The head of Hezbollahโs parliamentary bloc MP Mohammad Raad ย reiterated that the new Cabinet would not be formed without the participation of Hezbollah.
โThe Cabinet will not see the light if we are not partners in it. This is not a challenge but everyone admits we are a major component of the Lebanese people and we will take part in the next government with our allies and friends,โย National News Agency quoted MP Mohammad Raad as saying during an Iftarย in the Nabatieh town ofย Jbaa onย ย Saturday.
Raad ย added that any Cabinet formed without Hezbollah would be โunconstitutional.โ
Theย March 14 coalitionย argues that ย Hezbollahโs involvement in the Syrian conflict ย and its listing as a terrorist organization by the European Community ย precludes allowing the party to take part in the upcoming government.
Lebanon PM ย Designate Tammam Salam has been trying to form a government ย ever since the cabinet ย of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati collapsed last March ย but the Hezbollah led March 8 alliance ย is insisting on having veto power in the new cabinet . The PM-designate wants a non political cabinet ย that can get down to business , for this reason ย his latest proposal is based on giving ย an equal ย share ย of 8 cabinet seats in ย a 24 seat cabinet to each of the ย 3 opposing political blocks โ March 14 , ย March 8 and ย the centrists. But ย March 8 ย is insisting on having nine seats ย and Salam ย is saying no way.
Intimidation
Raadย said ย the recent decision of theย European Union ย to list his partyโs โmilitary wingโ as a terrorist group aimed at intimidation.
โThe decision of the European Union is ย a terrorist message and not a political one, they want to terrorize our people and instill fear in their hearts,โ Raad said .
โThe decision is not only an insult to the resistance and its people … it reflects the despair of the Europeans over all their attempts to put down the resistance and tame it,โ he added.
A Huge liability for Lebanon
Hezbollah, which was credited with liberating Lebanese territories from Israel in 2000 was a very popular organization in Lebanon and throughout the Arab world. But according to analysts ever since its 2006 war with Israel, Hezbollah has become a huge liability for Lebanon. In 2006 Hezbollahโs arms were used to try and bring down the government of former PM Fouad Siniora. In 2008 Hezbollah pointed its guns against the Lebanese people when it occupied more than half of Beirut and tried but failed with a great loss of lives to occupy Mt Lebanon . In 2011 it brought down the government of former PM Saad Hariri and reportedly used its arms to forceย progressiveย socialist party leader MP Walid Jumblatt and his parliamentary bloc to vote for their candidate Nagib Mikati as the new premier . On March 22 the government of PM Mikati collapsed after Hezbollah refused to extend the term of the Internal Security Forces chief. Hezbollahโs current support for the Syrian regime in its brutal crackdown against the pro democracy uprising and its recent involvement in terror operations in Bulgaria and Cyprus that led to its listing by the EU as a terrorist organization ย are additional concerns for the Lebanese people, analysts say.
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