Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s address on the Divine Victory Rally in Beirut, at the end of the July 2006 War - Friday, September 22, 2006.
Original video deleted by Youtube. See Kafka 2.0: How Youtube’s Political Censorship is Exercised
Transcript:
In the name of God, the all-merciful, the all-compassionate, Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our Prophet, the seal of prophets Abu Qassim Mohamed Bin Abi Abdullah, on his infallible household, on his chosen companions and on all the prophets and messengers.
Peace to you, oh most honest, most righteous and most pure people … Thank God who delivered on his promise, and rendered our people and Lebanon victorious against our enemy. Thank God who esteemed us, gave us constancy and entrusted us. Thank God, on whom we depend and to whom we turn, Who has always been, as He promised: 'Best Lord and best disposer of affairs.' [Quran] Thank God for his aid, support and backing.
Dear brothers and sisters, today on the twenty-second of September you astonish the whole world again, as you verily prove and rightly so that you are a great people, a steadfast people, proud people, loyal and brave people. For days now a psychological war has been waged on this festival just as they were against the resistance.
They said they will bomb this ground and this rostrum will be destroyed to frighten the people away. Today on the 22 September and by your crowning of this victory celebration, you are more courageous than you were on 12 July and 14 August. Yes, I stand before you and among you, this puts you and me at risk, and there are other options, but we were debating this issue until half an hour ago. However, my heart, mind and soul did not permit me to address you from a distance nor via a screen display. The most a person expects from an enemy is to commit an error or a crime, but doesn’t this enemy know who we are? We are the children of that Imam, who said: Is it with death you threaten me? Death to us is normalcy and martyrdom is dignity offered from God.
Welcome to you all … from the defiant south the fighter, to the steadfast Bekaa, to the loyal north, to the honourable Mountain to Arabism Beirut, to the Dahiah suburb of pride and dignity, Welcome to you all .. Welcome to all of you from the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, from Syria, Iran, Kuwait, and Bahrain, from every country that came to us celebrating and rejoicing. Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you. Peace on your martyrs and the families of your martyrs… Peace on your wounded and the scars of your bleeding wounds … peace on those you lost prisoners, peace on your blood, peace on your tears, peace on your orphans, peace on your widows, peace on your demolished homes, peace be on your scorched possessions, peace on your souls and your solid will that is stronger than the mountains of Lebanon.
Today, we celebrate the significant historic Divine and strategic victory. How can the human mind imagine that a few thousand of your Lebanese resistance sons, I could give the precise number if need be. They stood in the open ground for 33 days exposed to the open skies without air cover in front of the strongest air force in the Middle East, provided by an air bridge to convey smart bombs from America, via Britain to “Israel”, faced with 40 thousand officers and soldiers, four brigades of Israel’s elite forces, three squads from the Army Reserve and in front of the strongest tank in the world and the most powerful army in the region.
How could a few thousand only stand and fight in such difficult circumstances, drive the naval warships out of our territorial waters, (Incidentally the army together with the resistance are capable of protecting our territorial waters against the desecrating Zionist), destroy the pride of the Israeli industry-the Merkava tanks, disrupt the Israeli helicopters in the day and later at night as well, and on their elite brigades. I do not exaggerate, just see the Israeli media. They were turned to panicking and frightened mice by your sons. At the same time, as you were abandoned by Arabs and the rest of the world, against a background of internal political division, though a high level of public solidarity existed; how can this band of Mujahideen defeat this army, if it wasn’t for the aid, help and support of God Almighty?
This experience of the resistance, which must be transferred to the world, relies on faith, conviction, trust, and the moral and spiritual willingness to give sacrifices. Also, it depends on the thinking, planning, organizing, training and armament, and as is said: dealing with the root causes.
We are not a random or sophistry resistance movement. We are not so drawn to the earth that we only see soil and dust nor are we a resistance of chaos. A resistance that is devout, god trusting, passionate and knowing is also a resistance that has knowledge, wisdom, planning, training and equipment.
This is the secret of the victory we celebrate today.
Dear brothers and sisters, this victory needs a stand of courage such as yours today. Today, you are offering a strong, and extremely important and critical political and moral message to the Lebanese, Arabs and people of the whole world, to friend and foe. You have astounded the world by standing steadfast as a people of Lebanon from July 12 to August 14. While they wagered on our division and disintegration, you withstood the whole phase, some displaced while others embraced the displaced.
