The Voice of Resistance: An Exclusive PRAVDA.Ru Interview With Hezbollah

Recently, the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah granted PRAVDA.Ru an exclusive interview. This is what Hezbollah had to say to PRAVDA.Ru:

The USA seems ready to unleash another war in the Persian Gulf. If such a war breaks out, do you feel that it will affect your organization in any way?

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the New World Order, the American strategic planners needed a new “enemy” to keep them surviving and, according to many secret studies made by them, the fact that the choice of war is better than the choice of peace was displayed, for the choice of war serves their interests and keeps them dominating, controlling. This fact must not get away from our minds, and this helps us understand their latent intentions towards others. For instance, during the Gulf war in 1991, America aimed at controlling the Gulf Oil under the cover of implementing the UN Resolutions. The war against Iraqi troops was later called by the American people themselves and their media as “the War for oil.” At the time, they said they wanted to implement the UN resolutions. They do implement the UN resolutions only if it fits their interests; otherwise, they don’t bother themselves to take care. This is exactly what is happening with so-called “Israel” and despite the passing of tens of UN Resolutions that call for Israel to withdraw unconditionally from the occupied land and stop the mass killings against civilians. We see the opposite: America not only doing nothing to implement the UN resolutions, but eagerly giving unlimited military, financial, and political support to “Israel,” and America shows its pride of that matter.

Now, with the new American threat against Iraq, we believe that America aims to subjugate all those who have not yet been subjugated and to intensify its control of Iraqi oil; no one should be mistaken that this war is in the interest of the Iraqi people who have suffered a great deal from the American sanctions that have resulted in the deaths of millions of Iraqi children and are only good for American interests and its expansion greed. The possible American action in the region will not even have a slight impact on us, and we as a Lebanese resistance group enjoy great support in Lebanon and in the Arab and Islamic world and in the hearts of all noble men and women in the world. We are a party that enjoys the support of the Arab League and the international community for our just resistance against Israeli occupation and suffice it to say that we have been the victims of the American administration for a long time. This administration claims that it is working for peace and human rights, but it never practice what it preaches.

Western propaganda places your organization together with Al-Qaeda. What is your opinion of this?

We have become used to fabricated accusations against Hezbollah. In fact, the US administration and its media tool brought nothing new despite the fact that they realize very well the nature of Hezbollah as a legitimate resistance party and that all its actions are confined to the Lebanese occupied territories against the Israeli occupation forces, but one thing we would like to add is that what the Americans publicly about us they don’t say secretly. They say publicly that we are a terrorist group and secretly they send to us mediators for the purpose of establishing contacts with us, and that happened many times in the recent past. This is American hypocrisy.

What do you think about Bin Laden’s statement that, if America unleashes a war against Iraq, then his organization will strike America?

When we speak we speak about ourselves, we are not responsible of the statements of the others. We are a party that has a legitimate Identity and has its legal presence in Lebanon, and, as we have said before, all we know about AL-Qaeda is what we have seen in the press.

There are rumors that Israel is planning a missile strike on South Lebanon. Do you believe that such a strike might be timed to coincide with American military operations against Iraq?

We are being attacked on a daily basis by the Israeli occupation forces, and Israel doesn’t need justification to launch an offensive; Israel has destroyed the Lebanese infrastructure and power plants many times. However, Israel knows that the time we get slapped and they don’t receive a hit back has finished a long time ago and we are ready for any eventuality.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is currently releasing various statements that are supposed to appease Washington (reforms, the cessation of military actions against civilians, and so on). Has your attitude towards Arafat changed?

From the very beginning, we opposed the choices that Arafat has made, and now we witness on the ground where his choices have taken the Palestinian People. Now, Israel is not only ignoring the agreements signed, but also refuses to recognize them. Through our experience, we believe that the only avenue for the Palestinian People is to continue with the method of resistance, for it is the only way to liberate their land.

Questions compiled by Dmitry Litvinovich

For more information on Hezbollah, please visit the official Hezbollah web site at http://www.hizbollah.org/english/frames/index_eg.htm