Sayyed Nasrallah’s Full Speech on the occasion of the Resistance and Liberation Day 25-5-2018

Local Editor

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's speech delivered on the occasion of the Resistance and Liberation Day 25-5-2018

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our master and Prophet, the Seal of the Prophets Abi Al-Qasim Muhammad Bin Abdullah, and his good and pure family and all his good and chosen companions and all the prophets and messengers.

Peace and God's mercy and blessing be upon you all. Many happy returns.

Allow me to begin by discussing why we are not holding a central celebration. We did not organize a popular celebration so as not to overwhelm you. Because everyone is fasting on the one hand and on the other hand we want to call upon you on al-Quds Day, God willing. We tired you a lot during the election season with the celebrations and [electoral] rallies. Thus, we asked our brothers and sisters to celebrate the Resistance and Liberation Day in their villages and border areas in different forms. But in this annual celebration where we invite prominent figures and other people, my speech will suffice, hoping to see you for the last Friday of the Holy Month of Ramadan in commemorating al-Quds International Day. This year, this day and this occasion should be given great public, popular, political and cultural attention because of the special circumstances surrounding al-Quds as well as the Islamic and Christian sanctities in this city and in occupied Palestine, especially after US President Donald Trump recognized al-Quds as the capital of "Israel" and the transfer of the US Embassy to al-Quds a few days ago. Moreover, we need to keep pace with the marches of return taking place in Gaza and the great sacrifices made by the people of Palestine, especially in Gaza, as well as in the West Bank, and within the territories of 1948. So, we hope that everyone, especially those who are fasting and praying as well as the believers of this cause, will make the coming al-Quds Day the subject of their care and attention at all levels.

On the occasion of Resistance and Liberation Day, I begin by congratulating all Muslims on the holy month of Ramadan. Days have passed, and there are still days before us. This is Allah's month. It is a month in which you are invited to be the guests of Allah. This month is an exceptional annual opportunity that Allah bestowed upon us. He gives us the opportunity for repentance, asking forgiveness, asking Allah to fulfill our needs in this world and in the afterlife. This is the month of fasting, praying, reciting the Quran, going to God Almighty, purifying the souls from the damages of the past year. It is the month of brotherhood, cooperation, communication, kinship, helping the poor, honoring the orphans, and fulfilling the needs of the destitute. That is why we must regard it as a divine opportunity. It is not a month of entertainment or wasting of time or laziness. It is a month to work, benefit and make good use of its days, nights and hours because it is a month, which Almighty Allah regards as the best of all months. Its days are the best of days, its nights are the best of nights, and its hours are the best of hours as quoted by the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). Only a wretch is the one who is deprived of Almighty Allah's forgiveness during this great month. We ask God Almighty to help us all in stocking up [on good deeds] from this holy month for our afterlife and this world as well as all of our coming challenges.

On the May 25, I congratulate you all on this day, this victory and this achievement. This annual milestone, whether for the Lebanese people or the people of the region, is a very important milestone. It is a humanitarian, national and jihadist milestone rich with lessons. It can be relied upon and built upon for the present and the future. This is what we have been doing since 2000. We must continue with it - with what God wills.

On this holiday as we congratulate our people, we must first thank God, who has bestowed this great and dear victory upon us, our people, our homeland, our region, and our Ummah. He possesses great bounty. Thanks to Him first and foremost. Our tongues are unable to express gratitude for a blessing of His many blessings - then how can they do so when this blessing is a great one.

After thanking God Almighty, we must remember the owners of the credit as I used to start every year when we speak on this occasion. First and foremost the resistance fighters, the Mujahideen, those who sacrificed and took it upon themselves from the beginning of 82 and after 82. They left their jobs and lives. They spent their youth carrying their rifles and living in the orchards, hills, valleys, in estrangement and fear. They exerted every effort to liberate this land and defeat this occupation and this aggression. These heroic resistance fighters, some of whom died as martyrs, and some of them - the vast majority - are still alive thanks to God. Some of them are the martyred leaders before the year 2000 who gave their souls and blood. Here, I am talking about Sayyed Abbas, Sheikh Ragheb, the martyred leader Mohammed Saad, and the martyred leader Khalil Jradi. In the Islamic resistance in Hezbollah, we have a long list of leaders that must have their names and memories revived. We must reintroduce them to the new generations that did not keep up with that stage. We must bring back their pictures, mention their names and talk about their sacrifices as in the rest of the factions. Of course, we are talking about the martyred leaders and martyrs in all the resistance forces, the martyrs of the heroic confrontations, the martyrs who stormed the sites, the martyrs of the depth operations, and the martyrs who fell in all fields of confrontation with this enemy - both at the frontline or behind it - and in training camps. We should recall all of them and recall their names.