Then August the 14th came. They gambled on the displaced remaining in their places of displacement, to cause a strain on the resistance hoping to impose additional conditions on it, but the resistance remained unyielding. Again, you astounded the world when the displaced boarded their cars and trucks, some on foot, and at eight o’clock of the morning of the declared ceasefire, the Dahia, the south and Bekah were filled with its residents who returned with their heads held high, revered, dignified.
Today, again you astonish the world as you say to the American, who spoke a few days ago and said: “we have received good signals from Lebanon that the resistance’s popularity has started to weaken and its popularity decline and collapse!”
Behold is the people of the resistance… to this American I have this to say: You must write a claim of defamation and slander against the writers of those reports, who sent you false information upon which you built miscalculations.
Today, we must emphasize that this war was American by decision, arms, planning, will and by giving the Zionists successive time extensions: one week, two weeks, three, four… What halted the war was the Zionists’ failure. If you recall the last days, the largest number of tanks were destroyed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The largest numbers of dead occupation soldiers were killed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, helicopters crashed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Hence, the Zionists realized that a disaster awaits them should they continue.
The American interfered and accepted even the drafts, he accepted in order to stop the war. They stopped the war not for the sake of Lebanon, nor for the sake of the children of Lebanon, nor the blood of the women in Lebanon or for the beauty of Lebanon, rather for “Israel”.
Now, they come to sell us the idea in Lebanon that our ‘American friends’ stopped the war?
Our American friends did not approve of stopping the war on the first two days, and the first week, they did not accept it on the second week, the third and the fourth week!
Were they blinded to Lebanon’s beauty for a whole month, or were they betting, as the phrase echoed out of their diplomatic channels and circles said: the decision was to crush Hizbullah, followed by a liquidation period of all its friends, allies and the entire side that supports Lebanon’s true independence and sovereignty. .
What halted the war after the virtue of God the exalted and majestic, are your sons the fighters, and this proud, loyal and courageous people, who embraced and supported the resistance from border to border in this nation’s mosques, churches, monasteries and schools. This is what stopped the war; and if anyone has the right to celebrate victory, it is you present here.
We disagree: Is what happened in Lebanon a victory or defeat? I do not want to delve into this dispute, but I tell you: those who feel that their choice, plan and vision won, will experience victory and thus talk about it, and whoever experiences defeat can speak of defeat. We feel that we won and that Lebanon won, that Palestine triumphed and so has the Arab nation as a whole, that all the vulnerable, oppressed, deprived and victims in this world have triumphed.
Our victory is not the party’s… I will re-iterate what I said in Bint Jbail on May 25, 2000, it is not a party victory, nor does it belong to a particular religious denomination, but a victory of the real Lebanon and the real people of Lebanon and every free person in this world.
Do not change this great historic victory, do not pigeon hole it into partisan, sectarian, religious or state victory. This is a victory that is much larger than our minds can bear or grasp.
The weeks, months and years ahead will confirm this meaning. Suffice to say the following of the immediate results: that your resistance and endurance frustrated the objectives of this assault, and this in itself is a victory.
That your resistance and steadfastness dealt a severe blow to the New Middle East Project, of which Condoleezza Rice said that the July war was its labor pains, the illegitimate child now aborted.
Your resistance and steadfastness exposed the sly American policies talking about human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and respect.
Your steadfastness and endurance exposed America and raised the level of awareness and hostility (awareness before hostility) not only in the Arab world, not only in the Islamic world, but in the whole world.
With your steadfastness and resistance a man such as Chavez (whom I can describe as a significantly great great great Arab) can say what he said yesterday in the United Nations. The Lebanese resistance today inspires all the resistance in the world, all the free persons, all the noble people and all who refuse to surrender to American humiliation in the world. This is our victory and this too is the result of our battle.
Just as your resistance provided the victory of year 2000 as a model of a liberation resistance, in 2006 it has provided a model of steadfastness and legendary endurance-a steadfastness miracle; this will become a proof, it has become a proof against all Arabs and all Muslims, rulers, armies and peoples.
Yesterday, a group of Arab States went to the Security Council begging for peace and a settlement, to them: I will speak not of removing “Israel” but of this settlement you seek. How will you acquire an honorable settlement, while you announce day and night that you will not fight for the sake of Lebanon, nor Gaza, the West Bank not even for the sake of al-Quds (Jerusalem).
