Hizbullah Not Ready for Serious Dialogue and Awaits Election Results
MP Butros Harb said that Hizbullah is not ready for a serious dialogue concerning the defense strategy in Lebanon and is simply awaiting the results of the 2009 parliamentary elections to settle its political stance.
Harb said that the presence of a parliamentary bloc close to the president at the coming elections would further strengthen the presidency allowing him to influence the trend of political confrontations in the country.
In an interview with the Kuwaiti daily al-Rai, Harb said: "Hizbullah is not ready for a serious dialogue regarding the defense strategy as it awaits the results of the next parliamentary elections."
"If (Hizbullah) and its allies become a majority, then (the party) won”t need to have dialogue. They would take over power and their arms would find political and constitutional cover," he went on to add:
Harb said that if the parliamentary minority becomes a majority, the national dialogue would be marginal and worthless. "However, if the party (Hizbullah) and its allies lose the elections then, dialogue would become a dire necessity."
"We do not differ over the resistance but over who is the decision-maker," Harb said.
He affirmed that Hizbullah is a "Lebanese phenomenon and a main party that cannot be ignored."
"The reality of the Lebanese composition does not allow turning the ongoing dialogue between us to a struggle, for there lies the road to division and the collapse of our national unity," Harb said.
He considered a centrist parliamentary bloc "natural and necessary" in a political system like Lebanon, adding that if independents wish to form a bloc close to the president and work with him, "then this is good for strengthening the presidency."
"Political life in Lebanon is used to centralism," Harb said.
He said the Free Patriotic Movement headed by MP Michel Aoun "wants a yielding president, who will only respond to what they and Hizbullah decide and adopt their version of the defense strategy."
"No one benefits from a diminished presidency because we need a fireman and a judge," Harb said.
He affirmed that he would continue with the March 14 Forces as long as they remain committed to the principles of sovereignty and democracy.
"However, in the end I am a free man and I would commit to what I would see benefiting my country," the MP said.