BEIRUT: Hizbullah appears intent on seizing power in Lebanon, Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir said Monday, also warning against the party’s attempt to unilaterally rule the country and saying justice was more important than stability.
“The way Hizbullah is acting and their talk about becoming a significant force leads us to believe that if the party continues to pursue its plan it could seize power. The dangers of such a step, if it takes place, lie in the fact that Lebanon cannot be ruled by one party,” Sfeir said in a interview with MTV television.
Hizbullah has warned of the possibility of strife if Prime Minister Saad Hariri fails to halt cooperation with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) before the release of an indictment widely expected to implicate Hizbullah members.
“A tribunal is a tribunal and justice is justice. We should be alert to avoid division and if there is a group that committed the crime, it should be held accountable. I hope that none of the Lebanese are involved but if any Lebanese individual or group is implicated, then it must be punished,” Sfeir said.
“Justice is justice and if we sacrifice it once, we could sacrifice it many times. Stability is important but justice is more important and guarantees stability,” he added.
Sfeir said Saudi-Syrian contacts could help to broker a solution among rival Lebanese groups but played down the possibility of a deal at the expense of the country.
Commenting on Hizbullah’s condemnation of the court as an “Israeli-US tool” designed to deal a blow to the resistance, Sfeir said the tribunal was an international institution supposed to be at equal distance from all parties.
“If they deem it as biased, it is up to them. The tribunal should be impartial. I am not aware of the court’s work but it is supposed, as an international tribunal, to ease the situation because when a crime is committed, people should know those behind it,” Sfeir said.
Sfeir also expressed hope that President Michel Sleiman would be capable of handing over the assailants to justice.
He said some parties paralyzed state institutions in a bid to halt justice.
Hizbullah and its allies have threatened to walk out of any government session if any other topic is discussed before the settlement of the issue of “false witnesses.”
The party and its allies argue that “false witnesses” have misled investigations by the UN probe in order to falsely implicate Damascus.
Asked last week whether Hizbullah was in the process of planning a coup, Sfeir did not dismiss the possibility but said that “attempting a coup is one thing and maintaining it is another.”
Sfeir reiterated his demand to restrict the possession of weapons to the Lebanese Army, a reference to Hizbullah’s own arsenal.
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has said his party “will cut the hands” of those who attempt to arrest any of the Hizbullah’s members.
Sfeir added that the patriarchate had not boycotted Hizbullah but that it was rather the party that had cut ties with the patriarchate. – The Daily Star
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