How will you get to a reasonable settlement, when every day you declare you will not use the oil weapon? Even when one of someone spoke of the oil weapon “you ridiculed and mocked him”, branding such talk as backward!
You do not want to fight, boycott, use the oil weapon or even allow people to demonstrate in the streets, nor allow the resistance in Palestine to arm; you blockade it, deprive it of funds, starve it and cut off its salaries, for what, only for Condoleezza Rice?
How will these acquire “a just or honorable settlement?”
Do the “Israelis” even recognize you?
I will tell you. Today the Israelis look to the resistance and the people of Lebanon with great respect and appreciation, but all these obsequious people equal nothing. Even the Arab initiative around which you had consensus in Beirut “needs a stance, men and force”. You do not want the use of force, if they threatened you or hinted at using it.
As for saying we are weak. I say the people of Lebanon demonstrated to all peoples of the world, the Lebanese resistance presents the proof against all Arab and Islamic armies. The Arab armies and peoples are not only able to liberate Gaza, the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem), but simply, and with a little decision coupled with some will, they are able to regain Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean. However, the problem is when a person places himself between two options: between his people and his throne chooses his throne, between al-Quds and his throne chooses his throne, between the dignity of his country and his throne chooses his throne.
The specialty of the resistance in Lebanon and in Palestine is that their choice was for the dignity of its people, their sanctities and freedoms, and in the process its leaders, sons and loved ones offered themselves as sacrifices to go to the throne of the glorious and magnificent God.
Today, your resistance shook Israel`s image: we have ended the image of the undefeated army, and ended the statement of ‘the state that cannot be defeated is finished’, “seriously it’s over”.
I am neither paying compliments nor launching slogans here. It is enough for you to read what goes on in occupied Palestine and what the Zionists are saying about what is going on between Israeli generals and leaders.
Here is (Ehud) Olmert today objected to us holding a Victory celebration?
An opinion poll conducted by Yediot Aharonot newspaper says: who do you see as most appropriate person for prime minister in “Israel”, Olmert received 7%, the hero Minister of War (Defense) 1 %! This is the shaken “Israel” inside its usurper political entity, shaken within its military establishment and defeated in its intelligence apparatus; its image today is changed.
No longer can any Arab rulers and regimes make new concessions and be subject to humiliating conditions and concurrently offer our nations as justification that we are unable to do anything with “Israel”.
One day a man old in age, knowledgeable of his time, place and era said: if every one of us carried a bucket of water and dropped it in occupied Palestine, this alone is enough to eradicate “Israel” from existence. When one, two or three hundred million human beings stand, they can defeat “Israel”, for only several thousands in Lebanon defeated “Israel”. This argument has fallen and we must enter a new phase and a new era, an era in which we dictate our terms on the enemy, an age in which we recover our dignity, freedom, sovereignty and our sanctities.
On this divine Victory Day, before addressing internal affairs, and as I did on July 12, I will re-emphasize two recommendations: our hearts, feelings and grief today go to Palestine, to Gaza, Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin, and al-Quds (Jerusalem) too, to every town, village and Palestinian camp that are bombed everyday, to the young people killed everyday, to the Palestinian homes that are demolished everyday, while the whole world remains silent, the Arab world before the rest.
How long will this silence be, how long will we bear this stigma, without any requests for you to send in your armies to defend the people of Palestine, or only to lend them support, moral, political, financial and arms support, for there are leaders in Palestine, scholars, factions, movements, youth, men, women and children capable of duplicating the divine miracle on Palestine’s soil.
The second recommendation is Iraq, Iraq which must as Lebanese view as a model, had the war against Lebanon been successful, the Americans were to spread this model within our borders. We offered martyrs in the war included Lebanese from the resistance, from the army, the security forces, civil defense, Red Cross, media, institutions and various parties and from our beloved nation. We gave approximately one thousand and two hundred martyrs, while in Iraq ten to fifteen thousands are killed every month, in a futile war administered, funded and incited by the American and Mossad.
We, the resistance in Lebanon, protected Lebanon from civil war.
Some say the resistance in Lebanon pushes towards a civil war, never, because if “Israel” was victorious, Lebanon would have been pushed into civil war where talk of federations, cantons, partitions and Israeli parlance would have been launched again.
