Nasrallah slams Syrian opposition, stands by Assad

[Salem9022]

Nasrallah slams Syrian opposition, stands by Assad

Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday vowed to stand by his embattled ally President Bashar al-Assad to the end, lashing out at Syria’s opposition for cosying up with Washington and Israel.

“From the very beginning, we have made it clear that we stand by the (Syrian) regime, a regime of resistance” against Israel, Nasrallah said in a speech to mark the Shiite commemoration of Ashura.

Nasrallah’s speech, broadcast on a giant screen to tens of thousands in the Shiite stronghold just south of Beirut, came after he made a brief public appearance before the frenzied crowd.

The black-clad leader heaped criticism on the Syrian National Council, the main anti-Assad opposition coalition, slamming the council for aiming to “destroy Syria.”

“The so-called Syrian National Council, formed in Istanbul, and its leader Burhan Ghaliun ... are trying to present their credentials to the United States and Israel,” Nasrallah said.

The Shiite leader’s comments came after Ghaliun was quoted as saying a Syria run by the country’s main opposition group would cut military ties to Iran, Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

“There will be no special relationship with Iran,” Ghalioun, a 66-year-old university professor, told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Friday.

“Breaking the exceptional relationship means breaking the strategic, military alliance,” Ghalioun was quoted as saying. “After the fall of the Syrian regime, (Hezbollah) won’t be the same.”

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/06/181113.html

 

[Salem9022]

Hezbollah chief in rare public address, says he backs Assad

BEIRUT: The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement made a rare public appearance at a Beirut rally on Tuesday to mark the holy day of Ashoura, saying his militant group is acquiring more weapons and members every day.

Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah was “here to stay” and would never compromise on its weapons.

The group’s weapons are a contentious issue in Lebanon. Hezbollah insists it needs to maintain its powerful arsenal to ward off any threat from Israel but the weapons also make it the most potent military force in Lebanon — far stronger than even the national army.

“We are growing in numbers, our training is getting better and our weapons are increasing,” Nasrallah said. “And for those who are betting that our weapons are rusting, we say that our weapons are being renewed.”

Nasrallah has rarely been seen in public since his group battled Israel in a monthlong war in 2006, fearing Israeli assassination. Since then, he has communicated with his followers and gives news conference mostly via satellite link.

But on Tuesday, Nasrallah was seen walking through a throng of people in a southern stronghold in Beirut and then greeted crowds from the podium.

“I wanted to be with you for few minutes ... to renew our pledge and for the world to hear us,” Nasrallah said.

His public appearance, he said, was a message to those who believe they can “threaten us,” he added, as many in the crowds shouted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

He then left the podium, smiling and telling tens of thousands of supporters he will reappear in few minutes on a giant screen for a longer speech. “See you in few minutes ... don’t go away,” he joked to his followers before he left.

Nasrallah’s appearance is meant to portray confidence at a time of upheaval in the Middle East and particularly in Syria, which along with Iran is Hezbollah’s backer.

Syrians and Arabs around the region have in recent years elevated Nasrallah to the status of a nationalist hero after his guerrillas’ 2006 war with Israel.

Since the Syrian uprising, however, Syrians have unleashed their anger at Hezbollah over its blunt support for the regime of President Bashar Assad. Some protesters in Syria have set fire to the yellow flag of Hezbollah and pictures of Nasrallah.

Nasrallah reiterated his support for Assad’s regime on Tuesday, accusing the United States of seeking to destroy Syria “to make up for its defeat in Iraq.”

He accused some in the Syrian opposition of catering to US agendas in Syria and the region, and called on protesters to realize that they were being “used” for the wider aim of striking at Assad’s regime for its support for Hezbollah and other anti-Israel groups in the region.

http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article543964.ece