'Loyalty to Resistance' Says Salameh Remarks Reflect Inclination to 'Give Up National Sovereignty'
Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc warned Thursday that remarks by Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh about the suspension of 100 Hizbullah-linked bank accounts reflect an inclination to renounce “national sovereignty.”
“The policy of blackmail and various type of pressures that the U.S. administrations practice against countries and forces that are opposed to their policies will never manage to arm-twist Hizbullah or change its stances against the U.S. tyranny and injustice,” the bloc said in a statement.
“The current U.S. administration's targeting of the resistance and its supporters through the Lebanese banking sector is doomed to fail and will not succeed in achieving its objectives,” Loyalty to Resistance stressed.
“The government and the Central Bank are directly concerned with protecting Lebanon's sovereignty and its monetary and social stability,” the bloc added.
Commenting on Salameh's latest statements, Loyalty to Resistance described them as “ambiguous and suspicious.”
“The central bank governor's latest stance reflects an inclination to liberate the financial policy from the restraints of national sovereignty and that's why we reject it in its entirety,” the bloc said.
“Everyone must realize that the resistance's supporters and educational and health institutions are immune to any attempt to target them by anyone,” it added.
In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Salameh announced that one hundred bank accounts related to Hizbullah have been frozen in accordance with a U.S. law that threatens to sanction anyone who finances the group.
“the central bank is determined to maintain the country's financial stability, and make sure that the U.S. law is implemented.”
U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Hizbullah International Financing Prevention Act on Dec. 18.
Hizbullah, which has members in parliament and the cabinet, is considered a “terrorist organization” by the United States.
Many in Lebanon are worried that the U.S. legislation will have negative effects on the Lebanese banking sector, which is one of the most active industries in the country.
"Our priority is to keep Lebanon on the international financial map,” said Salameh.
Y.R.
Source: Naharnet
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