Iraq is a model at which we must always stop. Our message to our people in Iraq is to remain patient, calm, wise, and communicative, stay away from rifts and sedition, and not gamble on the enemy.
As for Lebanon our message is that our salvation, wishes and hopes lie in the building of a strong, just, influential and clean state. This is our hope, and it is assumed that this is the consensus of all the Lebanese.
To forestall matters, we hereby swear by the blood of our martyrs to declare and say: that any talk in Lebanon of division, federalism and of cantons is an Israeli talk. As Lebanese, it is our fate, destiny, and will of God to live together in one state. We refuse to be divided, fragmented, and reject being “federalized” and “cantonized”.
What we all aspire is to build a strong, able and just state protects Lebanon’s unity and sovereignty against Zionist greed and treats the living and social crisis of the Lebanese and the residents of Lebanon.
A strong, capable and fair state means one that is capable and with dignity reclaim every inch of occupied territories, protect every drop of water from Wazzani, Litani and Hasbani rivers, can prevent the enemy from breaching our sovereignty every day, reassure its citizens that it can truly give them protection; protection with force, thinking, unity, immunity, proper planning and national resolve, but tears do not protect anyone. We want a strong, able, just, incorrupt and independent state which rejects any foreign mandate or domination, a state of honour and integrity, free of humiliating conditions, incorrupt, free of thefts, waste and banditry.
This is the state we need; it is the natural approach to addressing the resistance issue.
Hence, we reach the weapon issue and “to those whose hearts are dying to have the resistance weapons issue solved”, to them I say: do not deal with results but let us together deal with the root causes and logically debate it together.
The resistance is the result of occupation, continued detention of captives, robbery of our waters, the repeated breaches and attacks on Lebanese sovereignty. These are the reasons. Treat the reasons and the results can easily be treated.
When we build a strong, able and just state that protects Lebanon and the Lebanese, we will easily find an honorable solution to the issue of the resistance and its weapon.
I want the Lebanese to hear clearly what I have to say: we do not want this weapon indefinitely that is not logical. This weapon must reach a conclusion, the natural approach is by addressing the root causes and the outcome disappears.
Come build a strong and fair state that protects the homeland, its citizens and their livelihood, their water and dignity, and you will find solving the resistance issue will not even require a dialogue table.
Instead we arrive at a time when rather than:
– Israelis withdrawing from Shibaa Farms – the blue line is moved so as to give them additional territory,
– resolving the problem of border points, the enemy is allowed to move forward in al-Khiyam, Marwahin and in Dahirah,
– taking advantage of our legal right to Wazzani waters, the Israelis lay pipes and steal Wazzani water.
Is this how we protect our homeland and its wealth? Therefore, I would like to say that any talk of “disarming” or “handing over” the resistance weapons in light of the present state, administration, regime and status quo means keeping Lebanon exposed to “Israel” to kill and capture whoever it wants, bomb at will and rob our land and water.
This clearly we could not accept.
What have we fought for since 1982?
Why have the young people spent their youth in the resistance?
What do they leave the life of comfort, prosperity, luxury and calm for?
Certainly not to end 24 to 25 years of resistance, and vacate the scene with “Israel” occupying our land, assaulting our dignity, robbing our security, drawing on our water and bounties, certainly not ..never, by God almighty no.
This is the proper, natural, logical, reasonable, responsible and patriotic choice.
As far as other choices are concerned and in this large festival, in the presence of the good and generous faces of this multi-denominational crowd which comes from all areas, political trends and parties of Lebanon, I want to say this: ending the resistance through pressure, intimidation and blockade is a losing gamble.
Any bet on ending the resistance through dragging it into conflict with the Lebanese army, as some think, is a loser`s bet. The army and the resistance are two inseparable and dear brothers.
Those gambling abroad and internally, wherever this wager is placed on disarming the resistance through a new war, Israeli or non-Israeli, I refer them onto (the enemy’s Foreign Minister Tzipi) Livni, and the former enemy Minister of War (Defense) and Strategy Moshe Arenz. Let them hear the clear sentence those have said, and I will repeat it for them: “we wanted – (they said) – to dismantle Hizbullah completely, but we discovered that no army in the world can dismantle an organization such as this organization”, and I say to them that no army in the world can take the weapons from our hands and fists as long as this proud and loyal people believe in this resistance.
