Ayatollah Fadlallah: UNIFIL does not protect Lebanon, resistance only alternative

Source: nowlebanon.com, 26-12-2008

Religious Authority Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah said that UNIFIL was not acting as a protective force for Lebanon and its civilians as "Israel" kidnapped farmers from inside Lebanese territory and violated the country's airspace. Fadlallah regretted that no honest condemnation was issued on behalf of the United Nations, European Union or United States in response to this incident.

During Friday prayer, Fadlallah said that the "Israeli" danger proved that there was no way to stop the enemy except through resistance, which should be preserved as an element of force in countering attacks.

Fadlallah asked if Lebanon needed a national dialogue after the dialogue session ended with a decision to spread calm and refrain from instigating sectarian and partisan tensions. Such provocation, he added, continued in the speeches of some religious figures, whom he hoped would have adopted religious and spiritual values in their public discourse. "They are required to be above political orientations and axes," he said.

Fadlallah called on the Lebanese population to participate in the 2009 parliamentary elections and make them an occasion to hold accountable all those [MPs] who did not respect their voters. He said that everybody should work for change to give birth to a new Lebanon. "They talk to you about free elections in a country that owns freedom of speech and not freedom of [taking] positions," he said.