Hezbollah bloc MP Hussein Moussawi said on Tuesday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s (STL) indictment is a “devilish slander” that places justice in a confrontation with “national pride.”
Conspiring against the Resistance intends to serve Israel’s objectives in the region, Moussawi said during the afternoon of the first day of parliamentary session aimed to debate the ministerial policy statement of newly-formed government.
“Our companions in the country must realize the size of the threats [targeting] Lebanon and must not be dragged into a scheme that targets the Resistance. What is required from them is to review their stances.”
Moussawi added that some statements heard during the parliament session were “unbearable and aimed to provoke,” adding “we have made our decision not to be provoked.”
Farce
Another Hezbollah MP Nawar Sahili said on Tuesday that Hezbollah does not believe in the “farce which is unfortunately” called the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).
All reports of Detlev Mehlis, former Commissioner of the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission of the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, were based on false testimonies, Sahili said
“Was the international investigation of the Rafik Hariri murder serious? Was it carried out based on the highest international standards?”
“If certain people have any conscious, and if there is anyone who really wants to know the truth behind the Hariri murder , they would have requested to cancel the STL and sit down for dialogue.”
Divisive
In the history of Lebanon, there has never been a resolution that caused divisions like the UN Security Council Resolution 1757 did, Amal Movement MP Ali Bazzi said, in reference to the resolution that established STL.
Amal Movement which is headed by Speaker Nabih Berri is closely allied with Hezbollah
“All the Lebanese people adhere to truth and justice,” he also said, and asked “Did we give up our sovereign right by following up with the path to achieve justice?”
4 Hezbollah suspects
STL confirmed the indictments in the assassination of Lebanon’s former PM Hariri on Thursday. An STL delegation met with Lebanon’s state prosecutor Said Mirza on Thursday and handed him a copy of the Lebanon portion of the indictment and the arrest warrants. Two of the suspects Mustafa Badreddine and Salim Ayyash are reportedly senior members of the Iranian and Syrian-backed Hezbollah while the other two Hezbollah members Hassan Aneissy, also known as Hassan Issa, and Assad Sabra played a supporting role in the execution of the assassination.
Lebanon has 30 days to find and arrest the suspects but Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said Saturday that the party would not cooperate with the tribunal.
“No Lebanese government will be able to carry out any arrests whether in 30 days, 30 years or even 300 years.”
“We reject the Special Tribunal for Lebanon along with each and every void accusation it issues, which to us is the equivalent of an attack against Hezbollah,” Nasrallah added in his hour-long speech.
Nasrallah admitted all the four suspects are Hezbollah members:
“The suspects named in the indictment are brothers who have an honorable history in resisting Israeli occupation.” He said
The whereabouts of the four remain unknown but some reports indicated that the two prime suspects in the assassination already fled to Iran.
Professor Ghassan Karam commented about Nasrallah’s defiance in an article in Ya Libnan: ” Nasrallah has acted as judge, jury and executioner. He has determined that his people are not guilty and that no one should dream of arresting any of them”.
“My only advice to those charged is that they should consult a lawyer as soon as possible…Now is the time for defense.” Francois Roux, the head of the Defense Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon said in addressing the four Hezbollah members who were indicted in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri
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