New Premier”s Identity Still Unclear; Hizbullah Open to Talks with West Except U.S.
Hizbullah”s second in command Sheikh Naim Qassem said Thursday the nomination of the new prime minister must be "an inseparable part" of an agreement on a new government and added it remained unclear who the next premier will be.
In an interview with AFP, Qassem said: "So far, the identity of the premier-designate is unclear in anticipation of the outcome of (parliamentary) deliberations."
He said the opposition will decide on "how to approach the new government based on the designated premier”s proposition."
Asked if Hizbullah favored a certain nominee for premier, he replied: "Right now, we do not have a specific candidate as we wait for the outcome of the deliberations.
"What is required is for (the candidate) to be an inseparable part of an agreement on the government”s structure and the distribution of ministries in cabinet," Qassem added.
"A government of national unity must have a formula that convinces all participants," said Hizbullah”s deputy secretary general.
"The opposition has a prior idea on the form its participation will take in a national unity government. It has agreed not to disclose its definitive and final point of view before point of view definitively as it waits what will be proposed," Qassem added.
He saw in the reelection Thursday of Speaker Nabih Berri a "natural outcome to a desire for the next phase to be one of accord and understanding." Qassem said a speedy formation of a government was "in the best interest of the country."
Qassem also said it was only normal for the new prime minister to be a member of the majority in general and "al-Mustaqbal movement in specific" adding the opposition did not have reservations on proposed candidates. "The ongoing debate is over how to form the government and according to what criteria," he said.
Speaking about his party”s relations with foreign countries, he said Hizbullah was open to talks with representatives of all Western governments except the United States.
"Several U.S. officials at different levels and more or less close to the administration have asked to speak with but we have refused," he said.
"It is useless to have any dialogue with the Americans since they regard us as terrorists," Qassem added. "The Europeans for their part have a role to play, especially as they are taking a different approach from the Americans."
On the regional level, Qassem accused the West of fomenting protests in Iran over this month”s presidential election but added that Hizbullah had no worries about the stability of its main foreign backer.
"The extent of Western and American involvement in Iran”s internal affairs is now clear," the group”s deputy leader said in the interview.
"What is going on in Iran is not a simple protest against the results of the presidential election," he said. "There are riots and attacks in the streets that are orchestrated from the outside in a bid to destabilize the country”s Islamic regime."
Tensions have been rising between Iran and the West over the Islamic regime”s suppression of mass street protests sparked by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad”s contested re-election on June 12.
Qassem insisted that his party would not be affected by the events Tehran.
"Hizbullah has nothing to do with Iran”s internal affairs," he said. "We don”t side with anyone. This is an internal Iranian issue.
"What is happening there has nothing to do with our situation," he added. "We have our own Lebanese identity and popularity, and these events don”t concern us."
He said he felt certain the situation in Iran would soon return to normal.
"The Islamic republic has succeeded in overcoming this plot from overseas aimed at destabilizing the internal situation," Qassem said, singling out Britain for criticism of its role.