Hezbollah to defend itself against Hariri charges

Nasrallah accuses US of scuttling Saudi-Syrian initiative that aimed at forging Lebanese agreement on tribunal standoff.

Middle East Online

By Natacha Yazbeck - BEIRUT

Nasrallah: Hariri backed out of a deal under US pressure Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed on Sunday his group would defend itself against likely charges over the murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, on the eve of expected indictments in the case. "We will not allow our reputation and our dignity to be tarnished nor will we allow anyone to conspire against us or to unjustly drench us in Hariri's blood," Nasrallah said in a televised speech. "We will act to defend our dignity, our existence and our reputation," added Nasrallah, who reiterated previous accusations that The Netherlands-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) was controlled by the United States and Israel. The Shiite leader said his party would disclose in coming days how it planned to defend itself in light of the indictments. His speech came one day before the prosecutor of the UN-backed tribunal was expected to submit his charges in the 2005 murder to a pre-trial judge. Lebanese officials said the government had been notified that the indictments, the contents of which will not be made public in the immediate future, would be submitted on Monday. Nasrallah's comments came ahead of consultations Monday led by President Michel Sleiman to nominate a new premier after Hezbollah and its allies last week toppled the government of Saad Hariri, the slain leader's son, plunging the country into yet another crisis. The resignations of 11 ministers were linked to the long-running dispute over the STL, which Nasrallah expects will accuse high-ranking operatives of his Shiite militant party. Nasrallah confirmed that his party and its allies would not nominate Hariri for the premiership and accused the United States of scuttling an initiative by regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Syria to forge a compromise on the standoff over the tribunal. "The opposition will not name Saad Hariri for premiership," he said while accusing Western states of pulling all stops to ensure the Sunni leader was reappointed. "As soon as the opposition raised the possibility of naming a candidate other than Hariri, every single Western capital mobilised" to promote the acting premier, Nasrallah said. Nasrallah said that, under the proposed Syrian-Saudi pact, the Lebanese government would pull its judges from the court, cut off its share of funding and relinquish its memorandum of understanding with the STL. That essentially would mean that Lebanese authorities would cease all cooperation with the court. Nasrallah accused Hariri of backing out of the deal under US pressure. Lebanon's government collapse has sparked a flurry of international diplomatic efforts to contain the political storm that many fear could escalate into sectarian violence. France has proposed an international "contact group", similar to that of Bosnia in the 1990s, that would include Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Qatar and the United States in an effort to defuse tensions. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan travels Monday to Damascus to meet with Syrian and Qatari leaders on the Lebanon crisis. US Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly, who met with Hariri on Sunday, reiterated her country's unwavering support for the STL while urging all Lebanese factions "maintain calm and exercise restraint at this critical time."