-Shiite sedition. It`s over. No one shall use this weapon. The
battle today is not between Shiite people and Sunni people or people
some of them are Shiite and other people who some of them are Sunni.
No, today there`s a national resistance and an honest project on one
hand and there`s another American project conflicting. Who would
like to be there, let it be, who wants to be there whatever he
wears, whether turbans, or one hundred caps or one hundred religious
clothes no matter whether it`s of Muslim, Christian, or political,
that`s the nature of the battle today.
I`m the one who was mostly fearful and worried from any sectarian
sedition, they have always been betting on that, and when they took
these decisions they were betting that Hezbollah would not do any
thing or that he would issue a statement in which he would express
his own position. Why because Hezbollah is careful about two points:
the first is the sectarian sedition in which they always face us
with. And now I say that who approaches the arms of the Resistance
whether he is Sunni he would not be Sunni, and whether he is Shiite
he would not be Shiite any more and whether he is Muslim he would
not be Muslim, and whether he is Christian he wouldn`t be affiliated
to Jesus by any means. The other point is that the use of the arms
internally, we haven`t used the arms internally and we are not going
to use it internally neither for a coup nor for authority change and
even not for imposing any fait accompli but the arms will be used
for defense against any one.
You have crossed the red lines and we have no more red lines and we
are not worried about any Sunni-Shiite sedition for two simple
reasons: first of all the entire Arab and Islamic world knows the
nature of the battle in this country. We after the July war we have
been targeted by a libel campaign funded by hundreds of millions of
dollars; the campaign was carried out in both the Arab and the
Islamic world by media, satellite stations, writers, press, and
religious men. They have toured worldwide to say that Hezbollah is
Iranian and Hezbollah is Syrian, Hezbollah is Shiite, Hezbollah is
Italian, Hezbollah..Hezbollah... But there wasn`t anything mentioned
about “Israel.” Hundred of millions have been spent during the last
two years to distort our image in the Arab and Islamic world, but it
couldn`t deform it because the image of Hezbollah is clear and
bright as the sun and no one can distort it who ever he is, that`s
on one hand.
On the other hand, today their turbans have been used, the titles of
Sunni and the Jamaa, they know the kind of our relation with them,
they know our stance, faith, and belief that we are politically
different, they are our brothers in religion, home, and resistance
and also the destiny. And because there`s in the Sunni sect in
Lebanon deep-rooted national leaderships and deep-rooted households,
parties, and deep-rooted Islamic and national movements. And because
there are loyal and faithful religious men who can tell the truth to
the entire Arab and Islamic world, there won`t be any Sunni- Shiite
sectarian sedition in Lebanon. We have over jumped that issue and I
wish that now one will revolt upon it.
Today we are in this position we clearly decided that this is the
description of this new phase, the government of Mr. Walid Jumblat,
the government of David Welch and the government of Condeleeza Rice,
the government that has employees from some sects, based on our
description we have decided that: there are two hands: one is
extended for holding a conversation depending on abolishing the
decisions of that dark night and heading toward the round table of
dialogue to which the House Speaker Nabih Berri has called. And
there`s the second hand, there are arms, and these arms are not to
outrage anybody, and not to make a coup. We are in Hezbollah
convinced that if all the Lebanese, Arabs, Muslims and the
international community say that we Hezbollah are well behaved, our
management is good and we don`t squander, and we are going to hand
you over the government in Lebanon in order to manage the country,
we will say that we apologize we are incapable of carrying out this
responsibility since the country needs everyone.
We are not looking for authority and we don’t` want to make a coup,
and we are not weak, and we are not fearful or horrified. Our hope
in the future is so great. You are the ones whose dreams are being
vanished. You have opened fire on your own dreams not on us when you
took these dark decisions on that dark night. We don`t want to
outrage anyone, we don`t want to make a coup, we don`t want to
monopolize the country. Now they are mentioning something about the
failure of the coup, where is the coup? If we along our coalition
had had any intention to establish a coup they would have awakened
in the morning finding themselves in jails, or thrown into the sea,
but we have never used such a means , we always say that we have a
political problem in the country and a political conflict in the
country, its tools are political and its solutions are political
ones, its road is a political road through conversation, early
elections, referendum, general public poll, and there`s no day where
we have mentioned the arms.
What`s needed is to exit the deadlock. For those who are calling and
announcing that they care about the country, we thank them. The exit
from the current congestion is canceling the decisions taken by this
illegitimate government and heading toward the table of dialogue.
Otherwise stubbornness would lead us to another place. The game
being played is dangerous. We are eager to safeguard the country and
overcome the crisis in Lebanon.
