Nasrallah Interview. posted by Richard Seymour

This is an interview with the Turkish daily Evrensel, which was posted to the Marxmail mailing list. I wanted to post it all despite the idiotic comments about the American media being controlled by "Jewish capitalists". Yoshie Furuhashi, the estimable editor of MRZine, once wondered if Fidel Castro could take the Iranian president to one side and say "Yo, Mahmoud, only crackpots and dumbasses believe that shit. Here, read this [Marx's Capital] instead"? Perhaps Chavez will have the nerve to tell Nasrallah the same. Once one has criticised that aspect of Nasrallah and Hezbollah's ideology, once you've gone beyond that bollocks, this is a fascinating interview:


From the first day of our arrival to Lebanon, we have looked for ways of interviewing Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, the General Secretary of Hezbollah. We communicated continuously this demand to the representatives of Hezbollah. After a considerable length of time, Hezbollah militants suddenly came to meet us and took from us open identity information and our photos. And they left without saying anything. A few days after this event which has caused immense nervousness for us, two civilians arrived to visit us. They told us that Nasrallah is waiting to see us but that they absolutely did not want camcorders or cameras. After going around for a few hours with a civilian vehicle, at last Nasrallah was before us. We were still very nervous. But apparently, we have succeeded..!

Israel which has reoccupied firstly Palestine and then Lebanon with the pretext of the kidnapping its soldiers, has being facing a resistance it did not expect at all in Lebanon. Despite the backing of US and Europe, Israel continues to suffer heavy loses against Hezbollah which is an organisation rooted in Lebanon. Hezbollah which has been conducting an effective resistance against the Israel army propagated as being "unbeatable", while defending the Lebanese lands, it also continues to be a hope for the resisting peoples of Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. We have spoken to Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, who has become a kind of the "symbol" of the resistance against the imperialist assaults not only in Lebanon but in the entirety of the Arabic world following the resistance of Hezbollah, about the resistance in Lebanon, Zionist aggression with imperialist support, the attitude of governments of the region and of Turkey, the socialist movement and plenty of other topics.

Israel had claimed its aim was "to destroy Hezbollah" in the first days of the occupation of Lebanon. However, it came across a resistance it did not expect and now it has been falling short of this aim. Through violent clashes, the occupying army continues to suffer heavy loses. But this is not covered sufficiently by the media. Could you briefly talk about the current status of the resistance?

Hasan Nasrallah: The Zionists who are the contractors of imperialism are utilising the media very effectively. In the west, with primarily in the US the media is in the hands of Jewish capitalists. They are writing that they are bombing the Hezbollah positions and are deceiving the peoples. This certainly is a lie. As you have witnessed personally, this is a big lie! They are martyring the innocent civilians; they are callously martyring the women and children. But, we are routing the Zionists wherever we come across them. We are acting cautiously, and are not firing rockets on civilians. By claiming that we are firing rockets on urban settlements, they are seeking to deceive the peoples of the world. But we are firing rockets under control on to locations we identified before.

Concerning this issue, it is also necessary to make this point; they are deliberately driving the Israeli Arabs to the border. They are presenting them as a target to us, but we are not playing into provocation and mischief. Our target is not the civilians; it is the Zionist military forces. Our fighters are routing extensively the Zionist forces in the land operation. But they should also know that we have not still used our important weapons.

The Zionists, knowing that they cannot daunt us with death, are attempting destroy our infrastructure, our roads, bridges, our women and children. This is how they are trying to intimidate us. But, it's all futile, we will not surrender! Apart from the freedom of our motherland, we will not accept any other solution. We will resist and we will fight.

Imperialism and its Zionist contractors in the region should know that we are waiting for the Zionists on every hill, every valley, every street and every inch of our country. Our resistance necessitates victory. We have no other way. This war will end with the victory of the oppressed of the world and of the Muslims.

Is it possible for Lebanon to face once again the threat of a civil war?

Hasan Nasrallah: Not only in Lebanon, but also in the region as a whole, the Zionist regime is seeking polarisation with the tension in between ethnic groups, sects and beliefs. Their strategy of attacking our country also confirms this. But, the Hezbollah has spoiled this game. The oppressed peoples of our country and of Middle East have come to the defence of Hezbollah and have provided their support. The socialists and Christians are included in this.

On the other hand, imperialism has established front-collaborator bogus Islamic organisations in the period of USSR. These forces, as well as planting seeds of discord amongst sects for the interests of the US, fought also against the revolutionaries. However, the conditions have now changed. The US had also used Saddam who they overthrew in Iraq years ago to fight against Iran, the Kurds and us. Or they used different contractor organisations for conflicts in between sects or against the revolutionaries. No-one should think for a moment that we are not aware of these tricks. We are aware of these and never in our history played into these tricks.

Despite the attacks in Palestine and Lebanon, the Arab governments remain silent. What is the reason for this silence?

Hasan Nasrallah: Most of these are collaborating countries. For instance, in countries such as Saudi Arabia, there are fatwas issued for our name. These are humorous fatwas. Not even their own people believe in these fatwas. These fatwas are absolutely political and have been prepared for the interest of the US. These fatwas are given from time to time. We did not take these very seriously. But, let me reiterate that we will not permit clash between sects and religions, and that these fatwas serve this aim. They resorted to these tricks in Iraq. They were successful in this, but the Iraqi people are now aware of these tricks.

On the issue of Iraq mentioned, fight in between sects in this country under occupation is provoked. Recently a number of US generals have been issuing warnings concerning the "escalation of a civil war" in Iraq. Can we have your views on this subject?

