Sheikh Kassem: disarming Hizbullah is not up for discussion at the dialogue table or away from it

Source: As-Safir, Sunday 7-5-2006
"Hizbullah" deputy secretary-general Sheikh Naeem Kassem said in a speech he gave in a memorial gathering in Al-Berjawi Hussainiyah "we need to settle matters amongst ourselves, and return to principals based on which we can decide whether we want a Lebanon under guardianship? Or a Lebanon for Lebanese?
Should we want a Lebanon for the Lebanese, we ought to give up inviting foreign offers and stop hiding behind America, the Security Council, France and Europe in order for some to become stronger than the rest".
Lebanon has been elected by some as a platform to launch political fire on Syria. Some want to topple the Syrian regime from within Lebanon, he collaborates from inside Lebanon with the Syrian opposition and invites outside offers to promote himself as a part of the American instruments and American tutelage.
Can Lebanon bear such a matter? I do not speak of convictions here, but of Lebanon`s ability and interest.
Is it to our benefit to transform Lebanon to a passage through which political fire is released on Syria, hence creating tension between us?
How about if circumstances shift within the region, and God knows how Syria`s relations change with others, while we keep Lebanon in a tense and confused situation, which contradicts what the dialogue conference reached. The dialogue conference called for Lebanese - Syrian relations, while all the performance so far only leads to destroying this Lebanese - Syrian relationship, and for whose benefit?
Don`t you want to find rest? Why work in such a manner? Who is it that signals you and directs you?
He added that they constantly try to draw strength from international decisions by telling us that there is an international resolution we must implement. Are international decisions infallible doctrines sent down upon us?
No.
Why has Lebanon had more international resolutions taken against him in one year, than a whole group of the earth`s continents in twenty or thirty years?
This is because they want to lay their hand on Lebanon and on some of those within Lebanon. They have failed to run Lebanon as they wish, hence then made Lebanon an assistance center for the Security Council, in order to make their task easier and to get his helps.
He said: "we have heard statements that raise many question marks made recently by some who declared publicly their goal of wanting to disarm "Hizbullah".
I will be totally clear, disarming Hizbullah is not raised for discussion, neither at the dialogue table, nor outside the dialogue table.
In case some believed they were on the path to disarmament, then there is no place here for that, not in the dialogue, nor elsewhere. But if some were true about holding genuine discussion for the sake of establishing a defense policy related to Lebanon, which leads to defining the function of the weapon`s role within this defense strategy, only then are we more than willing and ready to discuss the defense strategy.
Let no one be mistaken that by spending many hours through the media announcing that he wants the weapon, that he is in fact dealing with the issue this way. Because this way he only upsets us more raises many more question marks for us. And we warn them, for those who are demanding disarmament, on the international level, are mainly America and "Israel"!
Why?
Because America wants to triumph through Lebanon and Hizbullah`s weapon is an obstacle in its way. "Israel" wants to be at ease without Lebanon`s strength, to take political control of the region, so it wants Hizbullah disarmed.
This slogan is an "Israeli" - American slogan, take notice.
Some may have begun with considerations they justified as internal Lebanese and especially Lebanon, but when is it correct to raise such a slogan, and who is it that benefits from it?
We refuse to make our weapon a grant to either of America or "Israel."
We will continue with a resistance that protects Lebanon and let them show us another way that offers this protection, for when they do we will be ready for discussion.
But until then we will never abandon our guns before reaching a proper result, a solution we believe upkeeps Lebanon`s pride, assuring the martyrs` blood and sacrifices do not go to vain."