Speech of Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah delivered on the 8th anniversary of the Resistance and Liberation Day

Speech of Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah delivered on the 8th anniversary of the Resistance and Liberation Day

The speech of the Secretary General of Hezbollah, Sayyid Hassan Nassrallah, delivered on the 8th anniversary of the Resistance and Liberation Day, Al Raya Playground, Southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, May 26, 2008

First of all, a great greeting is paid to every pure spirit of the resistance and homeland martyrs; especially that of the leader of Resistance martyrs Sayyid Abbas Al Mousawi, the sheikh of the resistance martyrs’ Raghib Hareb, and the dear brother whom we miss today the leader Al Haj Imad Moughniyah.

You are mostly welcome in the 8th anniversary of the Resistance and Liberation Day. Here you are filling the squares with your presence and justifying your reality and identity that you are again and again the most honorable, precious and the purest people.

Almighty God has said in his Glorious Book:

In the name of Allah, the most Merciful and Gracious

“Pharaoh had tyrannized on Earth, divided people into groups. He oppressed one group on behalf of the others, slaughtering its children, and ravishing its women. Indeed, he was among those corruptors.”

And today’s Pharaoh is USA and its right hand Israel. While on the other side God’s promise declares:

“We want to bestow upon those who were oppressed on Earth and make them precedents and successors; and we will consolidate their position on Earth to show what Pharaoh, Haman along with their soldiers have been worried from.”

Almighty God says the truth!

Oh brothers and sisters, today’s event- which is the day of resistance and liberation of homeland, people, and nation- coincides with the 60th anniversary of the calamity and the loss of Palestine as well as the establishment of the extorter existence. It also coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Israeli 1978 occupation of southern Lebanon and the erection of the occupied territory which was expanded later on. This occasional coincidence promotes us to think twice, review, and draw lessons and conclusions that benefit Lebanon, Islamic and Arabian worlds as well.

Although this occasion has its own intellect, emotion, literature, rights and ethics, today I will not stick in introductions. We have a lot to talk about. Starting from Lebanon and its resistance, the later has demonstrated two strategies: a strategy of liberation and driving away occupiers; another of defending homeland and people against any attack, invasion, or even a threat. Here are the two strategies and visions of the resistance: liberation and defense. They are the clear and joint message of the Resistance in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon to the entire nation. As a result of Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon and occupying a part of its land in 1978, Security Council issued a decision numbered 425. We bet on the will of the international society and waited for its implementation. At that time, it was suggested that Lebanon is too weak to face Israel and it would rather need a united Arabian strategy. However, neither the SC decision was implemented nor the Arabian strategy was found. On the contrary, the International Society and the Arabian world showed motionless, and the official society lost the will of confrontation. On the other hand, another bet was found and promoted by Imam and the leader Sayyid Moussa Al Sader. It was that of having Southern and Lebanese people be dependent on Almighty God and resist by any possible means. Then, what was the result of all the false bets? Israel weakened Lebanon and thought that it was too weak to confront. The result was the great invasion in 1982 that attempted at having Lebanon ultimately attached to Israel and at performing another calamity.

As many other countries and nations have historically done, Lebanon was divided upon the Israeli invasion in 1982. That was the case of Palestine and relatively still today. Similarly that’s applicable in Iraq. It’s what has been and will be all along history.

With the presence of occupation, people get divided into groups and categories:

A great number of people stay neutral just waiting in the first stage of the occupation; other doesn’t feel the event at all, who’s enjoying the authority, who’s ruling the country: all of this is meaningless, getting fed, drunk and outs in Fridays and Sundays are more important; other are cheap tools, spies and mercenaries just as Antoine Lahid’s army which was Lebanese too; other cooperate with the occupation for interest intersection; other, often the elite that are internally defeated and theoretically think of limiting national casualties to the minimum; still other who refuse occupation on political and communication level but shows no readiness to pay any price or bloody tax; however, the others believe they are humanitarianly, ethically, religiously, and nationally obliged to liberate their native land from occupation. They show all readiness to pay the price whatever it could be. That’s the resisting group that believes in resistance, so it performs it.

