March 31, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Nasrallah refuses accusations in Hariri’s murder

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah confirmed during an interview with Al-Manar television Wednesday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)’s office of the prosecutor summoned 12 of his party members. He added that the tribunal will summon six others, but Hezbollah is in the process of verifying whether they are members or just affiliated with the party.

However, Nasrallah said the members were summoned as witnesses and not as suspects. Among them was a cultural official and another who deals with Palestinian-Hezbollah relations, he said.

The Hezbollah chief criticized media reports accusing his party of being behind the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and noted that the STL has not once accused a Hezbollah member of the killing.

“But we do not know what might happen in the future.”

Nasrallah said that the accusations following Hariri’s death were political, and Israel was the first to point its finger at Hezbollah.

“Israel failed to eliminate the party during the 2006 July War, and Hariri’s assassination became their final weapon and their last card to play against the Resistance.”

Nasrallah also said some STL employees are leaking information to the media and holds the STL and the Office of the Prosecutor responsible.

There are internal conflicts inside the STL, he added.

Nasrallah said the objective is to distort Hezbollah’s image and pressure and intimidate the party, adding, “They might be trying to pressure Hezbollah to concede and accept a deal.”

He also stated that he refuses all accusations in Hariri’s murder against his party and its members.

Nasrallah said the International Independent Investigative Commission (IIIC) was not committed to keeping its investigation secret and focused on one hypothesis from the very beginning, which is that Syria and the four Lebanese generals – who were in the STL’s custody but released last year – murdered Hariri.

“The commission gathered false witnesses to try and prove their hypothesis.”

He also said that a high-ranking official in the IIIC proposed to former General Security Director Jamil as-Sayyed – one of the four generals– with a deal but was turned down.

Nasrallah stated that in order to again trust the investigation, it is necessary to try the false witnesses and those who backed them to guarantee that there will be no more foul play.

Even though the Hezbollah chief did not accuse Israel of Hariri’s murder, he said that “whoever says it is an unlikely [scenario] is insulting Rafik Hariri.”



He said his party is concerned with knowing the truth, with stopping the “misled investigation” and with assisting to put it back on the right track.

Hezbollah will cooperate with the STL, otherwise, it will be suspected of being behind Hariri’s assassination, said Nasrallah. However, he added that if there are more leaks and the false witnesses remain protected, he has the right to take a different stance.

Nasrallah commented on the 2007 US-Internal Security Forces cooperation agreement, saying it should be annulled due to its dangerous nature.

Nasrallah said that the agreement allows the US to interfere in the ISF whenever it pleases, enforces the US’ definition of terrorism to categorize the ISF officers, insults the Lebanese cabinet by setting conditions that US aid cannot be used for drug trafficking or illegal acts.

“Training ISF members is a good thing, but what they are being taught is dangerous.”

According to Nasrallah, Hezbollah did not target ISF Director General Ashraf Rifi or Interior Minister Ziad Baroud.

Rifi attempted to resolve some issues pertaining to the agreement by contacting the US embassy and saying Hezbollah is a Lebanese party, said Nasrallah. He added that President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Speaker Nabih Berri should also take such an initiative.

Nasrallah commented on the national dialogue sessions, saying, “[They] are crucial even if they do not lead to quick results, and national consensus is not a precondition to defend our homes.”

He also said Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt’s Wednesday visit to Syria is in Lebanon’s interests.

Nasrallah touched on the upcoming municipal elections, saying his party is open to holding the elections on time and to postponing them.

However, he said it would be better to postpone the elections for a couple of months to adopt the draft municipal electoral law.

He said that Hezbollah and the Amal Movement will run together in the elections, which, he added are for development purposes and not based on popular support.

Villages must be unified in light of the recurrent Israeli threats.

Nasrallah said he supports a system of proportional representation only in big towns and not small ones.

For more of the interview, please click here.

-NOW Lebanon