MEMRI/Lebanese Writers, Muhammad Barakat & Qassem Marwani: Hizbullah Is Oppressing South Lebanon Residents – And They Are Subjected To Increasing Islamization/Nasrallah: U.S. War With Iran Would Ignite The Region, U.S. Forces And Interests Would Be Annihilated; The Precision Missiles In Lebanon Can Change The Region’s Balance Of Power

Hizbullah Leader Hassan Nasrallah: U.S. War With Iran Would Ignite The Region, U.S. Forces And Interests Would Be Annihilated; The Precision Missiles In Lebanon Can Change The Region’s Balance Of Power

Lebanese Writers,Muhammad Barakat & Qassem Marwani: Hizbullah Is Oppressing South Lebanon Residents – And They Are Subjected To Increasing Islamization
MEMRI/June 05/2019
The Lebanese daily Al-Mudun and the Shi’ite Janoubia.com website, both known to be anti-Hizbullah, published articles bemoaning the situation in South Lebanon under Hizbullah rule. The articles criticized Hizbullah’s suppression of free expression, leisure and political activity, and more, against which the residents are unwilling to protest for fear that they will be harmed.

The articles also highlighted the continuing Islamization of the region, as manifested in Hizbullah’s banning of alcohol sales, of secular New Year’s celebrations, and of parties, on pretexts such as the death of a martyr in some village or other or bereavement for Iranians killed in an earthquake in Iran. Also noted was the marked proliferation of loudspeakers through which Shi’ite prayers were regularly piped.

The following are translated excerpts of the two articles:
Muhammad Barakat/Janoubia.com
Southern Lebanon Under Hizbullah: No Freedom For Initiative Or Production – Only Factories Churning Out Fighters And Wars, Universities Teaching Religion And Accusations Of Treason
Shi’ite journalist and author Muhammad Barakat wrote on Janoubia.com that those who pride themselves for liberating South Lebanon from Israelin May 2000 and have marked the anniversary of this event ever since, have not liberated the region’s residents at all. Instead, he wrote, they have launched a drive for control, oppression and religious coercion. He added:
“When we said that all Lebanese must oppose the oppression of the residents of South Lebanon… everyone leaned towards maintaining their relations with Hizbullah, or refrained from conflict – as this oppression expanded and spread from region to region… What is unfortunate is that everyone – the Lebanese, the parties, and the Arabs – clung to their positions.
“It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to develop an idea or an initiative in Lebanon without the sponsorship of [certain] elements in [Lebanon] or the region. If this drive [for oppression], in which the residents of South Lebanon have been trapped since 2000, continues,… [that is,] bans on alcohol, singing and political activity, it will cause burnout across the region, and in all likelihood nothing is going to change.
“Israel has developed and advanced in agriculture, industry, and technology – while ‘liberated’ South Lebanon has no factories except for those churning out fighters and wars. There are no universities except for those [teaching] religion and accusations of treason. There are no real hospitals except for the spiritual [ones] that anesthetize the people and convince the young people to die instead of those who fund [the wars but do not fight].”[1]

No Selling Alcohol – Anyone Doing So Is Attacked
Qassem Marwani/Al-Mudun
In Al-Mudun, author Qassem Marwani described life in South Lebanon since Hizbullah took over: “My trip to Tyre began in Bint Jbeil, one of Hizbullah’s vital strongholds, and I had to pass through several villages full of portraits of martyrs and leaders. I found nowhere to buy alcohol until I reached the coastal villages, the Amal stronghold. Once, before Hizbullah tightened its hold on the mountain villages, it was possible to find a few liquor stores, but all their owners were forced to shut down. If anyone refused, his business was set on fire. When we wanted to buy liquor, we had to drive long distances to reach one of the Christian villages.
“In 2011, we decided to spend New Year’s Eve [December 31] at the Al-Tirus restaurant in Tyre, where they served alcoholic beverages and there were singers who performed. [But] several days before the event, the restaurant was bombed. No one claimed responsibility for it and no motive for it was published, but we knew all too well who had done it and why. It was the first step towards changing, at least partially, the way of life in Tyre, in order to later control it all. Despite the bombing, we all insisted on joining the Christian New Year celebrations, but a short time later the restaurant shut down.
“It didn’t stop with the alcohol [ban]… We used to throw parties in the village every weekend. There was music in the courtyard or garden of one of our friends, and we would dance. I remember well those days, in 2003, and the years before that. But suddenly, during one party, a Hizbullah official came and said, ‘40,000 martyrs were killed in an earthquake in Iran, and you’re partying…?’
“At a restaurant in the village, a singer was performing at an engagement party. Then a vehicle pulled up with some gunmen in it; they stopped the party and silenced the music, claiming that in the next village people were holding a memorial for a martyr. Instead of music, there were Shi’ite prayers.
“I sat alone in the town square one evening after everyone had gone to dinner, and listened sorrowfully to the voice of the Shi’ite preacher coming from the village mosque. Every day, the voice gets louder, and the number of loudspeakers increases. Every time anyone builds a house, they have to include a loudspeaker. They sound the preacher’s prayers every Friday and every day during Ramadan. [There is only] this prayer, and endless houses of mourning. Sometimes I wonder: Were I God, how would I bear all the continuous sadness and bitterness?”[2]
[1] Janoubia.com, May 25, 2019.
[2] https://www.almodon.com, May 14, 2019.

