Berri flays Gadhafi over Sadr΄s disappearance ~ Resistance is a Need and Necessity
Source: AFP & Daily Star, 1-9-2008
BEIRUT: Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday held Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi responsible for the disappearance of Imam Moussa al-Sader, a Shiite cleric who founded Berri's Amal Movement. "We tell the leader of the Libyan regime Moammar Gadhafi: you are personally responsible for the disappearance of Imam Moussa al-Sadr," Berri said in a speech to the crowds in the Southern town of Nabatieh.
"Let no one think that we will forget or make any compromise," he added.
Addressing the Libyan leader, Berri warned, "your tactics and maneuvers will not change anything ... We insist on revealing the truth in the case of Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his two companions." Tens of thousands joined the rally to mark 30 years since Sadr vanished without trace in Libya, with the circumstances of his disappearance as mysterious as ever.
Sadr would have been 80 this year, but many Lebanese believe that the cleric and his two companions, Sheikh Mohammad Yaacoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine, were killed after a dispute with Gadhafi. Others believe he is still being held in a Libyan jail.
Lebanon last week issued an arrest warrant for Gadhafi over the disappearance of the imam on August 31, 1978.
Libya has denied involvement in Sadr's disappearance, saying he left Libya for Italy. But the Italian government has always denied that he ever arrived there.
However, Italian authorities in 2004 returned a passport found in Italy that allegedly belonged to the imam.
Moving away from the Sadr case, Berri urged the Lebanese to "sleep with their eyes open" in order to be ready for any "Israeli" threats.
"I can't give you any assurances, but I am asking you to beware ... "Israel" and terrorism are two sides of the same coin," he said, adding that ""Israel" and terrorism" wanted to destabilize Lebanon and destroy the national economy.
"All "Israeli" threats should be taken seriously," Berri said, referring to recent threats by a number of "Israeli" officials, who vowed to destroy Lebanon's infrastructure should Hizbullah lead the Lebanese government.
The threats were made by "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, his War Minister Ehud Barak, and Environment Minister Gideon Ezra.
Commenting on the "Israeli" threats, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah recently vowed to destroy "Israel" should it wage a new war on Lebanon.
"I heard the "Israelis" complain about the resistance's possible possession of anti-aircraft missiles, while in fact the real problem resides in the continuous "Israeli" air violations of Lebanese sovereignty," Berri told the gathering masses on Sunday, adding that the resistance was a "national necessity which Lebanon cannot do without."
"Resistance was the result of "Israeli" aggression ... It was the result of the state's failure to protect and defend the South," the speaker said.
"I would like to tell whoever is accusing the resistance of provoking "Israel" and dragging it into a war with Lebanon that "Israel" had attacked Lebanon on 67 occasions before the existence of any resistance, be it Palestinian or Lebanese," he added.
Berri went on to accuse "Israel" of stirring internal strife in Lebanon in the aftermath of its "failure to defeat the resistance" during the summer war of 2006.
""Israel" wants the resistance to be at odds with the Lebanese state ... After its defeat in 2006, "Israel" started carrying out a plan aimed at pressuring the resistance by creating sectarian rifts in Lebanon," he said.
Commenting on the recent accidental shooting that targeted a Lebanese Armed Forces helicopter and led to the death of First Lieutenant Samer Hanna, Berri called for the formation of a joint coordination committee between representatives of the Lebanese military and the resistance to avoid similar "painful" incidents.
The helicopter was targeted by Hizbullah gunfire amid reports that said that resistance fighters had mistaken the aircraft for an "Israeli" one.
Hizbullah handed over the man who opened fire on Friday and said it was ready to accept whatever judicial authorities decide on this matter.
"So the painful incident like the one in Sojod would not be repeated, I call for the formation of a joint coordination committee between the Lebanese Army and the resistance," Berri said.
Earlier on Sunday, MP Hassan Yaacoub, the son of Sheikh Mohammad Yaacoub, one of Sadr's two companions, received a number of delegations at his residence in the Bekaa town of Bednayel.
The delegations, which visited Yaacoub to mark the 30th anniversary of his father's disappearance, included representatives from Hizbullah, the Free Patriotic Movement, and the Marada Movement.