I do not threaten with arms. I very much count on the people who embrace the resistance. I would wager on that venerable woman in her advanced years who stood among the ruins and said: my house in Beirut is destroyed, and so is my home in the south and we are for the resistance and the resistance weapon; and another and another and many others said: if Sayyed Hassan “hands over the weapon, he would be a traitor”, and I say to them: Oh proud, loyal and great people, to you I pledge that I do not aspire to conclude my life in treason but in martyrdom.
All these speculations are losing bets because in Lebanon there are people and a resistance who reject occupation, shame, disgrace, oppression, despotism and humiliation, and are prepared to offer themselves, their children and loved ones for the nation.
In the Middle East, today, Lebanon is without exaggeration no longer only significant, but through you has become a superpower the West takes into account and “Israel” has a thousand apprehensions about. The oppressed in the world view it with appreciation, respect, honor and pride.
Yet still to put everyone at ease I will repeat, we do not want to keep this weapon in perpetuity. However also, I assure as our track record for the last 25 years proves, this weapon is not for internal use, nor has it been used internally. This is not a Shiites’ weapon, it is a Lebanese weapon, a weapon for the Muslim and Christian, for the Druze, Sunnite and Shiite. This is every Lebanese person’s weapon who wants to protect Lebanon, its sovereignty and independence.
I pledge that the identity and endowment of such a weapon will remain thus. This is a pledge with God, with the nation and with the martyrs.
Hence, the way forward is through building a just, strong, resistance, clean and honorable state. If this is too big a goal, and to bring it out of the theories level, we will not talk of who failed the war exams and who passed.
Rather, I will say that all of us, regardless of our differences or the competition between us, no matter how difficult personal and political matters reach between us in Lebanon, we are still in real trouble, where no one can claim we are majority and that “there is nothing wrong, everything is A-OK, the country is in order and things are fine … this is not true”.
A real predicament exists in Lebanon today, especially after the war, where a sharp national rift exists, not a sectarian division, since the ongoing dispute is not between Sunnites and Shiites, Muslims and Christians, or Druze, Sunnite, Shiite and Christian, not at all.
There is a national political rift, based on a group of strategic and political choices agreed upon by Shiite, Sunni, Druze and Christian political forces, opposite to another group of choices agreed upon by other political forces within those same religious communities. When some Shiites released views that differed with those of Hizbullah and Amal Movement, they thought this makes us unhappy.. we were glad to hear other voices expressed which confirms the dispute is not sectarian but political.
Observe the miscalculations, even when they want to harm us they benefit us.
Thus, we face national division, and on today’s celebration of victory, made by the Lebanese from all areas and religious denominations, my plea is to draw your attention by saying: do not allow anyone to turn political division into sectarian and religious division. Provoking sectarian and religious divisions to defend political choices is forbidden. That would be playing with fire, to sabotage and destroy the country.
Yes, we are divided politically. Therefore we can compete, debate, disagree, attack each other through the media, go to the street and to elections. All these peaceful and democratic mechanisms are legitimate and permissible. This is what I want to emphasize.
As long as there is political division there are serious challenges. In the face of these challenges the ruling group in Lebanon is not able to continue and work in government.
The natural way is through forming a national unity government. When I talk here about a national unity government, I am not talking about eliminating, excluding or leaving anyone out, but as I said on May 25, let us together protect Lebanon, defend, build, reconstruct, preserve and unite Lebanon.
Frankly, the present government is neither able to protect, reconstruct nor create unity in Lebanon. But by saying the current government, it does not mean that we want to delete, write off or cancel anyone out, never. But we say is let us all together protect, defend and build. Hence, building the strong and able state first starts with a serious national unity government, and here I am not just raising a slogan for consumption.
So, let them hear me well. hHere I do not just raise a motto for consumption, to pass time or placate allies and friends. This is our serious program towards which we will all work with full force during the next phase.
The second matter in the building of a just, strong and able state starts by putting a fair election law, whereby all sects and political trends feel they have a realistic chance of proper representation, where no religious or sect feels it has to tagalong behind others for representation.
Thus, we can build the strong-fair and strong-able state and this is the natural way to addressing all our issues.
Here, we arrive at the remaining challenges and files which we’ll quickly cover.
