Aoun: Hezbollah ended but deserves decent end, Larijani left meeting 'agitated'
President Joseph Aoun said that Hezbollah's military wing has ended and that all the group wants now is a "decent" end. The President had many times called for dialogue with Hezbollah and has been known to have a soft approach to the group's disarmament.
"They come to me knowing this (that they have ended militarily) but they are keen on securing an honorable end and a decent exit. This is exactly what we are striving to achieve, away from populist speeches prevailing in the country ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections," Aoun told Tuesday the Asas Media news portal, although he later expressed his commitment to disarm the group and expand the state's authority to all of Lebanon.
"The state will have absolute control over the south and everywhere else. It will impose its authority upon every patch of land," Aoun vowed. "He who thinks otherwise is delusional."
Aoun said he told Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Larijani "very harsh" words that disturbed him. "I told him that the Shiites of Lebanon are my responsibility not his and he left agitated. He later requested an appointment but I did not receive him."
"The Shiites are tired. They have been suffering for forty years without a horizon," Aoun said, quoting Sayyed Moussa al-Sadr who once said that Lebanon would be the first to defend Palestine when everyone else participates in that, but will not fight alone.
Source: Naharnet
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