On the eighth anniversary of the liberation of the Lebanese South, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addressed a crowd in Beirut’s southern suburb that AFP estimated at tens of thousands.

One day after Lebanon’s Army Commander was elected President of the Republic after a six-month presidential vacuum, Nasrallah made relatively strong statements on the topics of prisoner exchange with Israel, the difference between defense and resistance strategies – or the need to bring the two closer together, arms, his membership in what Nasrallah called “the Wilayat al-Faqih party” [Guardianship of the Jurist] and his subsequent duty to preserve Lebanon’s pluralism.

“Today I say, Hezbollah does not want power over Lebanon, nor does it want to impose its thought on the Lebanese people, for we believe that Lebanon is a special, pluralistic country. The existence of this country only comes about through coexistence, and this is what we are demanding.”

Yet the Hezbollah leader made a point of articulating his pride in being a leading member of what he called the “Wilayat al-Faqih party.”

“I today say that I am proud of being a member of the party of Wilayat al-Faqih … Wilayat al-Faqih says that we [Hezbollah] are its party, and Lebanon is a pluralistic country we must preserve,” he stated.

Nasrallah commented on popular Lebanese political discourse on the need for national a defense strategy. “I also say we need a liberation strategy for the Shebaa Farms … and the liberation of detainees,” he said.

“Very soon, Samir [Quntar] and his brothers will be among us,” Nasrallah said only hours after rumors of negotiations between Hezbollah and Israel on the mutual release of prisoners had begun to circulate.

Nasrallah noted that, contrary to popular belief, Lebanon’s situation was far from exceptional. Drawing on the Israeli invasion of Beirut, Nasrallah said, “Throughout history, when a force invaded a country, the people of that country would divide. This was the state in Lebanon in 1982. … People break into numerous groups.”

“One group stands by … another group does not care … a third group is a group of conspirators, such as Jeish Lahad [the South Lebanon Army]… a fourth group cooperates with the invaders due to common interests. A fifth group … works to limit national losses, and these are usually the educated. A sixth group fills the media… but thinks its humanitarian, ethical, religious and national duty  is to liberate the nation, and is willing to pay the price, no matter what religion or nation it defends. This is the resistance,” he stated.

The Secretary General refused to look at such divisions as unique. As such, he continued, there could be no consensus on the resistance or any other national decision, a “natural and historic” fact.

“There is a difference between those who believe in negotiations, and those who believe in armed resistance. From our experiences, Hezbollah believes in the resistance,” Nasrallah added. The resistance strategy, then, may remain a point of inter-Lebanese contestation.

Nasrallah cited the July War, a month-long battle between Hezbollah and Israel on Lebanese territories that left 1,000 Lebanese dead, mainly civilians, was an indicator of the success of Hezbollah’s “defense strategy as well as a resistance strategy.” He said the war was a trial that decreased the likelihood of war in the region, as it had proved that the resistance could stand for weeks before one of the world’s strongest armies, adding that the resistance would also fight in any future wars against Israel, the US or those who “bargained on either.”

“We are not talking about a defense strategy written in books or universities, but of a tried strategy that was implemented and brought the others to defeat with international acknowledgement,” he added.

Nasrallah noted that other armed resistance movements in history had either taken over power or demanded power. “We did not demand power,” he said. “We did not request a change in the government or the Taif Accord, nor for shares in power. We did not ask for anything at all.” 

Nasrallah added that the illegitimate government’s decision to rescind its two “cursed” decrees, which were cited as the cause of the violence that ripped through western Beirut and other parts of Lebanon earlier in May, leaving almost 70 dead and 200 injured as armed opposition and government supporters fought out a long-standing political deadlock in the streets, were “the right of the people.” 

“The opposition did not change any of its requests after the recent events. We went there [to Doha] to save Lebanon from what is even more dangerous,” Nasrallah said, adding that he personally agreed to constitutional amendments that would make the Arab identity of Lebanon clearer.  

On Hezbollah’s arms, which some accuse the party of having turned inward in May, Nasrallah said he reaffirmed the Doha agreement clause that precluded the use of arms to attain political goals. “When we go to discussion, we will discuss this. The resistance’s arms are to fight the enemy, liberate lands and prisoners, and defend Lebanon – and for nothing else,” he stated.

He also paid tribute to all Lebanese martyrs who lost their lives earlier this month to save Lebanon from a worse fate.

Nasrallah questioned, however, whether the government’s arms and the army was to defend the nation, the people and their rights, the government, and maintain security. “The government’s arms cannot be used to settle accounts with a political opposition team. The government’s arms cannot be used for foreign projects that prevent Lebanon from facing Israel. The government’s arms cannot be used to nail the resistance and its arms. All arms must remain at the service of the goal they were created for.”

The hotly debated electoral law was still not quite balanced, he continued. Nasrallah conceded that the law agreed upon in the Doha dialogue gave better representation than previous laws, but was adopted to bring Lebanon out of the crisis. Nasrallah said the electoral law issue unmasked the real intentions of all those who said they wanted to build and fortify the Lebanese state. “Whoever does not want an up-to-date, fair electoral law wants a farm, and not a state.”

The national-unity government was the victory of all Lebanese, he said, drawing a parallel between the victory of all Lebanese on May 25 2000, July 2006, and May 2008 in Doha. The opposition’s representation in the future government would not be monopolized by Hezbollah, Amal and the Change and Reform bloc, Nasrallah promised. “We will give other opposition parties shares – and unfortunately we must speak of shares – even if it is at the expense of Hezbollah’s shares.”

-NOW Staff