This division- which is not exclusive in Lebanon, but rather natural, historical and social- results in the loss of the national agreement. I would speak to those claiming that there’s no national agreement on resistance in Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq, there’s any national agreement on neutrality, treachery, cooperation or carelessness either. No choice has gained a national agreement. Every group decides its own then goes on. That’s true in Lebanon too. And I would, as usual, address nations being occupied as declaring that no resistance should wait for a national or public agreement, but rather carry out its weapon and go on liberating its land, people, and prisoners of war to get back dignity and glory. This is only achieved by weapon, blood and expensive sacrifices.

The resistance is a part of Lebanese people; martyrs from different sects parties and powers, whether Islamic or not, have fallen. This resistance has depended on its own will, jihad, field- action and the shoulders of its male and female youths. It was the duty of both the Arabian and Islamic worlds to offer a help. However, many have fallen behind. It was Syria, the Islamic republic of Iran and many other live powers in the Arabian and Islamic worlds who preceded. Then the first victory was achieved in 1982-1985, and another historical victory achieved on May 25, 2000: a brilliant victory for Lebanon, Arab, and the nation and a complete and brilliant defeat for Israel along with its great project that aims at expanding from Nile to Euphrates. However Israel has found itself chopped off in southern Lebanon and Western Bikaa; Zionists degradingly out. No prices. No earnings. No guarantees. Then, liberating strategy adopted by the resistance succeeded. On the other hand the strategy of negation series beginning from Madrid hasn’t gotten back even a hand’s span of Lebanese land; while the strategy of waiting has strengthened our enemy and gotten our country weak and in despair. As a conclusion, it is the librating strategy adopted by the resistance that succeeded in similar days of 2000.

After the 1948 calamity, Palestinians kept hopelessly waiting for Arabs and International Society. They waited to achieve at least one Arabian strategy.

Concerning Iraq, America has been playing the occupation and democratic game. What’s going on there is an obvious American occupation and monopoly of this country’s resources. The occupational aims are getting clearer today. How? In the post occupation period, Iraqis were also divided into two relatively large groups, as other occupied nations that I mentioned before. One chooses the political process and the other preferred resistance, specifically the armed one. Based on our faithful, ideological, intellectual, political experience as well as the reality we Hezbollah are biased to the resistance. Those supporting the political process have consumed a great deal of time, and they are today in front of a really difficult and hard test: what stance they are going to take in time that America is attempting to impose on Iraqis deals and conventions. Now, it wants the Iraqi government and parliament signature.

America has opened the door in front of all Islamic and national figures; it’s actually aware of the friendships and coalitions, but it’s attempting at having an elected government and parliament in a hope that they would legitimate its occupation, sovereignty and monopoly over Iraq as well as this country’s security, political decision, oil and resources. At this particular point, America’s reality is disclosed. And the supporter of the political process- whether they are Sunni or Shiite Islamists, natives or nationalists- are in front of a hard test. You say that you have chosen the political process as deterrence against the occupier and to eliminate the casualties; today, you have a great assessment: will you hand in Iraq for the Americans for ever? Or will you make the decision that matches your religion, Islam, Arabism, nationalism, ethics and your humanity?

Today, by the name of all gatherings here as well all free people in the Arabian and Muslim world, I call Iraqis along with their political and religious leaderships to make a noble and historical decision that prevents the ultimate fall of Iraq in the hand of the occupier. All the groups of resistance in Iraq, just as those in Lebanon and Palestine, have defeated the occupier several times. Iraq must set the liberating strategy adopted by Lebanese and Palestinian resistance. That’s the only exit door to return the wounded but rich and strong Iraq to its people and nation. Lebanese resistance has also demonstrated a defending strategy. That was obvious in July 2006 when just few thousands backed by their people had been facing for several weeks the greatest army. That’s what the Israeli judge himself has wandered about!

Concerning the whole Middle East region, we are not talking about a strategy written in books or taught at university but rather a strategy that was well implemented and defeated an attacker and invader as his own society admitted. July war has turned the table upside down, changed the balancing, and weakened war probabilities. Indeed brothers and sisters, it’s your patience, nobility, encouragement and resistance along with martyrs’ blood that have fizzled out the Israeli war and attack against Lebanon and eliminated the war probabilities in the region. The probability of America’s war on Iran has been weakened, and that concerning Syria looks like being so far from now. That’s true for Lebanon’s lessons are absorbed now. And I would address those who bet that another war is probable on Lebanon as declaring that we are the most honorable people just here; we fought in July war and we will in any other coming war!

