BEIRUT: Hizbullah over the weekend fired the latest shot in the fight surrounding the UN probe into the death of former premier Rafik Hariri, as Lebanon braced itself for the controversial visit of Iranian President Mahmood Ahmadinejad. Party Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah accused the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) of protecting false witnesses who misled a preliminary investigation, leading to the detention without trial of four former generals for four years. Jamil al-Sayyed, the former head of Lebanese General Security, has been the most outspoken of the four in his criticism of the court and has asked The Hague to view files detailing the circumstances that led to his incarceration. An STL judge approved the request but the decision was appealed by Prosecutor Daniel Bellemarre. “Why is Bellemare insisting on refusing to hand over even part of the files of the false witnesses?” Nasrallah asked supporters via video link on Saturday. “Why is there insistence to protect false witnesses by Bellemare and the United Nations?” Last week Syria called for the arrests of 33 individuals, including Lebanese security and judicial officials, whom Damascus suspects of having provided false witnesses to implicate Bashar al-Assad's regime in Hariri's murder. The decision prompted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to insist that the STL not be tampered with by external influences. Nasrallah's accusation comes just days ahead of Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon, in which the Iranian President is expected to make a tour of the south, a plan which the United States and members of Lebanese Parliament have already labeled “provocative.” Hizbullah's leader asked for a massive popular turnout to support the visit. “I urge the Lebanese people and the Palestinians [in refugee camps] to welcome the president of Iran and to take part massively in the events organized for his visit,” Nasrallah said. He also fleshed out some of the President's itinerary, suggesting visits to locations hit by Israeli artillery in recent years were on the agenda. “Ahmadinejad wants to visit Qana to pay homage to the martyrs and Bint Jbeil because of the symbol of resistance it represents,” he added. Media reports in the run up to the visit suggested that Ahmadinejad – who has made no secret of his aversion to the existence of a Jewish state – might approach the Blue Line and throw a stone into Israeli territory, something Nasrallah denied. “His program does not include Mr Ahmadinejad throwing a stone at Israel on the border,” he said. “If President Ahmadinejad asks my opinion, I shall say: ‘A stone? You are capable of throwing more than a stone',” he added, to raucous applause. Nasrallah and Ahmadinejad are set to appear together at a rally in Hizbullah's stronghold of south Beirut on Wednesday evening.
