Hezbollah hits back at Kouchner attack

Beirut- The Lebanese Shiite movement, Hezbollah, hit back at French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner Saturday, over his recent comments condemning the group and linking it to Iran. "Israel is our friend, and if there was a threat to Lebanon, it will only come from a military adventure carried out by Hezbollah in the best interest of Iran," Kouchner reportedly told the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri during a visit to Paris on Friday.

"Kouchner's statement carried clear echoes for the Israeli voice and a full denial for France's history and its legacy in resisting aggression and occupation," said a statement by Hezbollah.

"This stance is an attempt to acquit Israel and to cover up its relentless violations of Lebanese sovereignty, the thing which represents a shield for its occupation and an encouragement for it to pursue its aggressions," Hezbollah said.

The statement refers to daily Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace, in breach of UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon.

The UN Security Council has listed 388 Israeli airspace violations on behalf of Israel against Lebanon, in its report last June.

Last week, Ehud Barak, Israel's defense minister, warned Hezbollah to "avoid entering in conflict with us."

Israel has said that it will hold the Lebanese responsible for any violations by Hezbollah of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701.

Barak reiterated that should Hezbollah carry out any attacks, Israel would retaliate against not just Hezbollah, but Lebanon and anyone else who helps Hezbollah.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/305343,hezbollah-hits-back-at-kouchner-attack.html.

Swiss minaret ban is religious oppression, Kouchner says

Paris - Sunday's vote by Swiss voters to ban the construction of additional minarets in the country is an expression of intolerance and religious oppression, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Monday. The vote "is negative regarding what worries even the Swiss because if the construction of minarets is not allowed this means that a religion is oppressed," Kouchner told RTL radio.

"I'm a little scandalized by this decision," Kouchner added, which he compared to the banning of bell towers. "It's an expression of intolerance and I detest intolerance."

Kouchner added that he hoped the Swiss would reverse the decision "quickly."

However, the Swiss vote may find a sympathetic echo in France, where controversy has been brewing over the wearing of the burqa by a small number of Muslim women and the construction of a large mosque in Marseille that will have two 25-meter-high minarets.