On the case of the resistance weapon, there is something related to the current reality. They are coming to blockade the sea, for what reason? Is it to protect Lebanon? No. The German Adviser (Angela Merkel Peace be upon her!!!) said that the German Navy performs an historic role of protecting Israel’s right to exist. They come from the sea to blockade the sky and besiege the border. I say to them blockade and shut the borders, the sea and the sky. This will not weaken the will of the resistance nor its weapons. We fought a 33 days war and we were ready for a long war. What we exhibited in the war is but a small fraction of our capabilities. When I stood in Bint Jbeil and said that we have more than 12 thousand rockets, and later clarified that more than 12 thousand does not necessarily mean 13 thousand but may be much higher.
Today, I say to all those who want to close the sea, the sky, the deserts and the borders; to tell the enemy that the resistance has more than twenty thousand rockets. Within a few days only after the devastating war, the resistance fully regained its military, organizational and armament capabilities.
The resistance today is stronger than it was before July 12 because in the recent war a new experience has been accumulated additional to new will and new resolve. We again tell whoever gambles on the resistance weakening, that they are making wrong calculations. The resistance today on September 22, 2006 is stronger than at any time since the 1982.
The second topic is the issue of prisoners: all your prisoner sons will return God willing. On July 12 and on behalf of the resistance – God’s men I promised you on their behalf and not on my behalf or my father’s, but by their name that if the whole universe came, non can release those prisoners except through indirect negotiations and an exchange. After July 12, yes, the whole universe came. You steadfastly stayed, the prisoners remained in our hands, and will only be released in an exchange for the release and freedom of our prisoners, and this file (we are relieving the world from!!).
Third: Shibaa Farms and Kafr Shuba hills: currently delegations have been coming from these patient and kind towns, as a result of the new arrangements at the border region. I assure them that the Shibaa Farms and Kfar Shuba hills will never be abandoned, not even one inch of Lebanon`s occupied territory.
During the course of the war and political negotiations, there was a genuine chance to reclaim the Shibaa Farms. The Americans nearly agreed, they even agreed only to renege on their promise later as usual. They said they could not return Shibaa Farms to Lebanon now, why? Because “we do not want to give Hizbullah a victory” they said. I say to them return it, and offer victory to whomever you choose, but return it … return it.
Within the context of the war, had there been resolute political will, serious political unity and integrated political resistance, we would have reclaimed the Shibaa Farms and Kfar Shuba hills. But I assure you that it is on the liberation course and with it all the existing violations.
Now, the state is present there and so is the Lebanese army. Our national army and the UNIFIL reached the pre-set personnel number of five thousand. In the past, when the resistance was on the border, any incursion, even a bulldozer entering for only ten yards would have been hit and made to escape. Now, the border is open and they are entering any place they want.
Let bygones be bygones, this matter is not related to the Lebanese Army, which possesses courage, will and determination. Its officers and soldiers and the resistance fighters are brothers with no difference between them, but the issue is linked to the political process: will the Lebanese government transform the Lebanese army into a unit that records complaints and violations?
This is flawed as far as the Lebanese army is concerned. That does not gratify the army, nor is it accepted by the Lebanese people. Our army is not to sit on the border to count Israeli violations, the way the United Nations forces have been stationed there since 1978.
Our Army went to the South with the mission it received from the Lebanese government, to protect the homeland, the citizens, their livelihood and security.
Now the sovereignty and territory of our homeland are being breached, citizens kidnapped, and assaulted together with their crops.
What is the government’s political decision?
So far we have remained tolerant because we do not want to commit any breaches of the non-sacred resolution 1701, because we know that regardless of how insignificant a breach we commit, even if legitimate and defensive, it will be faced with an enormous uproar.
“Israeli” violations, attacks and abuses have not stopped since the cease-fire and the world is silent. But rest assured we will not be patient for long and if the government fails to carry out its responsibility to protect the land and citizens, the Lebanese people will take up that responsibility, just the way they did since 1982.
To the Zionists I say that I am not aware of anyone who might have given you security guarantees. If anyone provided you with such guarantees under or above the table, then, those safeguards only concern that person and not the resistance in Lebanon, nor the Lebanese people as a whole.
Hence, what is required of us is to sharpen our national determination and stand behind our national army, support, assist and furnish it with the best equipment in order to guard our nation’s towns and villages, fields and farmers, churches, mosques, and not become a protector for anyone else.