To the wounded who are still suffering from their wounds, may Allah cure them. [We should remember] the prisoners who have spent their youth in prison, in the Khiam detention center, in Atlit, in Ansar and in the prisons of the usurping entity. And those who have been freed thanks to Allah.

There are still some unresolved cases. Their families, the families of the martyrs, the families of the wounded and the families of the prisoners were no doubt those that sacrificed and tolerated most. The people of the villages, towns and cities who lived under occupation in the occupied border strip, who lived along the seam lines, at least since 1985 until 2000. They suffered daily due to this occupied strip and seam lines. The various villages and the rest of the Lebanese regions that bore more with the South was the Bekaa. It was the area most subjected to bombardment, aggression and attacks. Apart from the resistance fighters and the people, the Lebanese army was also present. It also gave martyrs and wounded. The Lebanese security forces and the Palestinian resistance factions also had their own qualitative and heavy participation since 1982 until 2000.

I am talking about the year 2000. During that stage, the Syrian Arab Army bore, sacrificed and presented martyrs. Those who have sacrificed are generally the ones who are credited with this achievement after Allah. We consider everyone who stood with them, supported them in Lebanon - whether providing them with moral support, media support or financial support - embraced them when they were displaced, loved them and even prayed for them as partners in the victory achieved in 2000. Of course, we should mention the only assistance we got regionally and from outside Syria. It was only from Iran. This is known and must be mentioned.

When we talk about Iran and Syria's assistance in achieving the liberation of 2000, we are also talking about the letdown of the world, the world that took the 425 Resolution at the Security Council and did nothing to implement it. This world witnessed the daily "Israeli" aggression, massacres, bombings, killings, displacement and occupation, and it did nothing.

Because of all these sacrifices, victory and liberation were achieved. The land returned to its people and to the sovereignty of the homeland with the exception of the Shebaa farms and the hills of Kfarchouba and the Lebanese part of the town of Ghajar, which is always forgotten. People and families returned to their homes and villages and to their fields. The prisoners retuned with dignity and pride. Security and safety returned along the international border with occupied Palestine. The South, the Western Bekaa and Rashaya are now living, with all of Lebanon, in safety, security, freedom and dignity. It is important that you live in safely with dignity and securely with dignity and freedom.

This victory was achieved. There are two points in the victory, which I will go into in some detail.

The first point: this victory was achieved despite the absence of any parity in the forces. Here, we take lessons. There was no parity. On the contrary, I say more than that, the capabilities of the resistance since 1982 until the year 2000 were very modest compared to the enemy's capabilities and the capabilities of the resistance in 2018. They were modest capabilities. The number of fighters, whether full-timers or volunteers, as well as the number from all factions was modest. The capabilities were also very modest. Today, there are some types of weapons available with the resistance that did not exist before 2000. Some weapons against defenses, some rocket capabilities and firepower were not available, not in density, nor in quality or quantity. Despite all this, the great victory was achieved. I am just giving an example. I used to say this in internal meetings, but it is good that people know this. Before 2000, when the resistance wanted to attack some sites along the front, it had to gather, for example, mortars and the weapons against the defenses and some capabilities from all other fronts in order to be able to work in this front. To this extent the capabilities were modest. However, victory was achieved. I mention this point to say that victory has humane and moral dimensions as well as great blessings. This is the second point I want to talk about. We should point out to the resistance's capabilities, steadfastness and persistence in major confrontations such as July 1993, Grapes of Wrath that is the "Israeli" aggression in April 1996 until 2000. I want to come back to this point later when I talk about the siege, sanctions, drying up of funds and the likes.

The second point that I must speak about is the title of our celebration for this year: "You Are Worthy Of Victory". This victory was given by God to the people and their children who resisted because they were fit and worthy of attaining this victory.

God Almighty does not give for free. Same as you when you have something precious - just a metaphor to bring the idea closer. For example, when a person owns something precious and has a child who does not know how to take care of things, so he gives him a cheap or a simple toy. He does not give him an expensive antique he spent his money and youth on it. He does not give it to young children to play with it and break it. They are not fit to own such a great antique. God Almighty gives victory on conditions and not for free. He put conditions. In the Quran, there are conditions for victory. This is what happened in 2000. When God saw your sincerity, loyalty, and purity and found that you were ready to sacrifice without limit; when He find that you bear the responsibility and do not evade them, He gave you victory. Often one finds a thousand excuses to escape responsibility. He looks for a political excuse, the excuse of lack of capabilities, or a religious excuse stating that resisting is haram [forbidden] because it is shedding the soul to destruction. There were people who looked for excuses to escape from the responsibility. But you did not run away from the responsibility. You did not look for excuses. You shouldered the responsibility and continued working. You were patient and steadfast. When God saw your honesty, he bestowed victory upon you and gave defeat to your enemy despite the absence of any balance in capabilities.

