July 28, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Indicting Hezbollah more dangerous than precursor to May 7, says Qawouk

Accusing Hezbollah members for involvement in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri would be more dangerous than the decisions made by the government back in 2008 that led to the May 7 events, Hezbollah official in South Lebanon Sheikh Nabil Qawouk told the National News Agency (NNA) on Wednesday.

Former PM Fouad Siniora’s government decided on May 5, 2008 to shut down Hezbollah’s landline network and fire then-security chief at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport Wafiq Choucair.

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah claimed earlier this month the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) will name some of his party members in its pending indictment, which is rumored to be issued before the end of the year. The Hezbollah chief also said the indictment would create sectarian conflict in Lebanon.

Qawouk said the Resistance is committed to defending its accomplishments and the dignity of its party members should any of them be accused of involvement in Hariri’s murder.

“Those who fabricated evidence were disappointed when they realized that they cannot affect the relationship between Syria and the Resistance,” he said, echoing Nasrallah’s comments earlier this month that any indictment accusing Hezbollah members will be considered an Israeli-US conspiracy.

-NOW Lebanon