Nasrallah: Resistance Movement Will Not Be Weakened
TEHRAN (Basirat) : The secretary general of Hezbollah said the Lebanese resistance movement might face difficulties because of its anti-corruption campaign, however, it will not be weakened but will be further strengthened in order to achieve more victories.
Addressing his supporters via a televised speech broadcast live from the
Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Friday evening, Seyed Hassan Nasrallah said the
resistance movement would press on with it battle against corruption in the Arab
country.
"The Resistance Support Association must provide an opportunity for jihad by
money. The resistance needs (financial) support and the Support Association must
strongly energize its activities because we are in the heart of the battle,”
Nasrallah said
He added, "Those who have supported us will continue to support us, be they
states or peoples. We might face (financial) difficulties, but this resistance
will not be weakened. Rather, it will be further strengthened in order to
achieve more victories.”
Nasrallah said he expected US sanctions "to get tighter on us and our
supporters.”
He added, "We may see new names, and new people, and new organizations added to
the sanctions lists.”
Nasrallah vowed that his party would press on with the battle against corruption
to the end, saying that the anti-graft fight was equal to Hezbollah’s guerrilla
war that ended Israel’s 18-year occupation of south Lebanon in 2000. He warned
that corruption, largely blamed for the waste of public funds, threatened the
country’s survival.
"We are bound by religious duty to fight corruption. We consider ourselves in a
battle that is no less sacred than the resistance’s battle against (Israeli)
occupation,” Nasrallah said, according to the Daily Star.
"We want to prevent the economic and financial collapse, halt the theft of
public funds and confront corruption in state administrations so that the state
and the people can survive.”
"We in this battle ... want to achieve the goal and not to make political and
media gains. We want to stop the waste (of public funds) and corrupt people and
for the money looted from the state to return to the state,” he added.
Nasrallah said his party would not be deterred by "insults” against it over its
anti-corruption drive. He called on those who accuse it of corruption to go to
the judiciary.
"You can expect anything from Hezbollah in this battle. It’s a battle of the
nation’s survival and to save the state from the hands of corrupt people and
thieves, no matter what the sacrifices are.”
"Don’t count on our fatigue in this battle. We never felt tired in the 1982
resistance (against Israeli occupation),” he said.
Nasrallah stressed that Hezbollah was "not competing with anyone in this battle
(against corruption) and whoever works on this ... we are with them.”
Since last month, Hezbollah MP Hasan Fadlallah has been spearheading a campaign
by the resistance movement against corruption, and last week he submitted
documents to the financial prosecutor to back up allegations of missing public
funds.
Earlier in the month, Fadlallah had said that there were "manipulated and
missing financial documents that could land a lot of people in jail ...
including ex-prime ministers, who may be held accountable.”
Fadlallah didn't name or accuse anyone directly in his filing, but former prime
minister Fouad Siniora made comments suggesting that Fadlallah was targeting
him.
Siniora had long been accused of illegally spending some $11 billion in
extrabudgetary spending during his tenure, and late last week he held a news
conference to deny that the $11 billion had been spent illegally.
Source:Tasnim