Al-Manar – Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah stressed that the world is before a battle against an enemy called “Coronavirus” and everyone is held responsible to confront it, but promised that we shall triumph in this battle. In a speech delivered live on Friday evening, His Eminence said that the problem today is that the enemy in this battle is still an unknown element in most of its aspects. “Today we are facing an enemy whose threat is clear, large and wide. This threat does not stop at borders, but rather involves the world.”
“We are in midst of a warfare, it’s a global war being fought by people and exposing world governments as a priority to be handled,” Sayyed Nasrallah said. “In any battle, there’s a target and an enemy, the problem in this battle is that the enemy is “coronavirus” which is anonymous in all its aspects. Its threat has become obvious to all people,” he added.
Peoples’ lives now is the top priority, anything else can be compensated, His eminence indicated, hinting at the closure of schools, universities, eateries and others across the Lebanese territories for fear of coronavirus spread. “Responsibility vis a vis coronavirus is comprehensive. Everyone in Lebanon is responsible in fighting it all in his specialty and the time is not for settling scores or bickering,” Hezbollah S.G. said.
“At the forefront of this battle are the Health ministry and staff, hospitals, doctors and all medical field staff, they shall be viewed as frontline officers,” Sayyed Nasrallah stressed, hailing all medical staff battling this virus. The objective is realistic and achievable but it needs a decision, a will, patience and an accurate follow-up, he added. Sayyed Nasrallah called on people to be transparent if they have any symptoms, adding that it is a religious duty to abide by the instructions of the health authorities. “The virus can be defeated if everyone takes responsibility and plays their part,” he said.
“There is no problem in critics voicing their opinions, but we must shun divisions and I hope you will not discriminate regionally, racially or confessionally over this virus. We are before a humanitarian battle par excellence. We have the Chinese experience which indicates that the pandemic can be contained,” Sayyed Nasrallah said, adding that until the world discovers a cure for this pandemic, the objective must be to limit the spread of the virus as well as human losses. Sayyed Nasrallah urged people to pray in their homes and not to go to mosques and churches. He hailed Iranian officials for being transparent about the coronavirus cases in Iran, criticizing Trump as being “the biggest liar on earth”.
In this context, Sayyed Nasrallah also indicated that the Health Ministry has been transparent from the first day and all claims about a cover-up by the ministry or Hezbollah are baseless and mere lies, calling upon it to continue with such spirituality regardless of causalities and deaths. We put all our capabilities, health cadres, manpower and institutions at the government’s disposal and it’s up to it to declare a state of emergency.
Concerning a prospective handling for the emergency situation, Sayyed Nasrallah pointed to the need for social solidarity to prevent any imbalance in social security, calling on banks to act responsibly. “You have a lot of money and you have made huge profit and now you must shoulder your responsibility. You are the first side that must offer help to the government, the health sector and social solidarity, so that the people and the country can win the battle.”
“The challenge today is the economic collapse, so you can contribute to help, just as families have provided their most precious thing in the face of the occupation,” he added, calling on them to refer to the PM (Hassan Diab) and provide assistance to the Lebanese state to contribute to addressing health or economic conditions. “Any international support to help extract Lebanon from a crippling financial and economic crisis must be free of conditions that hurt the poor or the country’s best interests,” His eminence said, voicing rejection to financial aid whose conditions violate constitution or national interests.
On the pillars of battling “Coronavirus”, Sayyed Nasrallah indicated that this stage needs prayer, patience and guidance from scientists and doctors, as well as resorting to prayers to Allah as our most effective weapon in the current battle. His Eminence concluded by saying, “The crime committed by the occupation forces yesterday in Iraq began to receive appropriate answers from the Iraqis.”
