Source: The Daily Star,14-03-2008
BEIRUT: Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah said on Thursday that there was a general impression among the Arabs that the US administration "is taking hold of the UN Security Council, preventing it from issuing resolutions that denounce the 'Israeli' massacres in Palestine."
Speaking during a meeting with French Charge d'Affaires Andre Parant, Fadlallah said the US is orienting the Security Council toward issuing further sanctions against Iran.
"But France and Britain are not playing any role contradicting the US; they are walking behind it," he said.
Fadlallah voiced concern that the US administration might lead to "bigger complications" in the region.
"France's interests consist of maintaining a close relationship with the Arab and Islamic world," he said. "We want France's movement in the region to be balanced and show the difference between what it wants and what the US aspires for."
Regarding the ongoing Lebanese crisis, Fadlallah highlighted the absence of a political will to reach practical solutions.
Parant said France had tried in the past to play the role of the "active" mediator to resolve the Lebanese crisis.
"France has encountered many obstacles but it will continue its attempts to bring the Lebanese together," he said.
Meanwhile, Higher Shiite Council vice president Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan urged Lebanon's politicians to cooperate and reach consensus over the election of a new president and the formation of a national unity government.
"The national interest requires our cooperation," Qabalan said before a delegation from the March 14 Forces. "We have a big responsibility in protecting our country. Lebanon's interests are above its sects' interests."
Qabalan said Lebanon can embrace all its "sons."
"There is not any party that wants to eliminate and marginalize the other," he said, adding: "Our sole enemy is 'Israel'."
According to Qabalan, Lebanon should not live in fear, disturbance and instability.
"Lebanon will always be protected by its army, resistance, Constitution and institutions," Qabalan said.