[News] Nasrallah Interview - "Goodbye to the Unipolar World"

[Anti-Imperialist News]

http://www.counterpunch.org/nasrallah08172006.html

August 17, 2006


"Goodbye to the Unipolar World"


The Nasrallah Interview

By CounterPunch News Service


 From an interview conducted shortly before the ceasefire by 
reporters from the Turkish Labor Party daily, Evrensel.

Q. What is the current state of your relations with the Socialist movement?

Hasan Nasrallah: The socialist movement, which has been away from 
international struggle for a considerable time, at last has begun to 
offer moral support for us once again. The most concrete example of 
this has been Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela. What most of 
the Muslim states could not do has been done by Chavez, by the 
withdrawal of Venezuela's ambassador to Israel. He furthermore 
communicated to us his support for our resistance. This has been an 
immense source of moral strength for us.

We can observe a similar reaction within the Turkish Revolutionary 
Movement. We had socialist brothers from Turkey who went to Palestine 
in 1960s to fight against Israel. And one of them still remains in my 
memory and my heart; Deniz Gezmis..!

[Deniz Gezmis, 1947-1972, was a Turkish revolutionary in the 
Marxist-Leninist tradition. He led major student actions in the late 
1960s, went to a Fatah training camp in Lebanon in late 1969, 
returned to Turkey where his group seized four US army privates in 
Ankara. After their release of the soldiers, Gezmis was captured, 
tried for attempting to overthrow the Turkish state and, with two of 
his comrades, was hanged in the central prison in Ankara on May 6, 
1972. Editors.]

Q. What is the importance of Denizs for you?

Hasan Nasrallah: We now want new Denizs. Our ranks are always open to 
new Denizs against the oppressors. Deniz will always live in the 
hearts of the peoples of Palestine and Lebanon. No-one should doubt 
this. Unfortunately, there is no longer a common fight and fraternity 
against the common enemy left over by the Denizs. What we would have 
liked is for our socialist brothers in Lebanon to fight against 
imperialism and Zionism shoulder to shoulder. This fight is not only 
our fight. It is the common fight of all those oppressed across the 
world. Don't forget that if the peoples of Palestine and Lebanon lose 
this war, this will mean the defeat of all the oppressed people of 
the world. In our fight against imperialism, the revolutionaries 
should also undertake a responsibility and should become, in the 
hearts of our people of Palestine and Lebanon, Denizs once again.

Q. It is possible to see the posters of Che, Chavez and Ahmadinejad 
side by side in the streets of Beirut. Are these the signs of a new 
polarization?

Hasan Nasrallah: We salute the leaders and the peoples of Latin 
America. They have resisted the American bandits heroically and have 
been a source of moral strength for us. They are guiding the way for 
the oppressed peoples. Go and wonder around our streets..! You will 
witness how our people have embraced Chavez and Ernesto Che Guevara. 
Nearly in every house, you will come across posters of Che or Chavez.

What we are saying to our socialist friends who want fight together 
with us for fraternity and freedom is: Do not come at all if you are 
going to say "Religion is an opiate". We do not agree with this 
analysis. Here is the biggest proof of this in our streets with the 
pictures of Chavez, Che, Sadr and Khamenei together. These leaders 
are saluting our people in unison. So long as we respect your 
beliefs, and you respect ours, there is no imperialist power we cannot defeat!

Q. Returning to threats in the region, western governments are 
intensifying their pressure on Damascus and Tehran, for which they 
are proposing a "change of regime." Some sources are of the view that 
the attack on Lebanon will be directed on Syria. According to your 
point of view, is a regional war possible?

Hasan Nasrallah: The centers of imperialist power want to make 
collaborators of our region as a whole. They expect us to kneel 
before them. Syria, Iran and Hezbollah are opposing this. The 
provocation concerning the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik 
Hariri and the efforts to secure the withdrawal of the Syrian army 
from Lebanon and -- going even further -- their wish to attack 
callously on to Tehran and Damascus are all due to this reason.

Syria, with Iran and Hezbollah will certainly resist this. We are 
going to resist for our motherland and freedom. We are going to 
resist in order not kneel before them. The imperialists of the west 
are seeking to make a second Kosovo out of Lebanon and our region. 
They are seeking to create a clash in between sects. But we have 
spoiled this trick. In our streets, the whole of Lebanon, with its 
Christian, Sunnis and Shias, are flying the flags of Hezbollah. 
Again, "the unipolar world" has already been left behind in history. 
There is us, there is Iran, there is Syria, there is Venezuela, Cuba 
and North Korea. There are the resisting peoples of Palestine, Iraq 
and Afghanistan! As long as there is imperialism and occupations, 
these people will continue resisting. They can forget about peace. If 
they want peace, they should now respect the freedom of peoples and 
should eliminate the collaborators. God willing, the victory will be ours.

They are not going to be able to turn our country and region into a 
Kosovo. Now our people are aware of everything and will not play into 
imperialist tricks. We will absolutely not permit them to attack Iran 
or Syria. We are going to fight for our freedom to the last drop of 
our blood. Let no one doubt this. They are claiming that Iran has 
nuclear weapons at its disposal. On the contrary, most of the nuclear 
weapons are in the hands of Israel and the US. Furthermore, nuclear 
weapons are nothing but excuses put forward in order to create 
collaborating regimes in the region.

Q. There are claims that Hezbollah is being directed by Tehran. What 
are your views on this issue?

Hasan Nasrallah: This is a great lie. We are an independent Lebanese 
organization. We do not take orders from anyone. But this does not 
mean that we are not going to form alliances. We are on the side of 
Iran and Syria. They are our brothers. We are going to oppose any 
attack directed at Tehran and Damascus to the last drop of our blood 
just as we do in Lebanon. We uphold global resistance against global 
imperial terrorism.

Q. Is there any other additional point you want to make?

Hasan Nasrallah: Peace cannot be unilateral. So long as there is 
imperialism in the world, a permanent peace is impossible. This war 
will not come to an end as long as there are occupations in Iraq, 
Afghanistan and Palestine.


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