2 July 2011
To the final subject: the current situation. To the Lebanese people, I say to them the following: don’t worry about civil strife. Those who talk about civil strife in Lebanon actually want that to come about. There will be no Sunni-Shiite strife and no civil war in Lebanon. Everyone should be assured that we have a responsible and trustworthy government that will confront this situation effectively. So, to the Lebanese people, don’t worry. Everything is fine.
To the March 14 forces, I say the following. You consider yourself an opposition to PM Miqati’s government, and that is your right. If you think that the international game is aiding your fortunes, that’s also your right. I have, however, two pieces of advice for you, or let us say two thoughts (since you don’t like to be advised). (1) Don’t ask PM Miqati’s government to try to arrest the indicted individuals, because you wouldn’t be able to do it yourself even if you had a 100% March 14 government. Even if you held every single portfolio, you wouldn’t be able to arrest these individuals, so don’t expect PM Miqati to do it. (2) Don’t demand that PM Miqati be less flexible than PM Hariri was with respect to the STL. The Foreign Ministers of Qatar and Turkey gave me a document that stated that Prime Minister Saad Hariri was ready to accept a certain set of demands (with respect to the STL). I can show you this document. So, don’t expect PM Miqati to refuse demands about the STL that Saad Hariri accepted. That document was signed by the Qataris, Turks, Syrians, Saudis, and Saad Hariri, and we were told that Ms. Clinton was ready to bless the agreement as well.
To the supporters of the Resistance: There has been a war waged upon us for years. This is no surprise. We have always been prepared for it. Whether the war takes the form of military conflict or media war or psychological war or whatever, we are prepared. The path of resistance has succeeded in liberating land and defending our country. So we will confront this issue of the Tribunal just as we have confronted other issues.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is Secretary General of Hezbollah. The text above is excerpted from the English translation of Nasrallah’s speech provided by Elias Muhanna in his blog Qifa Nabki on 2 July 2011, reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes.
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