Miqati to Critics: International Law Gives Legitimacy to Resistance
Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati has snapped back at his critics, who accused him of having a toned down approach on the European Union decision to blacklist Hizbullah's military wing.
“There has been a misinterpretation” or “bad intention” in claiming that Miqati made a statement in harmony with the EU's latest decision, the caretaker PM told As Safir daily published Thursday.
Miqati said on Tuesday that the Lebanese community is keen on committing to the international legitimacy and preserving the best of ties with the EU states.
This remark drew the criticism of some of the members of the Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance.
But Miqati stressed in his remarks to As Safir that the EU is not part of the “international legitimacy.”
“It is a regional entity similar to the Arab League and does not constitute part of the international legal institutions set up by the United Nations,” he said.
The EU decision targets only Hizbullah's military wing or the so-called resistance which has always been “a sacred right enshrined in international law,” Miqati told As Safir.
Article 51 of the U.N. Charter provides for the right of countries to engage in self-defense, including collective self-defense, against an armed attack, he said.
The article states: “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.”
Miqati promised to “work hard with EU states to review the decision out of our keenness on Lebanon.”
The blacklisting entails asset freezes and paves the way for possible travel bans on members of Hizbullah's military wing. The ministers hope it will also curtail fundraising.
But implementation promises to be complicated since officials will have to unravel the links between the different wings within Hizbullah's organizational network and see who could be targeted for belonging to the military wing.
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