It was over. The enemy was in a state of terror and mistrust in its army and its people. It lost the ability to endure. The size of its losses was more than it was able to handle. It preferred to withdraw without any conditions, agreements, security arrangements and prizes. It was humiliated, and withdrew, intentionally or unintentionally leaving behind its agents and fled.

Hence, because you are worthy. The experience has proved that, yes, your are worthy. Where does worthiness appear? Worthiness appears when those who are given victory maintain and protect it. That means they were worthy.

In May 25, 2000, you proved, our people proved and our resistance from all factions proved that they were worthy of victory. Their civilized approach when they entered the occupied border strip and their preservation of the people, the lives and property, as well as their manner and morals and abstaining from vengeance and revenges against those who lashed their backs, killed their children and bombed their homes meant that they were worthy of this victory. After 2000, they held on to the resistance, its survival and strengthening it means that they are worthy of this victory. They were thankful and loyal. They knew victory was achieved due to the resistance of their sons. First, they knew. Next, they were thankful. Third, they preserved it. This means they were worthy. When the July 2006 war took place, they were also worthy of victory because of their steadfastness, perseverance, honesty, sacrifices, and loyalty. What proves that they were worthy of this victory is what happened following the 33-day war when they quickly returned to their villages and towns. They set up tents on their destroyed homes and refused to leave. They preserved their resistance and did not give it up, even today, despite all the intimidations, threats, siege, terrorism lists, and defamation. All of these were not useful.

We are in front of people who proved before 2000 that they were worthy of victory. So, God gave them the victory in 2000 and gave them the 2006 victory. God willing, they will remain strong and dignified because they are worthy of it.

Personally, when I talk about the future, of course we always say, we do not seek war but we do not fear it. The enemy always threatens. But when I talk either in internal or non-internal meetings about any future war - may God Almighty distance it from this country and from this region - I speak with certainty about victory because God Almighty whom we were with and are still with is with us. He did not let us down. He never left us. And because our people and our resistance fighters are present and are worthy of victory.

This is the basic point of strength that we rely upon reaching to this expression: you are worthy of victory. This is what we saw in the recent elections, although some people may have some remarks. But when it comes to protecting the resistance, preserving it, strengthening it and breaking all the bets of the enemies and opponents around it, we saw how people overcame everything, all the remarks, to support and strengthen this resistance. This is the point of strength that in fact, with all the experiences, can be built on. At least I am speaking from 1982 until today, even when we look at the present and the future.

From here I segue to one of the main points in my speech for this occasion. It is the subject of the US-Gulf sanctions against the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine, through various forms including the terrorist list.

The subject of the terrorist list is not new, but some of them are new and must be tackled. I would like to address this point before moving on to other points because this is part of the resistance's battle.

Previously, the US terror list and the Gulf Cooperation Council or Saudi Arabia's terror list included names of some Hezbollah political or military leaders. Now, new lists have been issued regarding me personally and my brothers. The subject has no financial or material impact as many have suggested. We do not have money to put in banks. We have no balances, no banking transactions, no trade, nothing. So, this has no financial or material impact on us. Yes, they are trying. They know it and deliberately put these names on the terror lists in order to keep people away from us.

So, whoever wanted to contact us, sit with us and talk to us, ‘You see they are a terrorist group placed on the US and Gulf terror list. You have to be careful.' In the end, this is part of the psychological and moral pressure. Now, some of the brothers are certain that when they were placed on the terrorist lists, especially the Gulf's, they are banned from pilgrimage to the Sacred House of God. This is one of the outcomes.

But what really harmful is not including me and my brothers on the terrorist lists but the people. When they put Lebanese or non-Lebanese companies, but generally Lebanese, factories, entities or associations that have commercial and investment activities in Lebanon and abroad and need to travel back and forth and do banking transactions, buy and sell, and transfer money, then this is very harmful. Thus, no one should take this lightly.

When it comes to us, you can joke as much as you want. It's not a problem because we will not go to Europe for a stroll. But when it concerns the people, it is harmful to them, especially traders whose names are put on the terror lists. In some places, their money, assets or the likes can be confiscated.

In this part, I would like to say that in Lebanon they take this matter lightly, as nothing more than a piece of information. That is the Lebanese were informed. The Lebanese state and government were informed. This is not true. Are these Lebanese citizens or not? If they are Lebanese citizens, the Lebanese state is responsible for them. It must defend them and protect their interests. It should at least not bear the sanctions. Some people in Lebanon should at least be not be Americans more than the Americans. The Lebanese government should at least shoulder this responsibility. God willing, when the government is formed we will talk about this. This is a dossier and a path. This has not ended yet. This is a path, an "Israeli"-American path in which the Gulf States are taking part. This path is not just related to the resistance, it is also related avenging the Lebanese emigrant force especially in Africa and Europe.

