Mustaqbal: Nasrallah’s Speech Serves to Increase Divide among Lebanese

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc condemned on Tuesday Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s position on the March 14 ceremony last week that marked the seventh anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, saying that he undermined the people of Lebanon.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “The negativity that marked his speech only exacerbates the division between the Lebanese.”

“This division was initially created by Hizbullah in order to maintain its political and sectarian power,” it said.

Former PM Saad Hariri had stated during last week’s ceremony that Lebanon’s fate should be determined by its people through dialogue, adding that the possession of arms in the country should be limited to state authorities.

Nasrallah slammed on Thursday the March 14 speeches, saying: “Anyone keen on preventing Sunni-Shiite strife must right now stop the statements of their MPs and media outlets that are full of despicable sectarianism.”

Addressing the developments in Syria, the Mustaqbal bloc strongly condemned the ongoing “massacres and crimes being committed against the Syrian people.”

It also praised the Lebanese positions of support towards the Syrian people, the last of which was issued by some residents of southern Lebanon, “which is a sign of the rise in sympathy towards the plight of the Syrian people.”

“The Lebanese government is obligated to aid the Syrian refugees in Lebanon,” it added.

Furthermore, it called on the Lebanese people to take the initiative and assist the refugees “especially since the Syrians stood by them during times of difficulty, the most recent of which was the July 2006 war.”