Hezbollah will not accept any accusation in Hariri's assassination

Thu, 11 Nov 2010

Beirut - The leader of the Lebanese Shiite Movement, Hezbollah, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, said Thursday the group will not accept any indictment issued by the UN Tribunal in the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri.

"The resistance (Hezbollah) won't accept any accusation (by the UN Tribunal) in the murder of former Premier Rafik Hariri," Nasrallah said during a speech to mark the movement's Martyr Day.

"We have entered a very crucial stage regarding the fate of the country and the resistance, and we all need a pause for contemplation and revision so that we be able to face the coming events in a proper way," Nasrallah warned.

Tensions are rising in the country between the Hezbollah-led opposition and their rivals the Western-backed majority after reports indicated that the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon would indict some Hezbollah members in the assassination.

Hariri was killed along with 20 other people in a massive bomb blast in a seaside area of Beirut on February 14, 2005.

The current crisis in Lebanon regarding the tribunal has prompted fears of an outbreak of new sectarian violence pitting Hariri's mainly Sunni supporters against the Hezbollah, which has the main military force in Lebanon.

"I tell you today that we are not the ones who put the country in a state of tension. We called for calm and cooperation. The Syrian-Saudi effort is very serious, and there are great hopes hanging on this effort that is still continuing and should show results soon," Nasrallah said.

Syria and Iran back the Hezbollah opposition, while Saudi Arabia and the West support the majority headed by premier Saad Hariri, son of the assassinated premier.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/353152,accept-accusation-hariris-assassination.html.