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| Ibrahim al-Amin's full speech before the STL |
As usual, there are no expectations of any change in the thinking or behavior of the March 14 forces. Today, the coalition stands before what is believed to be a new phase in the confrontation with Hezbollah. As always, the coalition members flex muscles that are not theirs. Today, their eyes are directed towards the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).
They await the speeches of the living martyr [former Minister] Marwan Hamadeh and his companions, the employees of the late Rafik Hariri. We shall listen to high-pitched political rhetoric. This time, they are not required to talk about evidence or proof, they just need to help the prosecution justify its accusations.
They will repeat the same old narrative that Hariri spearheaded a project that opposed the interests of Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah, so they decided to get rid of him and that is why they assassinated him. This time, Hariri’s companions will be free of Lebanon’s pressures and intricacies. They will not try to appease Walid Jumblatt or any other politician. They know that the ongoing confrontation in the region provides them with the support of those they aim to please, namely, Saudi Arabia, France, and the United States.
We will witness a rhetorical contest, whose content we have not heard before. There will certainly be a lot of talk about the state, reconstruction, independence, and sovereignty, and terms such as statelets, violation of the law, tutelage, hegemony, and occupation. Speakers will look into the eyes of the audience in the courtroom, and turn to the cameras addressing those who they believe are listening to them – loved ones, friends, political patrons, even enemies.
The main quest is to find a link between the joint [Lebanese-Syrian] security apparatus – which they had already accused in their previous testimony – and the representative of the current regime in Syria, as in President Bashar al-Assad on one hand, and a link to Hezbollah on the other, which they believe was the only player not under surveillance.
They will surely not mention any other player or suspect. They don’t believe that Hariri was at odds with Israel, which would prompt the latter to kill him, or with al-Qaeda or even mafias, which are known to have committed worse and more serious crimes.
What will the outcome be?
The March 14 coalition is likely counting on this spectacle to achieve objectives that are of concern to them solely, not to the rest of the Lebanese people or the world. But we should bring to their attention that another party will benefit from this madness, and it is Israel.
They believe that this will reinforce the STL and open the door to a new discussion that is intended to revive popular support of [the STL] on the Lebanese, Arab, and international levels.
They think that through this spectacle, they will revive waning accusations of terrorism against Hezbollah in Lebanon, the region, and the world.
They believe they are confronting the dilemma the world is facing in Syria by restoring credibility to the charges levelled against the Syrian regime and its president, although the prosecution could not find compelling evidence to include in the indictment.
They think they can re-stimulate a waning political spirit within their party with the same expired elements they used back in 2005.
They believe that they will, once again, dominate TV screens and arenas, and impose on the public a slew of lies and fabrications that would justify their statements which usually hold ulterior motives. God knows if [Lebanese Forces leader] Samir Geagea will take the opportunity to attack the presidential candidacy of Free Patriotic Movement leader General Michel Aoun on the pretext that he is “the killer’s ally.”
They are hoping that their supporters, who are disbanding day by day, will renew their faith in them because they did not forget or turn their back on their martyred comrades, which would justify their policies that are disrupting the establishment of a real state.
But where do they stand vis-à-vis our reality today?
They overlook the fact that the accusation against Assad of killing Hariri is insignificant compared to the accusations leveled against the Syrian president by their regional and international patrons. They also pretend to be any unaware that the destruction their coalition has wrought on Syria is part of the punishment imposed by their international backers on the country because of the political positions it has adopted.
They pretend to forget that Hezbollah, since Hariri’s assassination, has faced epic challenges, starting with the July 2006 War and the subsequent besiegement, vilification, isolation, and sectarian war against it, and the current war being waged by their supporters in the terrorist groups coming out of Syria. They also disregard that Hezbollah continues to resist all kinds of pressure, which they play a petty role in.
More importantly: Don’t these people know that a party like Hezbollah today acts as an extraordinary balancing factor in the fierce confrontations taking place in Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and perhaps other places?
The only hope we have left is for the children of these lunatics (and their wives and husbands) to help us wake them up from their deep slumber, even if through the use of a bucket of ice.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
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