Hizbullah Leader Hassan Nasrallah: U.S. War With Iran Would Ignite The Region, U.S. Forces And Interests Would Be Annihilated; The Precision Missiles In Lebanon Can Change The Region’s Balance Of Power
MEMRI/June 05/2019
Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech he delivered on May 31, 2019 in honor of Quds Day that Trump and his administration are fully aware that a war against Iran would ignite the entire region, and he threatened that Israel and the Saud clan would be the first to “pay the price” because they had “plotted and schemed.” He said that the only thing preventing an American war with Iran is the human and material loss that the U.S. would sustain. Nasrallah went on to say that Lebanon has enough precision missiles to change the regional balance of power and that, while it does not currently have any factories for the production of precision missiles, it has the right and scientific capabilities to produce them. He added that Lebanon will build such factories and sell the missiles internationally if the Americans insist on negotiations regarding the possession of precision missiles. At several points throughout his speech, Nasrallah’s audience cheered: “We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah!” The speech aired on Al-Manar TV (Lebanon).

To view the clip of Hassan Nasrallah on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
https://www.memri.org/tv/hizbullah-nasrallah-quds-day-american-war-iran-ignite-region-precision-missiles
“War Against Iran Means That The Entire Region Would Go Up In Flames”
Hassan Nasrallah: “Let the world hear me well: Mr. Trump, his administration, and his intelligence agencies know full well that a war against Iran would not be limited to Iran alone. War against Iran means that the entire region would go up in flames.”
Crowd: “We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah!”
Hassan Nasrallah: “The entire region will go up in flames. All the American forces and interests in the region would be annihilated. All those who collaborated and conspired would pay the price – first and foremost Israel and the Saud clan.”
Crowd: “We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah!”
“The Price Of A Barrel Of Oil Would Become 200, 300, Or 400 Dollars, And [Trump] Would Lose The Elections”
Hassan Nasrallah: “Mr. Trump knows that when the region goes up in flames… He does not care about people, or who dies and who lives… What he cares about is that when the region goes up in flames, the price of a barrel of oil would become 200, 300, or 400 dollars, and he would lose the elections. This is the balance of power. When the Leader [Khamenei] says that there is not going to be a war, it means that Iran will not start a war with anyone. It has never started a war with anyone. If the U.S. wants to wage war, it should take these things into account: the extent of human and material loss that it would sustain if it enters such a war. This is what is preventing war.
“Today, on Quds Day, the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Quds Day, I repeat, for the entire world to hear: Yes, we in Lebanon have enough precision missiles. The missiles can change the face of the region and the balance of power.”
Crowd: “We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah!”
Hassan Nasrallah: “As of this moment, the night of Quds Day, there aren’t any factories for manufacturing precision missiles in Lebanon.”
“If The Americans Still Want To Open The Issue For Discussion, Then May The Entire World Hear: We Will Establish Factories For Manufacturing Precision Missiles In Lebanon”
“Our right [to manufacture precision missiles] is not up for discussion with the Americans. That’s one thing. Whether we have such a factory or not – what’s it to you? I am telling you that at this moment we do not have such a factory, but you do not have the right to even discuss with me whether I have such a factory or not. We have the right to possess weapons with which we can defend our country, regardless of whether we buy them, get them for free, or produce them. That’s one thing.
“Secondly, if the Americans still want to open this issue for discussion, then let me tell you loud and clear: we have the scientific capability, and we have the manpower – our youth – to manufacture [precision missiles]. We are able to obtain the machines that would enable us to manufacture [precision missiles]. Tonight, I am telling you that if the Americans still want to open the issue for discussion, then may the entire world hear: We will establish factories for manufacturing precision missiles in Lebanon.”
Crowd: “We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah! We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah!”
Hassan Nasrallah: “If they still want to open the issue for discussion… So far we have not built such a factory, but this way, they would convince us [to do that]. Furthermore, the [Lebanese] government talks a lot about supporting the Lebanese industry. Today, the most important market in the world is the arms industry. Why are you laughing? I am serious. We are able to manufacture precision missiles and sell them to the world, and thus support the Lebanese treasury. Okay?”