Wednesday,April 04,2007

 Sheikh Naim Qassem, Hizbullah’s second in command, has accused the government majority of not wanting an international tribunal, but running Lebanon, instead.
"They don’t want the court, they want to control Lebanon," Qassem told a crowd in Dahiyeh, or Beirut’s southern suburbs, Tuesday night on the occasion of Prophet Mohammed’s birthday.
"They hide behind the tribunal to prevent the opposition from taking part in decision making," he said.

Addressing the ruling team, Qassem said: "If they are threatening us with Chapter 7, this means they don’t want the court, and that someone in the (U.N.) Security Council wants the court for political considerations."

He stressed that setting up the court under Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter would be a "tribunal against Lebanon and not to try Hariri’s killers."

Chapter 7 clears the way for the formation of the tribunal without the explicit approval of Lebanon’s government and parliament.

Qassem also accused the ruling team of blocking "every solution we offer" in an attempt to end the political impasse that has gripped Lebanon for four months.