What is the state's responsibility here? This matter needs discussion. I will not talk about what the proposal or the demands are. But I want to say that the Lebanese state and the Lebanese government are responsible for those Lebanese who are placed on the terror lists.

There are people who really have nothing to do with this. They do not give money to Hezbollah. They do not give money to the resistance. They do not belong to the resistance.

There are people who may be accused. They night have given money to the orphans of the martyrs, took care of the orphans of the martyrs, helped displaced people, or something similar. In any case, let us presume that these people gave money to the resistance. The resistance in Lebanon is not a terrorist group. This resistance has a day in Lebanon called ‘Resistance and Liberation Day'.

Thus, these people are being punished for being patriotic and honorable and because they bore the responsibility, and because they were partners in the confrontation, in the liberation and in the restoration of sovereignty. How can the state and the government turn their backs on them and abandon them?!

We must talk about this and be alerted because it is no longer a matter of one, two, three, or four companies. This course is obviously continuing.

When we come to this file, it is clear that there are goals the Americans and their regional tools want to achieve. They are not doing this for entertainment or in vain. There are objectives behind this matter. We must talk about them in order to confront them:

First, to directly pressure the incubator environment. You are the people who embrace, support and back the resistance. You support it in the elections. That is why the US Secretary of State was frank and clear when he said that the elections in Lebanon did not come the way the administration wanted.

The hypocrite adds and says "the Lebanese people". What is his business with the Lebanese people? The Lebanese people expressed their opinions and convictions and voted. If someone conducted a count of the Hope and Loyalty list and examined the number of Lebanese who voted for these choices, in light of these you can say whether the Lebanese people aspired or did not aspire. Here, I am not separating between Hezbollah and the Amal Movement. It is everyone who supports and backs this strategic choice.

But we are not according to your aspirations and the aspirations of your regional tools. That is correct. They are pressuring the environment to punish it and pressure it psychologically, morally, financially, and economically so that it reclines, breaks up, collapses and weakens.

Second, to scare the friends and allies so they can start to move away.

Third, the original and most important objective is to cut off the sources of funding or what they call drying up the sources of funding for Hezbollah and the resistance in Lebanon and the resistance movements in the region. But this is not a new issue. They have been working on this since the 1990s, and we have been in the terror lists since the 1990s.

In this context of drying up the sources of funding, there is the continuing pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran as a basic supporter. This is an honor for the Islamic Republic. It is a status for the Islamic Republic. Today, what is the problem of the Americans with it? You have seen 12 requests put forward by the US Secretary of State to review the relationship with Iran. What does he want from Iran? He wants it to become a weak state with no missiles, no peaceful nuclear capability, and outside the region. He wants it not to have responsibilities and influence regionally. He also wants it as a failed state, like many countries. Pay us one hundred billion dollars, so they pay one hundred billion dollars. He wants it to remove a president and appoint a president, remove a king and appoint a king, remove a prince and appoint a prince. This is what they want from Iran. This is what they did in Iran during the Shah's rule.

Anyway, among the demands is to stop supporting the resistance movements it classified as terrorists. It mentioned Hezbollah and the Palestinian resistance movements. Also, pressuring any donor or shareholder that can provide money or contribution to this resistance, its institutions, its martyrs, its wounded, its orphans, its resistance fighters, its structure and its capabilities. This is the objective.

This subject is part of the battle. I am not talking about this subject just for the sake of describing, but also to determine our responsibility. This is part of the confrontation. This is part of the existing battle. At the psychological level, I say we must understand our enemy. We must understand and must realize that this is part of the existing conflict. The resistance in Lebanon stood in 1982 and rejected the "Israeli" occupation which is also an American occupation of Lebanon. It rejected the American-Zionist project in Lebanon, whether in the form of occupation or in the form of political tutelage or the imposition of a political administration or a peace agreement with the enemy. This is unacceptable, and we faced it. We fight and sacrifice and then defeat this enemy.