We are witnessing now the defending strategy adopted in Gaza today. There, Israel faces a gang war. For sure it isn’t either the Israeli ethics or the Arabian public opinion or any other Arabian or international stance that prevented the army from such an invasion. Israel has gotten the green lights form George Bush, today’s Pharaoh. Israel counts to ten because of the honorable people and all courageous resisting groups in Gaza. Getting lost in reaching any exist door, Israel is ineffectively facing the dark, starving and besieged sector. Thus, although the absence of the matching balance, military economy and financial power as well as the international support, the defending strategy has proved itself in Lebanon and Palestine.

George Bush, today’s Pharaoh and the outgoing (by God’s Will) has come to Palestine turning a blind eye to this country’s calamity, attacking all resisting movements in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine and all their supporting countries. He promised Israelis that Israeli will celebrate another new 60th day in the 120th anniversary. Bush is mistakenly thinking. He’ll be just frustrated. This Israel will be vanished. He also promised that Hezbollah and all resisting movements will be defeated. To Bush and Rice who dreamt in defeating Hezbollah, I say that as long as Hezbollah is righteous and depending on God and having this kind of the most honorable people, it’s you who will be defeated.

In the 8th anniversary of the Resistance and Liberation Day, I call all Arabian nations and governments, including Lebanese for a serious studying of a defense strategy amid the current power balance in the region. We always set a national defense strategy, but today we need a liberating one. We still have Kafer Shoubah hills, and Shebaa farms. We need defense strategy against any attack, and a liberating one to liberate the prisoners of the war, Shebaa farms and Kafershoubah hills. However, I would say that you may feel free of duty in liberating the war prisoners for it’s our promise and pledge as it’s God’s achievement by our hands. Soon, Samir along with his peer brothers will be here.

On 25th of May, 2000 I addressed the gatherings in Bent Jbeil as saying that we are offering our victory to Lebanon, Palestine and the whole nation. I said that we have fulfilled our duty and that we are satisfied with God’s acceptance. We weren’t waiting for thanks or rewards. We didn’t want any authority. We said we’ve liberated the land and let Lebanese authority carry its security, judiciary, social and economical responsibility. Haven’t we said that we don’t want to carry any security or management responsibility? Has our action contradicted our word? -Never. We haven’t judged any spy. We handed them to Lebanese judiciary system. We haven’t any military presence all along the liberated territory. And we asked Lebanese government to take role instead.

We’ve only requested more development care for southern villages where confrontation took place as well as suffering villages that I mentioned by name: Baalbek-Al Hermil and Akkar. What have you done? 8 years have passed, and you who have been demanding for the spreading of the authority, has any one prevented you from fulfilling your role in the suffering villages and the territory? Lebanese knows, but I want Arabs be aware of the fact that there are Lebanese citizens who only feel authoritative presence through policeman and tax collector. Authority’s development, services and care find no way to them.

To those who claim that French and Vietnamese resistances have handed in their weapons to their country’s authorities, I say that there are some resistances have either taken or demanded authority after recording a victory. We won in 2000, and we didn’t ask even for participation in the authority. We didn’t ask for a modification in the Lebanese system political hierarchy, or Taef Convention. We didn’t ask for authority or administrations. We requested not to monopolize the authority, be fair instead, care about people, solve their social and economical problems, and protect their dignities.

Today I renew our request. We want neither authority, nor monopoly, ruling nor imposing our ideology and project in Lebanon. We believe such a diverse country couldn’t rule without the participation, presentation, unity and solidarity of all its public components. That’s what we emphasized on. Many have attempted to distort this truth in their media. They mistakenly think that they would degrade us as attaching Hezbollah to Wilayat Al Faqih (the Legist’s Guardianship). -Never. I declare today, as I did many times before, that I am proud of being one of the individuals in the party of the Legist’s Guardianship- the legist who is fair, knower, wise, courageous, truthful, and sincere. I would also say that it’s the legist Guardianship that told us that Lebanon is a diverse country and that we have to save this country.

