Now Lebanon - Franjieh says bloody war will occur if STL indicts Hezbollah - September 24, 2010

Marada Movement leader MP Sleiman Franjieh told LBCI television on Thursday that if the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) indicts Hezbollah in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, then “war, blood and chaos will take place in the country.”

“When the STL indicts Hezbollah, it will ignite a war between the Sunnis and the Shia,” Franjieh said, adding, “Personally, I am not convinced that Hezbollah murdered Rafik Hariri.”

He went on to say that he would support any decision taken by the March 8 coalition to halt Lebanon’s share of funding to the STL, “because the tribunal’s indictment will incite sedition in the country.”

Tension ran high in Lebanon after reports said that the STL will soon issue its indictment. Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in July that the tribunal is an Israeli project that will name Hezbollah members in its verdict.

Franjieh also said that resolving the issue of Hezbollah’s arms cannot be achieved unless comprehensive peace in the Middle East is reached.

“[When peace is achieved,] there will not be a need for the Resistance’s arms,” the Marada Movement leader told the TV station.

He added that his relationship with PM Saad Hariri is “honest,” adding that he wants to have good relations with the premier, because “in my opinion, [Hariri] is a decent man and a victim of politics.”

-NOW Lebanon