"Israel" is the first project of America and its advanced military base in the region. Because of what happened in 2000 and its repercussions inside occupied Palestine, we were able to stand in its face and challenge it. The invincible army was defeated, humiliated and expelled from your land defeated. You were able to create a strategic transformation in the "Israeli"-Arab conflict. The intifada was launched inside occupied Palestine. You made a tremendous cultural change in the region. You faced the American project, for example as in 2006, the new Middle East project that Condoleezza Rice said is being born. You stood up to the American-"Israeli" projects and contributed to their fall. I am not saying we defeated them. We are contributing in defeating them in varying proportions depending on the fields and countries. You are a force that rejects American and "Israeli" hegemony over Palestine, Lebanon, and the countries of the region. You are a force that truly demands sovereignty. Sovereignty is not only a slogan. Every day the "Israeli" enemy violates our airspace. Yesterday from the skies of Lebanon it bombed Syria. Where are those advocating sovereignty? Sovereignty is when you are a force that demands and truly seeks sovereignty, freedom, liberation, an independent decision, non-dependence to the Americans or anyone in this world. It is when the people of every country are the masters of their country and the decision-makers in their country. It is when you do not allow the Americans or the "Israelis" to lay hand on one inch of your land along the border, or a glass from your water or a drop from your oil. It is normal for this enemy to see the threat; a threat to its projects, a threat to its dominance, a threat to its interests, and a force defending your people, your country and your nation. It will not just look at you. It will assassinate you, kill you, wage a war against you and conspire against you. It will include economic and financial terror lists, drying up of sources of funds, etc. Hence, this is part of the battle. Those who are harmed including the brothers, the honorable families, the merchants, the companies, the associations and the institutions must assess this damage. They must consider this harm as part of the battle. It is just like the family that offers a martyr or the family whose son gets injured and becomes paralyzed or the family whose home is bombarded and lives in a tent. This is part of the sacrifice in this battle. Also those who are affected by the fallouts of the lists should first assess it at the personal and psychological level. This is part of the sacrifices. Us as a movement, we should consider all this part of the sacrifices and part of the battle. We must confront it.

When it comes to the confrontation, the main issue, as we have been saying in some battles, is to disrupt the objective. We will not be able to act in return if we just said that we do not have banks, we do not have an American treasury, nor do we convert the dollar or the euro or anything. We should disable the objective. What is the objective?

The objective is to harm our will, the will of our people. It is to harm our will, determination, perseverance, steadfastness and the survival of this path on this way. As long as we are adamant and steadfast, it is useless. So what if there was harm. Let there be losses. This is part of the sacrifices. It is like the martyrs, the wounded, the houses that were destroyed, and the factories that were destroyed during the war. Later God Almighty will compensate. We saw how the people were cooperating, the state how it took responsibility. We will shoulder the responsibility. But this is part of the path.

So far they have tried killings, assassinations, wars, massacres, destruction, displacement and everything that befell us and our people in Lebanon. They did not harm our determination, will and perseverance. Hence, from now I say this plan will not lead to results. It will harm. This is natural. This is like I said the harm that comes from sacrifices. In the end, when we, the mother, father, wife present a martyr, the wife becomes a widow. The mother is bereaved. The children become orphans. We are human beings. We have emotions. But this is part of the battle. We bear it. We build on it. We make victories from it. We do not fall back. We do not fear. We do not retreat.

Here, I repeat and go back to the point I mentioned at the beginning. Before 2000, the resistance's capabilities were very modest. Now, it is true that the capabilities of the resistance are very big and it needs money no doubt. But in the worst-case scenario, this move including the terror lists, the financial and economic sanctions will be able to cut a large part of the money or cut off all the money. But I tell the Americans and its tools in the region -the regional tools and the "Israeli" enemy - you are mistaken in your understanding of this resistance and these people. Where is the mistake? The mistake is related to their culture. They do not see friends. They only see people as mercenaries. To the Americans and their allies and tools they do not regard people as human beings. Once we joked and said that they see people as a dollar sign. ‘How much are you worth? How much is your vote worth? A hundred dollars, a thousand dollars, three thousand dollars? Or your vote cannot be sold. Your stance is turned by money or suitcases [full of money]. Let me give him a suitcase, he will change his stance from one place to another. Or no, your stance cannot be bought or sold. They see people as money. They do not believe in something called creed. What do we mean by creed when we say those people are of creed? What does patriot mean when we say those people are patriots? What does human mean? These have no place. What has place is business, money, arms trade, how much money you have, how many yachts, banks and oil wells you own and how much credit you have in the banks?' That is your worth. Your value is not based on what is good in you. For example, we have a hadith that says "the value of every person is found in what he is best at". Your value is how much money you have in the bank. Their mistake is that they look at this resistance as Iran's mercenary. That is Iran gives money to these people or that Syria provided aid to these people. These mercenaries fight as mercenaries. If we cut off their money, they will stop fighting and they will change their position.

