Nasrallah's Aide from Rabieh: Zahle Grid Uproar a Silly Thing, Country's Real Components Must be Represented in Cabinet
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's political aide Hussein Khalil on Wednesday rejected any “disregard” for the country's “real components” in the line-up of the new cabinet, describing as “silly” the recent uproar over the party's controversial telecom grid in Zahle.
“The illusions of some parties reached a dead end after the failure of the U.S. aggression against Syria,” Khalil said after meeting Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun in Rabieh, referring to Washington's threat to use force against Damascus in the wake of the deadly chemical attack near Damascus.
“Our viewpoints are largely similar to General Aoun's,” added Khalil, who was accompanied by Hizbullah security chief Wafiq Safa.
He stressed that “the deep and special relation with the General (Aoun) has not changed and we did not reproach him over anything at all because we know his real stance on Hizbullah.”
“Those who counted on the American aggression hit a very big wall and they must draw lessons. They must address the Lebanese situation by seeking stability, the strengthening of the state and accord among people and they must remove from their minds the idea of linking Lebanon's fate to other issues,” Khalil went on to say.
He noted that any international or regional rapprochement would affect Lebanon, but pointed out that “the Lebanese must also have a plan to offer to the world.”
On the cabinet formation process, Khalil said: “We agree with General Aoun on the need to form a new cabinet that takes into consideration the real components of the country instead of overlooking them.”
“We welcome any call for dialogue, especially Speaker (Nabih) Berri's initiative, and we don't have any problem. We are willing to take part and the General told us that he is also willing to participate,” he said.
Asked about the recent controversy over Hizbullah's telecom network in the Bekaa, Khalil said: “The Zahle issue is not new and it has existed since May 7 (2008) and we don't want to blow things out of proportion. There is something called the resistance's telecom grid and we have not come up with anything new and the uproar is a silly and minor thing.”
Gunmen belonging to Hizbullah and its allies swept through Beirut’s neighborhoods on May 7, 2008 after the government of then PM Fouad Saniora tried to dismantle the group's telecommunications network, which Hizbullah says is for purely military purposes related to its conflict with Israel.
Tensions were running high in Zahle after members of Hizbullah attempted to expand the party's telecommunications network in the area on Sunday evening.
Residents of the city protested the move and temporarily blocked the road in the area. The army soon intervened and set up checkpoints in the industrial zone and security forces deployed patrols in the city, which led to Hizbullah's withdrawal from the area.
On Monday, Zahle's MPs called on President Michel Suleiman and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati to ask Hizbullah to remove its controversial telecom network from their city, stressing that they won't allow the grid to go through Zahle.
The MPs noted that the installation of the network is “part of Hizbullah's security grip on the Lebanese society and its tapping of phone calls.”
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/98676 |