METransparent Exclusive
Beirut sources said that Hizbullah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah met Syria’s Bashar Assad, recently, in Damascus for a three-hour discussion. Immediately after his visit to Damascus, Nasrallah went into intensive discussions with the party’s “Shura” and the “Jihad” councils, relaying his concerns about the imminent demise of the Assad regime.
Sources talked of dissensions between the “Jihad Council” (commanders of the party’s military arm) and the “Shura Council”. The ‘Jihadists’ proposed a putsch to seize the country with the collaboration of the General Miichel Aoun supporters. The “Jihad Council” believes up to 5000 Aounist militia men would join the ranks of Hizbullah allowing the control of Christian areas extending from the port of Jounieh to Hamat airport, north of Beirut.
The plan envisages the control of Lebanon’s second city and port, Tripoli, with help from Hizbullah’s sleeping cells in the city and with the support of the so-called “Arab Democratic Party”, in reality a tool of Syria’s Intelligence services. Control of Tripoli would isolate the Akkar plains in the north, an area where Syrian refugees had been seeking asylum since the start of the Syrian revolt nine months ago.
The Hizbullah putsch plan, if approved, envisages house arrests for leaders of March 14 coalition, to be followed by trials in courts for “collaboration with US or Israeli intelligence services”.
Shura Council veto, Junblatt to play the middleman
Sources added that Hizbullah’s “Shura Council” rejected the whole plan, claiming such an operation would blow away Hizbullah’s legal status, compounding the effect of the probable loss of support from the doomed Assad regime, and would put Hizbullah in confrontation not only with Israel, but also with all of the Western Powers. This would inevitably lead to a war aimed at eradicating the party, and the Shiite community would pay an exorbitant price.
Sources said a committee representing the “Shura council” has asked the leader of the Druze community, Walid Junblatt, to play the middleman with the main opposition forces (Future Movement, Lebanese Forces, and the Phalanges Party) in an attempt to reach an understanding which would isolate Lebanon, and its Shiite community, from repercussions of a regime change in Damascus.
Sources said the committee had, already, met twice with Walid Junblatt, considered the most capable to play the role of intermediary. The Shura Council dropped the possibility of assigning President Michel Suleiman or PM Najib Miqati to play the role.
IRGC green light for Putsch
Sources warned Hizbullah has not, yet, opted for either of two alternatives: a repetition of its “May 7, 2008” putsch or an attempt at a reconciliation with the nation’s different components. Sources revealed that a prominent commander of Iran’s IRGC (Revlutionary Guards Corps) had been in Lebanon to urge the party’s “Jihad Council” to go ahead with the putsch plan which could compensate for Iran’s loss of its syrian ally.
Sources said Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, warned Hassan Nasrallah of the dangers of any plan to take control of the country, pointing out that the cost of such an adventure would be unbearable on a Shiite community already under siege by US sanctions on Shiite businesses in South America and Africa.