This resistance in Lebanon, in Palestine, in the region, those people who demonstrate every Friday in the Gaza Strip, they are not mercenaries for any one. They have a cause. Those resistance fighters, their people, their families and everyone with them should be known as people with creed. They are humane and patriots. They have a cause and believe in the cause. They defend the cause. They are willing to sacrifice for this cause with their souls and loved ones. They are willing to live under the harshest living conditions for their cause to triumph. When confronting the "Israeli" enemy in Lebanon and Palestine, people like them cannot be defeated by terror lists, sanctions, financial sanctions or drying up of financial resources. The popular will, popular resistance, and popular culture cannot be defeated no matter what means you resort to. Hence this is a failed battle. But its condition is the same as in military warfare as well as in all the past confrontations. We should understand the dimensions of this war. We should understand the backgrounds and the objectives. We have to be steadfast and disable the objectives. Because when we maintain our persistence, will and determination, they will not be able to do anything at all, not even to impose a territorial isolation. That is some countries will not form relationships with us. Others will sever the relations. Others will find thousands of lies like what Morocco did a few weeks ago. It has no basis whatsoever. They said that they went to Iran and the Moroccan minster of foreign affairs presented the Iranian foreign minister with a file regarding Hezbollah's involvement with the Polisario Front.

The brother sent me the file. It was not a file. It was a sheet of paper. The Moroccan minster of foreign affairs said that they gave evidence and documents. He did not even give him the sheet of paper. He held the paper and began stating the names. He was asked to hand the paper. He told him to write [the names] them down. He did not even give him the paper. Where is the evidence? Where is the proof? Do you have a film recording? Do you have voice recordings? Do you have witnesses? Where are your witnesses? There was nothing at all. There were just names from Hezbollah. Incidentally there are people that have nothing to do with security and military work. There are brothers who work far from each other. It is clear that the "Israeli" intelligence is the one that provided the Moroccans with these names. There are no links whatsoever between these brothers. It was only that Hezbollah supports the Polisario, so they sever ties with Iran. We said there is not relation whatsoever with the Polisario, not even a political relationship. I did not even take a position on this issue. We have not studied this issue. There is no position, neither negative nor positive. But seriously, there is no relationship with them, not even a political one. There is no communication with them. They are accusing us of visiting their city and that they visited us in Lebanon. I don't even know the name of their city. It is the first time I hear about it. They said that we provided them with support, training, training camps, weapons, etc. All these were useless. It does not affect the will and the determination of the resistance. Before 2000, when the Resistance triumphed and created this achievement in which we are celebrating its 18th anniversary today, it did not have media relations. It was just Iran and Syria. Sometimes there was friendship with the Algerian embassy, the Sudanese embassy, and a state here and a country there. There were no regional relationships. On the contrary, many did not dare to have a relationship with us because we have been on the terror list since 1992. Hence, this method called the political, diplomatic, and financial blockade did was useless. The resistance that achieved the dear victory in 2000 forced the enemy to leave defeated and without any conditions, restrictions, prizes and rewards. Today, this resistance is stronger and tougher. Its convictions, faith, beliefs, soul and new generation are stronger and tougher. You are the new generation. This new generation fought in 2006. A large number of our martyrs belong to the 1990s generation. Today a great battle is raging in the region. When you stand up to it, you are contributing in standing up to the American project in the region and in Syria. The battle is raging. We publicly headed there. We declared years ago that we will engage in this battle. At that time, we said that the Americans and their allies gathered the Takfiris from all over the world to overthrow the state in Syria. I said in a speech like this that the Syrian leadership, people and army as well as Syria's allies will not allow Damascus to fall whatever the sacrifices. Today in the Resistance and Liberation Day in which we celebrate the liberation of the South, we turn to Syria, its leadership, the Syrian Arab Army, the Syrian people, and to all their loyal allies to congratulate them on the liberation of Damascus, its surrounding and the entire Damascus outskirts from any threats and [terrorist] group, especially in the latest battle with Daesh. We congratulate Syria on the victory that took place there as well as it achieving one victory after another which paves the way for the next stage. Who will be in this position must bear the fallouts. We say that we are stronger and tougher. Our presence is greater. God willing this matter will not affect in any way at all.

I begin the last part of my speech which has to do with the internal situation. Because the regional situation has to do with Palestine and is related to the status of the region, God willing, we will speak about this on the occasion of al-Quds Day - if God keeps us alive. From here I begin with the internal Lebanese situation, also in relation with the terror lists.it was said that it will delay the formation of the government. That is not true. I do not think these lists will affect the formation of the next government. It has nothing to do with this. If the matter is that Hezbollah is included in the terror list, Hezbollah has been in the terror list since 1992. If it is the because of the Gulf blacklisting, the Gulf Cooperation Council included us in the terror list two or three years ago for our stances on Yemen, the oppressed Yemen. Despite that governments were formed. We participated in governments. The matter has nothing to do with this. Some might even say Hezbollah is in a rush to form a government fearing what is coming. No. We are in a hurry to form a government like the other political forces for the sake of the country. Not to waste time. There are major files and challenges awaiting the country. They need a government to address them. But if someone thought that rushing to form the government for was for our sake, then relax. There is no problem. We are not afraid, not from the Americans or from the terror lists or from the developments in the region. On the contrary, we believe that the developments in the region are in our interest. This is what I have been talking about a month, two months, six months, two years, three years ago. They used to tell me you are talking about dreams, wishes and hopes. In 2017, where was the region? In 2016, 2015, 2014 until 2011, when the crisis started in the entire region. We are not worried about anything at all because we are confident in God, in our people and in ourselves. We read the region very well. But there should not be a delay in forming the government for the sake of the Lebanese people and for national interests.