As far as the enhanced UNIFIL is concerned: We have welcomed you, and our welcome to you falls within the framework of a clear mission. Your mission is to support the Lebanese Army and not spy on Hizbullah or disarm the resistance.
This is what the Secretary-General Kofi Annan and numerous officials said.
Until this moment, I have not heard any participating State in UNIFIL say that they sent their sons and soldiers to defend Lebanon and the Lebanese. They are ashamed to say they came to defend us, but they outwardly speak of defending “Israel”.
The UNIFIL is welcome so long as they adhere to their task. I call on the international forces’ leadership in Lebanon to be alert, because I have heard information and facts that there are people who want to drag the international forces and the resistance into confrontation. Also, I heard that in some meetings it was said that the presence of the international forces will restore the balance of forces inside Lebanon.
This is dangerous talk. The international forces came for a specific task and may not end up in such an entanglement as to interfere in internal Lebanese affairs.
With regards to political disputes, we were not for entering into political quarrels with anyone. During the war, we heard much that was injurious. Yet we remained quiet and patient. After the war, political rivalry continued and so too the media attacks and political assaults against the resistance and us. But recent statements reached an intolerable level. God does not accept humiliation for the faithful.
We patiently withstood the political media assault on the resistance in Lebanon during the war, but after the war it reached an extent tolerable only by prophets, and we are not prophets.
We understand and accept a person making a statement, two or three persons making a statement, but for political forces to gather at the Bristol, with all their MPs, leaders and members of their political offices only to come out to the Lebanese people and say that the war that took place in Lebanon is an Iranian war, for the Iranian nuclear file and for the disruption of the International Tribunal? This was truly unbearable. At the same time, we have the feelings of pride and friendship associated with the Islamic Republic of Iran, under the leadership of His Eminence leader Imam Khamenei, and the feeling of pride in our relationship with the leadership and people of Syria, yes, leadership and people under the leadership President Dr. Bashar al-Assad.
We are seekers of sovereignty and independence, but this matter is unrelated to the war, our past proves it more than their past. But to say of this war, which was waged by America and “Israel” and as Condoleezza Rice described: the labor of a painful birth of a new Middle East, and of which Olmert and Peres also spoke, when our homes are demolished, our children killed and during it we fight a war the Arabs called the sixth and the Zionists called the first, yet someone still dares say this fight is for the Iranian nuclear file and the International Tribunal?! This is shameful, these are insinuations.
We respect all those who care for me, my turban and Jubbah. People say to me your Eminence do not enter into such quarrels The figures and leaderships in the party can; but there is a limit to one’s silence, even if I, (my turban and beard are not more honourable than this resistance movement and these people here) my turban and beard hold honour, it comes from you, the resistance and the blood of its martyrs.
I call for a cessation of all disputes and to sidestep absurd, harmful and cruel words, and to stay within the framework of political, logical and reasonable competition, because in the end our destiny is one, and because ultimately we must build Lebanon together; but I, Hassan Nasrallah, will not keep silent about insulting the resistance people.
A few days ago a ‘February 14’ leader said, even if calmly, that the resistance public is incapable of thought, are you incapable of thought? I do not allow that, who would accept such insult. Meanwhile I respect his assembly, his youth and women. I respect the choices they make provided they are nationalistic, but we cannot accept such insults directed at the resistance audience, and he has to apologize for that.
We are not a totalitarian party, regime or group. M father was not a (Beik-titled) nor was my grandfather nor will my son be.
We do not want any political polemics We are keen to discard political divide through any dialogue formula in the country. We are committed to, as we are advocates for the state, state-project, state-building and the establishment of the state, but we are a people who possess dignity, which we place above all else.
We cannot allow anyone violate our dignity in order to build us a house, which was demolished for its sake. No one is to imagine that they can fill our stomachs at dignity’s expense, after we gave our blood for our dignity. This is who we are.
In this context, I call for a return to calm, reason and deliberation at the threshold of the holy month of Ramadan, may God grant the Lebanese health and longevity to meet it again.
We ask God to render us successful in fasting and performing its requirements, hoping this month would be an opportunity for reflection, contemplation, a return to the self and ability to see the facts.
Come out and observe the facts. Do not allow matters to become obscure, and do not build on wrong calculations.
An era of defeats has gone and an era of victories has arrived.
