Qassem: Ambassadors Are Waiting in Queue to Establish Relations with Hizbullah

Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem launched the party's electoral campaign in the Beqaa valley on Sunday saying that Hizbullah considers these elections as important, but not fateful.

During a speech televised on al-Manar TV Channel, Sheikh Qassem noted that all the countries would respect Lebanese people's choice and "even if the opposition wins the elections it is normal for all countries to deal with it, so do not let anyone scare you regarding this matter."

He also said that the opposition was represented in the cabinet and that foreign ambassadors and officials were "standing in line to talk to Hizbullah and, except for US and ‘Israel', we have good relations with all." "Hizbullah scares only the ‘Israeli' enemy and the proof of that is our alliance with [Free Patriotic Movement Leader] General Michel Aoun," he said.

His eminence added that each party in the Lebanese national opposition would name its own candidates. "We do not consider the elections as fateful, but rather as important," Sheikh Qassem affirmed, noting that it would be natural for the elections to take place according to their current schedule.

"I denounce the exaggeration of some individual incidents and I consider it suspicious," he said, adding that the party has "no enemy but ‘Israel'."

He said 10,000 people were involved in Hizbullah's electoral campaign in the Beqaa region and that the party has been effectively working on its campaign for three months. "We want the Resistance to pave the way for development and we want development to reinforce the Resistance," The Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General declared, noting that the party would campaign under a slogan of ‘resistance and development.'

"For us the word ‘resistance' means the following concepts: Full independence and a rejection of foreign guardianship, even if it is camouflaged by so-called cooperation and coordination," he said.

"We will retaliate only if ‘Israel' attacks Lebanon," he said, adding that "if the ‘Israelis' decide at any time to stage an attack on Lebanon, we will add to the victories of July 2006."

Sheikh Qassem said Lebanon should maintain Hizbullah's arms and bolster its support of the party, instead of removing it, so that it can liberate Lebanese territories under ‘Israeli' occupation and confront ‘Israeli' threats. "The Resistance means a defense strategy which benefits from the strength of the Resistance and the building of a strong army. We are not in a competition with the army," his eminence said.

He noted that the party's central enemy was ‘Israel' and that it had no domestic enemies, as the party had only political differences with domestic groups. He said the group would encourage development by attending to the economical situation at all levels. "We call for reinforcing the state's role in combating monopolies and the huge public debt. We also call for building state institutions, provided that they are not used to serve the interests of only certain people or groups," he said.

He said the opposition's electoral slogan would be "together we resist and together we build Lebanon." "The opposition has proved successful in its choices while the majority has failed, so we have to give the people the chance to try new faces," he said.

Sheikh Qassem also hailed the Syrian-Saudi rapprochement saying, "We welcome the Syrian-Saudi rapprochement and we call for unity whether it is domestic, Arab or Islamic." He added that the Saudi-Syrian rapprochement would not affect the upcoming Lebanese elections but would rather promote calm among media outlets.