In this subject, I will mention two things. Thank God a Parliament Speaker and deputy speaker have been elected. The prime minister was assigned to form the government. All these steps happened quickly, smoothly and positively. Everyone is looking forward to the formation of the government. Some are saying that there are complications.

Now everyone is looking forward to the formation of the government. Some say that there are complications. It is natural to have complications. All the blocks are demanding ministries, numbers, quality and quantity. In the end, there is effort to be exerted in this matter. However, some local, Gulf, and Arab media outlets have worked to promote the issue that the conditions of Hezbollah will disrupt the formation of the government. The conditions of Hezbollah will hinder the prime minister from forming the government. Where is this coming from? So far we have not spoken about conditions. We have not announced conditions. When the MPs meet with the prime minister-designate, they will talk to him. Where did we get the conditions of obstruction? What are our conditions to even obstruct in he first place? So now there is no other problem in Lebanon except Hezbollah, regardless of whether it had or did not have conditions. The matter no doubt needs effort and cooperation between all political forces.

With regards to the topic of the government, I will talk about two things. We are looking forward to a strong government, an active government, a serious government that is making an effort and follows-up on the files. We are looking forward to a wider representation of political forces and parliamentary blocks in the government. We call on this and support it. When these political forces are represented, we call on them to bring their electoral program with them. I said in previous occasions related to the elections and I will repeat that I have read all the electoral programs that were raised in Lebanon, whether they belonged to parties, forces, civil society, or groups. There are a lot in common in these electoral programs. The political forces participating in the government should bring their electoral programs with them so that the people will believe that they will keep their promises. This is the most important thing. Everyone spoke about fighting corruption and putting an end to waste. Everyone spoke about administrative reforms, administrative decentralization of files related to livelihood, the garbage crisis, electricity, and the disadvantaged areas. There are a lot of common areas. Let the political forces be honest. Honesty, seriousness and loyalty are required along with quantity and quality. People should demand, keep up and follow up. There is a joke in Lebanon that says that before the elections the MPs remember us and after the elections they forget about us. That is not true. Now the most important thing and should be taken into consideration is our participation in the government. We also emphasize the importance of establishing a ministry of planning so that the country moves in a clear and guided path. We should not keep floundering. We should work on a daily basis. We did not demand a sovereign ministry. A lot of embassies were asking about this subject. There are a lot of newspapers and articles that are writing about this subject. They are writing that Hezbollah will demand a sovereign ministry and this will obstruct the formation of the government. We did not demand a sovereign ministry. When we meet with the prime minister-designate during the distribution of dossiers on the sects, we will not ask for a sovereign ministry. This is the composition of Lebanon. The sovereign ministry that will be given or agreed on for the Shiites is settled and agreed on with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. It is the share of the Amal Movement. Hence, we did not demand a sovereign ministry. We want to have a constructive participation in the government. With regards to the portfolios, Hezbollah and the Amal Movement will agree on the distribution of the portfolios. There will be no problem on this matter. This national duo will present a model on everything. God willing, things will go on well, and we hope that everyone will be able to cooperate to form this upcoming government.

This is the last point in my speech. Among the great responsibilities in fact - this is not a simple or partial issue - that we promised during the elections was the issue of combating corruption and stopping the financial waste in the treasury of the state. We want to keep our promise.

I spoke about combating corruption in state administrations, ministries and institutions and putting an end to waste before the elections. Now, we want to say that we are going ahead with the procedures, with the implementation. I would like to assure you that Hezbollah is determined to shouldering this responsibility. This will be the responsibility of all of Hezbollah, the central Shura, the Secretary General and all the members of the central Shura, the ministers, the deputies, the officials in Hezbollah, everyone will bear this responsibility, and they will work on it. This means it is a national battle. It is not the responsibility of one person or a certain group in Hezbollah. This is the responsibility of all of Hezbollah. And all of Hezbollah will keep up with this at the level of planning, decisions, follow up and implementation.

