Lebanon: Hollywood And The Hague

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah

Hassan Nasrallah has admitted the involvement of some members of his party in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri in a rare and shameless manner. However, there is nothing more brazen than challenging the international community by refusing to hand over the suspects to the authorities. Using the words of professional killers and lawbreakers, he asserted, “The authorities cannot touch them even in 300 years”. He has yet to realize that he has been stripped naked and exposed from the berry leaves he has been using to conceal his terrorist acts.

Yes, Nasrallah has nothing other than threats and intimidation to protect himself and his Persian party against the truth uncovered by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He can only fabricate stories to deceive the people through the media. He overrated himself when he launched a scathing attack against what he called the ‘lanky’ world. We understand why he does not recognize the special tribunal; a criminal never acknowledges a judiciary that questions him. However, all right — thinking people across the globe know that Nasrallah is a smart and adroit Hollywood actor, so they will never fall victim to his cunning. The international community is more decisive than ever before to combat terrorism by imposing harsher penalties to curb assassinations and political aggravation.

Undoubtedly, Lebanon can no longer bear the consequences of failure to hand over the suspects. Most Lebanese will never allow Nasrallah to drive the country into the pitfall through Arab and international economic sanction and political isolation. Above all, the position taken by Nasrallah is a source of disharmony among the Lebanese, because providing cover for the suspects means a green light for further killing, destruction and destabilization of security in all regions of Lebanon. Therefore, other factions will not sit back with folded arms amid the challenge. The party has gone back to 1975 by fuelling a new civil war whose implications will be more devastating than before.

It is beneficial for Nasrallah to think deeply about the Serbian experience with the international tribunal. In this manner, he will learn that there is no way to dodge international justice; it can be delayed but not avoided. The so-called Serbian orthodox and Catholic Croat leaders, who evaded justice for 16 years during which they lived like heroes, have been facing trial in The Hague. These people had also claimed that nobody could touch their hair but they were nevertheless apprehended. A similar fate awaits Nasrallah who does not enjoy public sympathy like these people. He might end up as their fellow inmate in The Hague prison.

The crafty Nasrallah, who claims to be an avid reader of history, seems to have not read the stories of proud tyrants who have perished. He has not read about the experiences of various sects and parties in his country where they once felt too big only to be humiliated in the end. This is the kind of fate awaiting him.

He, who issues threats on TV while hiding in a dungeon, is nothing but a cat caught in a tight corner. He should understand that the four indicted members of his party are just part of the so-called tip of the iceberg, because the court will later reveal many other names — both Lebanese and non-Lebanese. People are fed up with the man in the dark tunnel who has repeatedly been accused of being a mercenary and supercilious. We can only say to him: “Arrogance is a source of self-inflicted pain and misery.”

-This commentary was published in The Arab Times on 06/07/2011
-Ahmed Al-Jarallah is the editor=in-chief of The Arab Times and the Kuwaiti daily Assyassah