MP Nicola Criticizes Public Remembrance of Martyrs
“Who will defend the country in the absence of the Resistance?”
MP Nabil Nicola, member of the Change and Reform bloc, criticized organizing mass rallies in remembrance of martyrs, in an apparent reference to the fourth anniversary of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri”s killing.
"I am not prepared to take to the street for political purposes and to manipulate blood. Martyrs should be remembered at homes and they should light up candles for them," Nicola said in a television interview.
He also accused the Mustaqbal Movement and Solidere of "owning a communications network."
"Is (Telecommunications Minister Jebran" Bassil responsible for this one too?" Nicola asked in defending his comrade.
Hizbullah, Nicola said, "has a communications network so that others would not wiretap its calls. But does it wiretap others?"
He also criticized the forming of a centrist bloc, saying "they should declare their political agenda. They only say they support the president and the army. We had voted for the president and we support the army."
Speaking to New TV, MP Nicolas defended the arms of the Resistance. He asked “if Israel wages war against Lebanon, who will defend the country in the absence of the Resistance?” Thereby, he tackled the defense strategy, calling on politicians to propose their own defense strategies, and leaving for the Army to decide of the best one that doesn’t affect it negatively.
As for the the wiretapping issue, Nicolas said it was raised to attack Telecom Minister Gebran Bassil, who was only implementing the law. He then pointed out that the Future Movement and Solidere own a telephone network, asking if Bassil was responsible for it. “He just inherited it and is attempting to bring back things to the place they should belong” he added, noting that these networks were founded during the rule of former Telecom Minister Marwan Hamadeh and his predecessors.
In this regard, he said Hezbollah’s telecommunications network depends on resolving the arms issue. He called for keeping things separate, because “otherwise we will never reach a solution”. He also said Hezbollah’s phone network aims to prevent wiretapping on the party’s work.
Naharnet/ iloubnan