Hasan Nasrallah: The imperialists are seeking to win the war which they could not with arms and weapons from inside by the creation of a war between sects through a diverse range of collaborating so-called resistance groups. The same trick was played through Saddam before against the Shias and the Kurds. And now, they continue with these tricks. Today there is no Saddam, but there is tens of possible Saddams. I call on my and our peoples to not pay heed to this trick. Let's be vigilant towards the murder of brothers and sisters.

How do you evaluate the reaction of the Turkish Government?

Hasan Nasrallah: Messages of reaction from the Turkish government were received by the Israeli government. But this reaction did not turn into action. The bombs used in the bombing of our country arrive from Turkey. Again, according to what we have learned from you, there are a number of MPs who are members of the Turkish-Israeli Friendship Group in the Turkish National Assembly. But, what we want is concrete reactions. The Turkish government still have the status of being the biggest ally of the contractor gang!

What is the current state of your relations with the Socialist movement?

Hasan Nasrallah: The socialist movement, which has been away from international struggle, now for a considerable time, at last began to become a moral support for us once again. The most concrete example of this has been Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela. What most of the Muslim states could not do has been done by Chavez by the withdrawal of their ambassador to Israel. He furthermore communicated to us his support for our resistance. This has been an immense source of moral for us. We can observe a similar reaction within the Turkish Revolutionary Movement. We had socialist brothers from Turkey who went to Palestine in 1960s to fight against Israel. And one of them still remains in my memory and my heart; Deniz Gezmis..!

What is the importance of Denizs for you?

Hasan Nasrallah: We now want new Denizs. Our ranks are always open to new Denizs against the oppressors. Deniz will always live in the hearts of the peoples of Palestine and Lebanon. No-one should doubt this. Unfortunately, there is no longer a common fight and fraternity against the common enemy left over by the Denizs. What we would have liked is for our socialist brothers in Lebanon to fight against imperialism and Zionism shoulder to shoulder. This fight is not only our fight. It is the common fight of all those oppressed across the world. Don't forget that if the peoples of Palestine and Lebanon lose this war, this will mean the defeat of all the oppressed people of the world. In our fight against imperialism, the revolutionaries should also undertake a responsibility and should become in the hearts of our people of Palestine and Lebanon, Denizs once again.

It is possible to see the posters of Che, Chavez, Ahmedinecad ve Hezbollah side by side in the streets of Beirut. Are these the signs of a new polarisation?

Hasan Nasrallah: We salute the leaders and the peoples of Latin America. They have resisted heroically against the American bandits and have been a source of moral for us. They are guiding the way for the oppressed peoples. Go and wonder around our streets..! You will witness how our people have embraced Chavez and Ernesto Che Guevara. Nearly in every house, you will come across posters of Che or Chavez. What we are saying to our socialist friends who want fight together with us for fraternity and freedom, do not come at all if you are going to say "Religion is an opiate". We do not agree with this analysis. Here is the biggest proof of this in our streets with the pictures of Chavez, Che, Sadr and Hamaney waving along together. These leaders are saluting our people in unison. So long as we respect your beliefs, and you respect ours, there is no imperialist power we cannot defeat!

Returning to threats in the region, western governments are intensifying their pressure on Damascus and Tehran for which they are proposing a "change of regime." Some sources are of the view that the attack on Lebanon will be directed on Syria. According to your point of view, is a regional war possible?

Hasan Nasrallah: The centres of imperialist power want to make collaborators of our region as a whole. They expect us to kneel before them. Syria, Iran and we are opposing this. The provocation concerning the former Lebanese Prime Minister Refik Hariri and the efforts to secure the withdrawal of Syrian army from Lebanon and going even further, their wish to attack callously on to Tehran and Damascus are all due to this reason. Syria, with Iran and Hezbollah will certainly resist this. We are going to resist for our motherland and freedom. We are going to resist in order not kneel before them. The imperialists of the west are seeking to make a second Kosovo out of Lebanon and our region. They are seeking to create a clash in between sects. But we have spoiled this trick. In our streets, the whole of Lebanon, with its Christian, Sunnis and Shias, are flying the flags of Hezbollah. Again, "the unipolar world" has already been left back in history. There is us, there is Iran, there is Syria, there is Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea. There are the resisting peoples of Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan! As long as there is imperialism and occupations, these people will continue resisting. They can forget about peace. If they want peace, they should now respect the freedom of peoples and should eliminate the collaborating gangs. God willing, the victory will be ours. They are not going to be able to turn our country and region into a Kosovo. Now our people are aware of everything and will not play into imperialist tricks.

We will absolutely not permit them to attack Iran or Syria. We are going to fight for our freedom to the last drop of our blood. Let no-one doubt this. They are claiming that Iran has nuclear weapons at its disposal. On the contrary, most of the nuclear weapons are in the hands of the collaborating gang of Israel and the US. Furthermore, nuclear weapons are nothing but excuses put forward in order to create collaborating regimes in the region.

There are claims that Hezbollah is being directed by Tehran. What are views on this issue?

Hasan Nasrallah: This is a great lie. We are an independent Lebanese organisation. We do not take orders from anyone. But this does not mean that we are not going to form alliances. Let me reiterate, we are on a side. We are on the side of Iran and Syria. They are our brothers. We are going to oppose any attack directed at Tehran and Damascus to the last drop of our blood just as we do in Lebanon. We uphold global resistance against global imperial terrorism.

Is there any other additional point you want to make?

Hasan Nasrallah: Peace cannot be unilateral. So long as there is imperialism in the world, a permanent peace is impossible. This war will not come to an end as long as there are occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.

Update: Angry Arab reckons this interview is a hoax.