Following are excerpts from an address marking the Day of Ashura, by Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. The address aired on Al-Manar TV on December 6, 2011:
The U.S. Administration "Occupies Your Palestine, Desecrates and Threatens Your Jerusalem; It Is Responsible ... For the Detention Of Thousands Of Palestinians... What They Want In Syria Is... An Arab Regime of Capitulation" To the U.S. and Israel
Hassan Nasrallah: "I wanted to be with you for a few minutes on the Day of Ashura, so that together, before the entire world, we reiterate our choice, and we renew our commitment to Hussein.
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"Brother and sisters, on the Day of Ashura, we renew our commitment and our pledge of allegiance. Wait a few minutes, and I will appear on the screen. Don't go away. We will renew our commitment to Hussein, may he rest in peace.
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"Oh Arabs and Muslims, oh the people and the political forces, do not be misled by the U.S. administration. It is this administration that occupies your Palestine, desecrates and threatens your Jerusalem. It is responsible – even more than the [Israeli] enemy – for the detention of thousands of Palestinians in prisons, for their displacement, for their torture, and for besieging them in Gaza and in the West Bank. That is America.
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"The main issue is the attempt to target the resistance movements in the region. What they want in Syria is not reforms, not the curbing of corruption, and not pluralism. What they want in Syria is a treacherous Arab regime, an Arab regime of capitulation, that will accept everything that the U.S. and Israel want. That is the truth."
The Syrian Protestors "Should Know That They Are Being Used"
"If among those who wage demonstrations and fight, there are people who want something else, they should know that they are being used for the sake of an agenda such as this, an agenda that runs counter to their religion, their faith, to their culture, their patriotism, their Syrian nature, and to their true affiliation." […]
"The Kalashnikov, the M16, Pistols, the PKC Machine Gun, and the RPG.... Every Lebanese Has Them.... This Is the Security Problem in Lebanon – Not the Weapons of the Resistance"
"There is a real mistake. Some people say that the weapons of the resistance are the reason for the anarchy, the disturbances, and the security concerns, in Lebanon. Look at this deception. Deceiving people is the work of Satan. What weapons are really causing problems within Lebanon? Bear with me for a few minutes more."
Crowd: "We respond to your call, oh Nasrallah."
Hassan Nasrallah: "What weapons are generating a civil war? What weapons are being used for killing, thieving, and so on? We are all Lebanese, and we know full well: the Kalashnikov, the M16, pistols, the PKC machine gun, and the RPG. Right? And hand grenades. Every Lebanese has them. Have you ever seen a civil war or any security problem in Lebanon involving a Zilzal missile, for example? Or a Raad or Khaybar missile? Have mortars ever been used? Or missiles that can reach Haifa, and beyond Haifa, and far beyond Haifa? Never.
"Whenever there is a problem in Lebanon, in any region, it involves the Kalashnikov, the RPG, the PKC, or hand grenades. These are weapons that every Lebanese has. Every political party… Let nobody pretend that he does not have weapons. Everybody has these kinds of weapons. Children have them. Tribes have them. People have them. This is the security problem in Lebanon, not the weapons of the resistance." […]
