Hassan Nasrallah Backs Murders in Syria.

One time radical and firebrand, Hassan Nasrallah, has gone with the money.

He is backing the murderous President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad. Not too surprising, because if he didn’t, he would lose the support of the Iranian regime and their money.

Since the uprising against the Syrian dictators some 1100 people have been killed by the regime and their thugs, according to Sawasiah, ABC News reports:

“Human rights activists in Syria say the two-month crackdown by security forces on anti-government protesters has cost the lives of at least 1,100 people.

The Syrian human rights organisation Sawasiah says it has the names of 1,100 people reportedly killed during the unrest that broke out in mid-March.

Most were from southern areas in Hauran Plain – including the city of Deraa where the protests first began two months ago.

The human rights group says it in fact has heard reports of another 200 civilian deaths but has no names to base the figures on.

The death toll in Syria rose sharply after the protests spread from Deraa to other parts of the country.”

Yahoo News has more on Nasrallah’s speech:

” “We call on all Syrians to preserve their country as well as the ruling regime, a regime of resistance, and to give their leaders a chance to cooperate with all Syria’s communities in order to implement the necessary reforms,” he said in the speech broadcast by his party’s Al-Manar television.

The speech, marking the 11th anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon after a 22-year occupation, was broadcast on a giant screen to thousands of Hezbollah supporters in the village of Nabi Sheet, a Shiite stronghold in the eastern Bekaa Valley.

It was the first time the reclusive Hezbollah chief commented on the protests in Syria, which along with Iran is a major backer of his Shiite militant party.

“The difference between the Arab uprisings and Syria… is that President Assad is convinced that reforms are necessary, unlike Bahrain and other Arab countries,” said Nasrallah, who has not appeared in public since 2008.

Lebanon, What’s Going On?

It seems like ages since I touched upon issues in the Middle East but the collapse of the Lebanese government is rather worrying, yet there’s not much significant coverage in the Western media, as far as I can see.

I gather that the assassination of Rafik Harir is at the heart of matters.

According to Reuters there may soon be an indictment of those guilty for Rafik Harir’s murder, and it looks as if Hezbollah are in the frame for it (along with the Syrian government), here’s more:

“(Reuters) – The prosecutor of the U.N.-backed Lebanon tribunal will “imminently” send a draft indictment over the 2005 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri to the pre-trial judge, sources familiar with the case said on Friday.

Tension in Lebanon ahead of the indictment boiled over this week as the country’s government collapsed when ministers from Lebanon’s Shi’ite Hezbollah group walked out of Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri’s coalition, testing political faultlines across the Middle East.

Speculation had been mounting that investigators at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will indict Hezbollah members over the assassination, a prospect Lebanese politicians had already feared could spark a crisis and possible violence.

Sources told Reuters that the indictment will be sent to tribunal pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen for confirmation “imminently, saying it could “perhaps come as early as next week.” It is now expected that the court will make an announcement when it has been filed.

Hezbollah has repeatedly denied any involvement in the killing. Its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said last year he will not allow the arrest of any of the group’s members. “

I worry that Hezbollah will be tempted to use their considerable military muscle to resolve the crisis, either internally or by provoking a conflict with Israel. Not good.

This is the web site of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.