Yaacoub also received a delegation of Catholic bishops from the Bekaa Valley town of Zahle.
BEIRUT: Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday held Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi responsible for the disappearance of Imam Moussa al-Sader, a Shiite cleric who founded Berri's Amal Movement. "We tell the leader of the Libyan regime Moammar Gadhafi: you are personally responsible for the disappearance of Imam Moussa al-Sadr," Berri said in a speech to the crowds in the Southern town of Nabatieh.
"Let no one think that we will forget or make any compromise," he added.
Addressing the Libyan leader, Berri warned, "your tactics and maneuvers will not change anything ... We insist on revealing the truth in the case of Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his two companions." Tens of thousands joined the rally to mark 30 years since Sadr vanished without trace in Libya, with the circumstances of his disappearance as mysterious as ever.
Sadr would have been 80 this year, but many Lebanese believe that the cleric and his two companions, Sheikh Mohammad Yaacoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine, were killed after a dispute with Gadhafi. Others believe he is still being held in a Libyan jail.
Lebanon last week issued an arrest warrant for Gadhafi over the disappearance of the imam on August 31, 1978.
Libya has denied involvement in Sadr's disappearance, saying he left Libya for Italy. But the Italian government has always denied that he ever arrived there.
However, Italian authorities in 2004 returned a passport found in Italy that allegedly belonged to the imam.
Moving away from the Sadr case, Berri urged the Lebanese to "sleep with their eyes open" in order to be ready for any "Israeli" threats.
"I can't give you any assurances, but I am asking you to beware ... "Israel" and terrorism are two sides of the same coin," he said, adding that ""Israel" and terrorism" wanted to destabilize Lebanon and destroy the national economy.
"All "Israeli" threats should be taken seriously," Berri said, referring to recent threats by a number of "Israeli" officials, who vowed to destroy Lebanon's infrastructure should Hizbullah lead the Lebanese government.
The threats were made by "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, his War Minister Ehud Barak, and Environment Minister Gideon Ezra.
Commenting on the "Israeli" threats, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah recently vowed to destroy "Israel" should it wage a new war on Lebanon.
"I heard the "Israelis" complain about the resistance's possible possession of anti-aircraft missiles, while in fact the real problem resides in the continuous "Israeli" air violations of Lebanese sovereignty," Berri told the gathering masses on Sunday, adding that the resistance was a "national necessity which Lebanon cannot do without."
"Resistance was the result of "Israeli" aggression ... It was the result of the state's failure to protect and defend the South," the speaker said.
"I would like to tell whoever is accusing the resistance of provoking "Israel" and dragging it into a war with Lebanon that "Israel" had attacked Lebanon on 67 occasions before the existence of any resistance, be it Palestinian or Lebanese," he added.
Berri went on to accuse "Israel" of stirring internal strife in Lebanon in the aftermath of its "failure to defeat the resistance" during the summer war of 2006.
""Israel" wants the resistance to be at odds with the Lebanese state ... After its defeat in 2006, "Israel" started carrying out a plan aimed at pressuring the resistance by creating sectarian rifts in Lebanon," he said.
Commenting on the recent accidental shooting that targeted a Lebanese Armed Forces helicopter and led to the death of First Lieutenant Samer Hanna, Berri called for the formation of a joint coordination committee between representatives of the Lebanese military and the resistance to avoid similar "painful" incidents.
The helicopter was targeted by Hizbullah gunfire amid reports that said that resistance fighters had mistaken the aircraft for an "Israeli" one.
Hizbullah handed over the man who opened fire on Friday and said it was ready to accept whatever judicial authorities decide on this matter.
"So the painful incident like the one in Sojod would not be repeated, I call for the formation of a joint coordination committee between the Lebanese Army and the resistance," Berri said.
Earlier on Sunday, MP Hassan Yaacoub, the son of Sheikh Mohammad Yaacoub, one of Sadr's two companions, received a number of delegations at his residence in the Bekaa town of Bednayel.
The delegations, which visited Yaacoub to mark the 30th anniversary of his father's disappearance, included representatives from Hizbullah, the Free Patriotic Movement, and the Marada Movement.
Yaacoub also received a delegation of Catholic bishops from the Bekaa Valley town of Zahle.
