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Beirut Lebanese Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah has acquitted himself of French accusations leveled against him of obstructing the formation of Mustafa Adib’s government, during a speech in which the man appeared in the position to defend himself after having previously dedicated his words to face and attack opponents.
However, this did not stop Nasrallah from attacking French President Emmanuel Macron, who is leading strenuous efforts to quickly form a government in Lebanon and embark on profound reforms that end the economic crisis afflicting the country.
Nasrallah reduced hopes of reaching a consensus on the formation of the government soon, after speaking of the need for Hezbollah to be present in it, which means that the party rejects a non-partisan government of “specialists”. Nasrallah highlighted in a speech Tuesday the importance of Hezbollah’s involvement in the government. “We must be in government, partisan or nonpartisan,” he said, “this is debatable, to protect the back of the resistance.”
Nasrallah stressed that his Shiite group welcomes French efforts to help Lebanon, but this does not mean that it will agree with any government or that French President Emmanuel Macron acts as the ruler of the country. He added in the televised speech that Hezbollah, heavily armed and backed by Iran, is still ready for dialogue under the French initiative to lift the country out of its financial crisis, but called for a review of what it called “condescending behavior against us, “in an explicit reference to Macron’s recent speech in which he led. Too many accusations against Hezbollah and the Lebanese leaders.
Macron blamed Lebanese leaders for not reaching an agreement on the formation of a new government quickly. This was the first step in a French plan to launch reforms that could lead to an influx of billions of dollars that Lebanon urgently needs.
Macron said he was “ashamed” of Lebanese politicians and that his initiative was “betrayed.” He asked about the role played by the two main Shiite groups in Lebanon, the Amal Movement and Hezbollah, in obstructing the formation of the government.
Nasrallah said: “When your side comes and says that all the political forces and the heads of the constitutional institutions and such and such have committed treason and traitors, on what basis? How? Who said they committed treason? In the first place? We do not accept that they accuse us and say that we have committed treason … We reject and definitively condemn this arrogant behavior against us and all the political forces in Lebanon, we do not accept this language or this method.
He added: “We have not committed to accepting a government in any form … We welcomed President Macron when he visited Lebanon and the French initiative, but not on the condition that he is a prosecutor, an investigator, a judge, a source of judgments, an administrator, a ruler and a governor of Lebanon “.
Nasrallah accused Lebanon’s former prime ministers, including Saad Hariri, of trying to use French intervention to score political points. They were accused of trying to marginalize Hezbollah and its allies, who have a majority in parliament.
Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adib had resigned from his mission on Saturday after disputes over ministerial portfolios. He had tried to end the control of the same factions over certain ministries for years, including the post of Minister of Finance, who would play a role in drawing up plans to lift the country out of the economic crisis.
The crisis, the worst in Lebanon since the 1975-1990 civil war, brought the country to a breaking point, causing its currency to depreciate sharply. Macron led the way after the massive explosion in Beirut port last August, which killed about 200 people, destroyed the capital and pushed the government to resign.
Nasrallah harshly criticized “the way the work was done … and the intimidation that was practiced” over the past weeks, adding: “President Macron accused us that we fear the world.
Nasrallah highlighted the importance of Hezbollah’s involvement in the government, rejecting the idea of forming a specialist government that is not partisan.
Macron had vehemently attacked Hezbollah, saying: “Hezbollah cannot be at the same time an army fighting Israel, a militia in Syria and a respected party in Lebanon.” You have to show that you respect all Lebanese. In recent days, he clearly showed the opposite. “The desire of the Amal Movement and Hezbollah was not to make concessions,” he added.
The Amal movement responded to the French president, who had chosen the last finance minister, that he respected Macron’s role but was shocked by his accusations that he caused the talks to form a new government to collapse. Former Lebanese heads of government responded to Nasrallah’s accusations by accusing him of turning a blind eye to Adeeb’s efforts to form his government.
Former Prime Ministers Najib Mikati, Fouad Siniora, Saad Hariri and Tammam Salam said in a statement that “it is regrettable that Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah avoided the truth up to this point in the narration he gave about the efforts of the President Mustafa Adib. When trying to form a rescue government and the reasons that led to its failure.
They stressed that “the French initiative, which was the only opportunity to try to stop the collapse of Lebanon, was based on the need to suspend for a few months everything related to traditional internal politics, and the issue of partisan and partisan competition, to that the main parliamentary blocs agree to a miniature rescue government of competent specialists that they do not mention. The parties, to implement a purely financial, monetary and administrative economic reform program, detailed in its steps for the first three months, to open the way for the beginning of the restoration of confidence and the return of external financing to the country.
