Qassem: Hariri Not Sole Representative of Sunnis, May 7 was Armed Clash between 2 Parties
Hizbullah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem on Wednesday stressed that former premier Saad Hariri was “not the sole representative” of the Sunni sect in Lebanon, noting that the May 7, 2008 events were “an armed clash between two parties.”
“We must work for the sake of Islamic unity and national unity,” Qassem said, stressing that “the disputes are not religious … but rather political, in which the religious slogan is being used for incitement due to their failure to propagate their (political) vision.”
“The Sunni community is the community of resistance and it had pioneered the resistance against the Israeli scheme and it cannot be summarized by a few figures or movements and it should not be held responsible for their stances,” Qassem added.
He noted that “neither those who kill children and innocents nor those who serve the U.S.-Israeli scheme are true representatives” of the Sunni sect.
“Ex-PM Saad Hariri is not a sole representative and the sect must not be held responsible for his choices. There are people who are concerned with Islamic unity and resisting the Israeli enemy. They reject to support schemes that serve Israel’s plans and are promoted by the U.S. and funded by some oil-producing (Gulf) states. We cooperate with them and are honored to be with them in the same anti-Israel front,” Qassem added.
Hizbullah number two stressed that his party was willing to cooperate “with anyone who endorses this vision, and even with those who restore their belief in this vision after straying away.”
Addressing the issue of his party’s controversial arsenal of weapons, Qassem said: “Those who want to disarm the resistance know that there can be no resistance without arms. They want to expose Lebanon to Israel, in order for it to implement its colonialist scheme, which includes the building of settlements in the South and the Western Bekaa, the naturalization of Palestinians, and the termination of the independent Lebanon and turning it into an Israeli protectorate.”
Qassem noted that “Hizbullah’s weapons are resistance weapons and they don’t have domestic objectives.”
“What happened on May 5 (2008) is the real crime, which was aimed at destroying the Resistance’s telecom network … which would have served Israel,” Qassem said.
“What happened on May 7 was an armed clash between two parties, as the Mustaqbal Movement had 3,000 gunmen deployed in apartments and buildings and they opened fire first by attacking the General Labor Confederation’s demo with RPGs,” he added.
“We were very keen on containing this sedition, so it ended within hours and the army took control. We were defending ourselves and preventing civil strife and we did not attack anyone. Our arms are pointed at the Israeli enemy and that page has been turned and we must open the pages of rapprochement, construction and resistance.”
Tackling the issue of the 2013 parliamentary elections, Qassem said “the 1960 electoral law is against diversity and it serves the sectarian blocs.”
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