'Greatest calamity in the modern history of Lebanon is called Hezbollah,' says Geagea

BEIRUT — Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces (LF), said Sunday night in Meerab that Hezbollah is “the greatest calamity in the modern history of Lebanon,” accusing the group of paralyzing the country and blocking the emergence of a functioning state, according to al-Markazia.

"The greatest calamity in the modern history of Lebanon is called Hezbollah. It has not allowed the state to exist, and it has paralyzed politics, leading to corruption and deterioration at all levels," he lamented.

"Hezbollah overwhelms us every day with its theories, and we must show the truth to the Lebanese," he insisted, considering that Iran's continued support for Hezbollah is not free of charge, but serves regional objectives and is used as a tool in international negotiations, to the detriment of Lebanon's stability.

"Hezbollah claims to be a resistance movement, but true resistance in Lebanon falls to the Lebanese State, not to Hezbollah," Geagea declared emphatically.

The head of the LF party stressed, however, that he bears "no particular animosity" toward the Hezbollah, nor any narrow political or electoral motivations for his opposition to it.

"The LF will continue to confront Hezbollah politically and to speak the truth without fear or compromise, because as long as there is a weapon outside the state, there is no true state in Lebanon," he said.

The LF leader gave his speech just hours after the latest address Sunday by Hezbollah's secretary general, Naim Qassem, who said that his group's disarmament was being used by Israel and the United States, along with their allies on the domestic political scene, to weaken Lebanon and drive a wedge between the party and its ally, the Amal movement.

Geagea once again called for the disarmament of Hezbollah, a step the government has tried to implement since last summer.