July 18, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Sakr says uproar over Nasrallah’s STL speech is over

In an exclusive interview with NOW Lebanon correspondent Hussein Dakroub on Sunday, Lebanon First bloc MP Okab Sakr said that the uproar raised by Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s speech on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is over.

Sakr also called on rival Lebanese factions to close ranks and end their political rhetoric, saying the country—including its tourism industry—faces serious threats from Israel. “What is required is the creation of a national safety network to confront these threats,” he added.

Nasrallah said in a speech on Friday that an indictment by the STL into the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is an Israeli project designed to target Hezbollah by stirring up sectarian strife in Lebanon.

Nasrallah’s speech has since drawn harsh criticisms mainly from March 14 MPs and politicians, with some saying the speech fueled sectarian tension in the country.

Sakr demanded that a probe be launched into issues raised by Nasrallah’s speech, including politicians who criticized the Lebanese army intelligence for arresting alleged Israeli agents in the telecom sector, and the government decision on May 5, 2008 to dismantle Hezbollah’s private telecommunications network.

In his speech, Nasrallah implicitly criticized the Internal Security Forces (ISF) Information Branch for failing to arrest Alfa mobile phone company employee Charbel Kazzi, who was detained by the army intelligence last month on suspicion of having spied for Israel.

Sakr praised Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s visit to Syria on Sunday, during which ministers from both countries signed 17 agreements for cooperation in various fields.

“It is a crucial and important visit,” he said. “Lebanese-Syrian relations are, to a great extent, heading on the right track.”

Sakr, however, regretted that Hariri’s Syria visit was overshadowed by tension in Lebanon over Nasrallah’s speech.