Sheikh Qabalan says more development needed in south

 
Source: Daily Star, 07-02-2009

BEIRUT: Vice-president of the Higher Shiaa Council Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan asked if Lebanon was done with "Israel" to close down the Council for South. Qabalan said the Council has carried out many beneficial projects since its inception in 1970. "The Council has served the south and its people, it built schools, hospitals and drinking wells," he said.

"I call on [Parliament Speaker) Nabih Berri to carry his pickax and head to the south and build more dams and work on increasing the level of Litani waters," he said, in reference to the work that remains to be done concerning the Litani River. "We must build in more public shelters, to protect the people from ["Israeli" attacks], especially these days when "Israel" continues to threaten us of destroying our homes," he said.

"We must also ask Iran to build villages and workshops underground, for we are the ones that pay the price of every Zionist aggression. We are the first line of defense for Arabs and Muslims," he said. He also called on Saudi Arabia to contribute to constructing fortified underground villages that enjoy "all forms of comfort."