In a wide ranging interview with Al Manar Television, Hizballah leader Sayed Hassan Nasrallah touched on all major issues effecting Lebanon and the region.
Sayed Nasrallah once again reiterated the support of Hizballah for the Presidential candidacy of Free Patriotic Movement Leader General Michel Aoun, stating that “As long as General Aoun is a candidate, we will support his candidacy, regardless of the timeframe”.
Speaking in regards to calls by some people for a so called “Consensual President”, Sayed Nasrallah ridiculed this call as “an insult to the Presidency”, insisting that in this delicate period that Lebanon and the region was going through, what was needed was an independent President that could not “be bought and sold”, insisting that General Aoun was this candidate.
“Michel Aoun is not linked to any country, embassy or party and is courageous enough to take his own decisions,” he stated.
Touching on the subject of a fair and representative election law, Sayed Nasrallah insisted that the proposal by General Aoun for an election law based on 15 districts with proportional representation, was the ideal law to be introduced.
Commenting on parties rejecting a proportional election law, Sayed Nasrallah said “Any party that rejects proportional representation would be behaving like a dictator, because it would be rejecting true partners in its regions and representation for all sects.”, stating that Those who reject proportional representation do so because of a fear of exposing their true size.
Sayed Nasrallah explained that in regards to the candidacy of General Aoun, that even Mustaqbal leader Saad Harriri had previously indicated that he would be supporting Aoun’s candidacy but had been stopped from doing so by “certain forces” indirectly referring to the policies of Saudi Arabia.
In the interview, Sayed Nasrallah spoke in depth about the conflict in Syria and the wider region. When asked about the recent increased involvement by Russia in Syria, Sayed Nasrallah welcomed the support of any country that supported the fight against extremists such as IS as long as it was genuine.
“Today we are witnessing the failure of the U.S. strategy and their so called Anti-Isis coalition”, he said. In regards to the Europeans changing Syria policy, Sayed Nasrallah explained that “The Europeans are now facing a new challenge, that of the refugees, and they have two choices – either ending the war in Syria or taking in the refugees”.