Amid the previous events, we were accused of preparing a coup, changing the authority, and bringing Syria back to Lebanon. Exactly as what happened during July war, America was promoting a birth of the new Middle East, and now it’s said that we are fighting for the interest of the Iranian nuclear file and the international tribunal. The opposition has proved through its performance after the retreating of the un-authoritative government’s decisions and during Al-Doha talks that such accusations are nonsense. Hezbollah in particular didn’t upraise its demands or conditions even though that some figures in the opposition suggested that as a result of their own political analysis. We didn’t. We went to Al-Doha to rescue Lebanon from a resistance-national army fighting, a sectarian sedition, “the host summer”, from today’s Pharaoh and Haman. We didn’t deploy what happened in politics. Although we have been targeted with unjust accusations, distorting propaganda, and offending attack, we didn’t demand any political earning. I don’t want to have this file open now, but isn’t this experience enough for those accusing us of having the dreams of authority and monopoly to put an end for this debate?

Oh, brothers and sisters, I would call today, as I did in Bint Jbeil and Al-Dahiya, for a true and national partnership in which no one cancels, drops, or win over the other, an opportunity for all Lebanese to build a true and just state ruled by representative that are truly and honestly elected with truthful and fixed coalitions. I call for providing Lebanese a chance to work together without opening ears to outside chatters.

Some days ago, the Saudi Ministerial Council demanded modifying some constitutional laws to guarantee the Arabian identity of Lebanon. I haven’t discussed that among my brothers in the party, but I would like to declare that I myself, the one of the Legist Guardianship party demand having such modifications that save Lebanon’s Arabian identity and prevent any foreign interference in this country. I would like to that they had better mention something about the American and western interference in Lebanon. All of our friends know well that we are not dictated, and that we are the decision maker on field, in AL-Doha talks, and in the opposition.

Oh, brothers and sisters, after the previous events, I’m left in front of two choices today; I either explain what happened before and after the decisions or I postpone this discussion until later time. I have exposed some during the conference held on Thursday May 8, 2008, and I prefer today not to disturb your content in the Resistance and Liberation Day, the day of agreement and election of your President. I will postpone this discussion and bear not exposing the ambiguity of some affairs, and unjustly accusations to the resistance and its path. Critical wounds have occurred on our side and their side, but we either go on enlarging them or having them treated. For the interest of Lebanon, I suggest learning lessons each by himself to avoid having any claims that I am talking in the language of the winner and dominant. I prefer opening this file when it will be the time of conscious and logic. Let’s open now a new phase of Lebanon. It’s the phase of the national, Arabian and international wedding starting on May 25, 2008.

Brothers and sisters, in front of the latest developments I would mention the following points:

First of all, I would like to thank in your name all who have helped in achieving this agreement. Thanks are paid to our Arab brothers, the ministerial committee, Arab league and the Secretary General, Qatar’s leadership and people, our friend countries especially Syria and the Islamic Republic in Iran and Lebanon’s country as well.

Secondly, I would like to reconfirm in the name of Hezbollah that we accept an article that says no direction will use its weapon to get political credits. But listen, the resistance weapon aims at confronting the enemy, liberating the land and the war prisoners, help in defending Lebanon but not to achieve any political earning. The question is: for whom has the other weapon been, accumulated, and trained on? The state’s weapon including that of the army and internal forces is to defend the homeland and the state, protect the citizens and their rights as well as to spread security all along the country. It’s not permissible to use the resistance weapon to get any political earnings and the same is applicable on the state’s weapon. It isn’t permissible to be used to face an internal political opponent group, to achieve external projects that would weaken Lebanon in his battle against the enemy, or to confront the resistance and its weapon. Every weapon whether of the resistance and the state must work for the aims it’s made and set for.

Thirdly, the election law that we achieved is better than that of 2000 for it allow relative representation for all Lebanon’s groups. It’s a compromise between those who want to solve Lebanon’s crises in a hope that Lebanese will sit later on and discuss a modern election law that establish a state. All those who urge the need of building a state, their claims vanish and intentions disclose as they approach the election law. Election law is the introducing step toward establishing a state, and remakes its authority, government and institutions.

When some attempts at forming a law that fits with its own size, leadership, party or sect, that doesn’t indicate that they are willing at having a real state. Accusing others in not enough; who doesn’t want to offer Lebanese a fair modern and representative law in fact wants farms instead. Any way, that’s the possible compromise in a hope that Lebanese will achieve a better one.

Fourth, the election of the Major General Michel Suleiman renews the hope of Lebanese in having a new era. His oath speech that we heard yesterday expresses the accord spirit and the title of the coming phase. That’s what Lebanon needs: accord, partnership, cooperation, and being away from monopoly.