God willing, we will start consultations with our friends and allies in the next few days. Since everyone is united in fighting corruption and stopping waste - as long as everyone is united - we must cooperate. No one should assume that Hezbollah will open a front here or there. As long as the political forces and the various parliamentary blocs say ‘we are serious, we want to fight corruption'. Great! We have to sit, meet and share. We have to look for common steps, stances and mechanisms. We are open. And this is the interest. A national battle against corruption and waste must be fought. It should not be a partisan battle or sectarian battle because everything in Lebanon is treated in a sectarian and partisan manner. If we could embark on a broad and comprehensive national battle against corruption, this would be a great achievement. This is one of the conditions for success. We want to eat grapes and protect the country and the state. We want to stop the collapse through cooperating with each other. Naturally, as in any organized movement or institution, there should be a special file when there is a concern like this. Therefore, we promised to form a file. In the coming few days, Hezbollah's leadership has decided to study this matter. It formed a file and assigned someone responsible for this file who works under the direct supervision of Hezbollah's Secretary General because during the elections I promised that I will personally follow up on this responsibility despite the many concerns and great burdens I have. It is an important subject. We stated that this file will have someone responsible for it and a group of cadres. This file will also be responsible for preparing plans, ideas, visions and communications with friends and allies. It will also be responsible for receiving information and data from inside Hezbollah's institutions or from state institutions or from anyone who has information, given, proposal or an idea. It will also be responsible for following up on this battle but as part of a group work that will include Hezbollah's leaders, ministers, deputies and officials in cooperation with the other allies and friends and everyone we meet with. It does not only have to be allies and friends. There are people we disagree with them strategically in some cases - that is we disagree with them in the regional issue - but we might agree with them in this file or that file which is fighting corruption. There is absolutely no problem for us to cooperate with each other.

This is what we mean by a comprehensive national process or confrontation to fight corruption, stop the financial waste in the Lebanese state and prevent its collapse. Since I have promised that we will appoint a person, we will announce his name for those who want to communicate with him and provide data. We have conducted a good study and found out that we must choose one of the brothers who is at the heart of the political process. It is better that he be one of the deputies because the minister has a lot of concerns. That is why we separate the ministry and the deputyship. We are not forcing anyone. We are saying that the experience will last for four years and our ministers as well as our deputies have great responsibilities. That is why we separated them. We will also keep our promise. That is in the coming government our ministers will not be deputies. We preferred to choose a deputy because he is present in the parliament within the parliamentary committees and within the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc. Also our brothers the deputies have experiences in the movement of the state and the work mechanisms within the state in addition to a set of qualities that most of our brothers the deputies posses. We chose MP Sayyed Hassan Fadlallah to be responsible for this file who will form a center for support and planning as well as data collection and submission of proposals. He will also follow up with his brothers and the entire structure of Hezbollah in this battle, God willing. We hope to achieve good results in this indispensable, basic national battle. Brothers, our people, our brothers, our sisters and all the Lebanese, no one should imagine that someone cornered us; that now Hezbollah is embarrassed and cornered with political forces, some media outlets, some writers, thinkers or advisors. And that is why he is waging this battle because it is cornered. If we wanted to speak politically and on the media and popular level, we were always cornered when it came to this subject. But as I said during the election season, through a study, data and numbers we found that the country is going to collapse. It is heading to bankruptcy. This is not an exaggeration. Of course, it is not true that someone might say we are a bankrupt country. No, but if we continue with this waste, with this corruption and with these gutters and mechanisms and this way, the country will collapse. We did not offer blood and liberate the land, fought and confronted, and still carry the rifles alongside the Lebanese army and the people who are present to defend our country so that our country becomes bankrupt, collapses, becomes ruined, and is engulfed in chaos and civil war and people kill each other for bread.

Therefore, this is a very high responsibility. This is a battle for Hezbollah. I hope that everyone understands that this is a serious strategic battle. It is waging it with all determination and perseverance because it completes the resistance's battle which it won on 25 May 2000.

Of course, the regional concern remains: Syria after the liberation of the surroundings of Damascus and the Damascus countryside as well as the military developments in Syria. Where is Syria heading? The existing battle in Yemen, the developments in Bahrain, the events in the region and most importantly Palestine, al-Quds, the struggle of the Palestinian people. I leave these files, God willing, to the coming days.

Many happy returns. May God bless you. I ask God Almighty to bring this celebration back to our country, to His Excellency the President of the Republic, to the Parliament Speaker, the Prime Minister, the deputies, to all political leaders, parties, figures, elites, the people in all the areas, all the Lebanese components that had to do with the resistance and who had nothing to do with the resistance, those who support it and those who do not support it. I ask God to return these days with more victories, pride and dignity to all of you.

Many happy returns. Good luck.

Source: Hezbollah Media Relations, Translated by website team