27 تشرين الثاني 2000
Shiite leaders on Saturday demanded a clear position from Rafik Hariri’s government on relations with Libya, which they blame for the disappearance of Imam Musa Sadr.
They also accused Libya of trying to “create a crisis,” insisting that it would not succeed in threatening Lebanon.
In fiery speeches that crumbled Hariri’s efforts to smooth tense relations with Libya, Speaker Nabih Berri, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and head of the Higher Shiite Council Sheikh Mohammed Mehdi Shamseddine, harshly condemned Libya.
The accusations went as far as blaming Libya for sponsoring the civil war, with Shamseddine saying Libya only offered aid to the country during the war.
“Yes, Libya gave aid when there was sectarian uprising in the country, but when the age of resistance rose, what happened to this aid? This is a big question to be posed,” said Shamseddine, whose speech was read by his deputy, Sheikh Abedl-Amir Qabalan at the Higher Shiite Council headquarters on Airport Road.
The event was organized as the concluding session of a three-day conference examining the ideology of Imam Sadr regarding his views on the resistance.
Imam Sadr and two companions mysteriously disappeared in 1978 during an official trip to Libya. Libya has maintained that Imam Sadr boarded a plane to Rome. However, Italy has denied that he ever arrived there.
“We demand a clear position from the government on this and we demand that it not be affected by threats,” Shamseddine said. “Why is there this concern about cutting relations with Libya?”
Libya recently threatened to deport thousands of Lebanese it hosts and to cut trade relations with Lebanon following Berri’s failure to invite its ambassador, Ali Maria, to the new Parliament’s inaugural session.
Libya expressed its anger by recalling Maria and making the deportation threat. In a quick response, Hariri traveled to Libya during a tour of the region and received a promise from Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi to separate economics from politics.
However, following Saturday’s harsh positions by representatives of the Shiite community, Hariri’s efforts seem to have crumbled.
“if there is one good thing I did during the nine years I was speaker, it was not invite the Libyan ambassador to any official event,” Berri said. “Not because Imam Sadr is the father of the Shiite but because he is a national leader.”
He expressed suspicion toward Libya’s recent reaction.
“There’s something fishy,” he said. “My position against Libya has been consistent so why are they (the Libyans) trying to stir trouble now? I believe they’re trying to create a crisis because they’ve found a receptive angle and this is unacceptable.”
The speaker also said that the fact that Imam Sadr disappeared only four months after Israel’s invasion of the South was not a coincidence.
He alluded to “suspicious security activity taking place” and warned that “no one can even attempt to threaten us with things that we’re experts on.”
“We can assume position of speaker or any other position when we want to,” he warned.
Berri was also critical of Libya’s intention to establish a joint Lebanese-Libyan committee to look into Imam Sadr’s disappearance, saying it was an attempt to prove its innocence.
“This is not a car accident and this position is not a personal one. We won’t spare any effort to determine the fate of our imam,” Berri said.
Nasrallah was equally harsh, saying the inability to gather clear evidence on what happened to Imam Sadr during his trip to Libya in 1978 was both “painful and insulting.”
“I may be adopting an emotional position here. I won’t delve into the past and talk about the positions of our consecutive governments, but from now on, I want to know how this government is going to deal with this issue.”
The Hizbuallah leader demanded that a high-level ministerial committee investigate the case, requesting that it be established under the supervision of the Higher Shiite Council.
“We demand a clear mechanism with clear goals. We haven’t heard anything from this government. Does it intend to look into this case?” he asked. “The speaker is concerned with this issue because he is the leader of Amal, which Imam Sadr founded, and not because he is speaker.”
Nasrallah even undermined the government’s position, saying that if it was unwilling to show concern for the case, “citizens will take matters into their own hands.”
“What would the government’s position be then, if people took the matter into their hands?”
Nasrallah did not show any concern for the dangers of infuriating Libya and risking the deportation of at least 15,000 Lebanese whose livelihood depends on Libya, or that of local apple farmers who export their produce to the country.
“It’s unacceptable that we deal with this issue as if it’s down to merely apples and Lebanese workers. On our part, when we believe in a cause, we would rather spill our blood than be threatened with money, “he said.
Nasrallah also criticized Libya for expressing its intention to “reward Lebanon for its victory over the Israeli enemy.”
“If Libya really wants to reward us, I say on behalf of Hizbullah and Amal that those who achieved this victory are the pupils of Imam Sadr and Libya should return Imam Sadr and his companions as a reward,” he said.
The Hizbullah leader concluded his speech by saying this should be the year of uncovering Imam Sadr’s fate.