Fifth, national government is not a victory of opposition over authority. It’s a victory of Lebanon, Lebanese, coexistence, and state’s project for this country couldn’t be built, continue, last, unless there’s accord, cooperation and solidarity.

I declared that the purpose of the strike in Riyagh Al Soleh, and Martyrs’ Square is to have a national government. I knew that it will take time. At that time, I announced “as I usually promise a victory, I promise another one again”, but I didn’t mean it would be a victory of one group over another for I believe that Lebanon’s victory would only be achieved by a national government. And when we achieved it in Al Doha talks, I declared that it’s not a victory of one group over another but rather of Lebanon. As it was the victory achieved on May 25, 2000 a victory for the entire Lebanon, the same is applicable to the victory achieved 2006 and that of Al-Doha agreement.

We are going to make a cabinet, and as I promised other groups of the opposition would participate even on the behalf of Hezbollah’s portions. That’s Lebanon, a compound of portions and stocks. We are going to have the opposition well presented in this cabinet in a hope that we would have a serious and responsible cabinet that solves problems of Lebanese whose age has been lost with governments that pass time and worry about the coming elections.

Sixth, I would honestly call the movement and the beloved of premier and martyr Rafik Al Hariri to benefit from his great experience, thinking and strategic horizons concerning Lebanon. His great mind enabled him to harmonize between the project of constructing Lebanon, the state and the resistance. Lebanon was put under two options: being either the destructed Hong Kong or the eastern glory Hanoi with occupied lands, seized sovereignty, underfoot dignity, permissible security by Israel.

With the mentality of the premier and martyr Rafik Al Hariri, the resistance could confirm that neither Hong Kong nor Hanoi is the model to be followed, but rather we make our own model. We can demonstrate that we are a country of construction, economy, partnerships, and production along with a resistance that doesn’t compete the state’s authority; but rather it shares the state’s responsibility in liberating and defending the land. That was the coexistence style between the resistance and the premier and Martyr Rafik AL Hariri. Those have been loyal to the inheritance of Rafik Al Hariri, have to vitalize this model. We are not calling for a dual, triple or quartet coalition, but rather for as large participation of all political groups in this government as possible and not for monopolizing for the behalf of any sect, position, authority, or institution.

I ask God to have a nice and calm summer. Let’s cooperate. Two dreams are shadowing Lebanon: the American hot summer and the nice and clam Lebanese summer. Let’s fulfill our own dreams instead of our enemy’s. I promise you along with all our beloved in the Islamic and Arabic worlds that we will make our best to overcome hostility, sensitive, and wounds. Let’s construct and protect Lebanon hand in hand.

I would like to raise great and appreciating thanks for all without mention names. Thanks for Islamic Sunni leaderships in Lebanon and the Arabian and Islamic worlds. Thanks to religious, political and intellectual leaderships whose courageous stances that put an end to the American project which tries to propagate any conflict in the world as a sectarian sedition. Thanks to all Durzi national leaderships including sons of Maarouf, the resistant men, sheikhs, leaders, politicians, journalists, powers and parties for their stances have declared that what was going on wasn’t at all a Shiite-Durzi sedition.

Thanks to the Christian national leaderships disclosed the reality of the political conflict which is far from being a sectarian one. Mercy is for the spirits of all martyrs.

It was written that Hezbollah isn’t disclosing the number of his martyrs in the last event. There are 14 martyrs of Hezbollah and two martyrs of Lebanese (Saraya) brigades for Fighting Occupation, a number of martyrs of Amal Movement, another number of the Syrian National and Social Party, still another of Lebanese Democratic Party. To remove any ambiguity, the martyrs are Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Christians, and Druze. We are proud of all of their martyrdoms. But we are sorry for the victims fallen on the other side. It was a battle with fire. We’ll talk about this file later on. What soften the issue is that the blood shed lately has pushed Lebanon to the end of a dark and long tunnel. Without this blood, Lebanon was dragged to a place where no state can be established. We owe these martyrs for having driven Lebanon to a new summer, phase and life.

We appreciate, pay respect, and stretch hand of cooperation to build Lebanon that is strong, valuable, fair, well-protected; Lebanon that is as highly as its mountains, as everlasting as its cedars.

Back to our section on the Jewish war against Lebanon