Lebanese Hezbollah raps Foreign Meddling in Syria

Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Movement Seyed Hassan Nasrallah condemned foreign interference in Syrian affairs, and called on Syrian groups to start a political process to end violence in the Arab country. Speaking at a televised address to Lebanese people in Beirut, Nasrallah stressed that the issue of Syria should be resolved politically and without any foreign interference. "I call on Syrians to lay down arms and start a political process," he underscored. "We condemn all acts of violence in Syria," Nasrallah stated, and called for an end to bloodshed in the neighboring Arab nation. Nasrallah said the latest developments in Syria show that hopes for the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, or for the army to turn against the government, are futile. The remarks by Nasrallah came after media reports said that Saudi Arabia and Qatar plan to arm Syrian opposition rebels. Saudi Arabia and Qatar indicated earlier this month that they are prepared to help the Syrian opposition military forces. Kuwait's parliament passed a nonbinding resolution calling for the government to provide weapons to the rebels and break ties with Damascus, the Washington Post reported earlier this month. Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country. This is while Assad has done a lot in recent months to reform laws and conditions in his country. The Syrian president announced the end to the state of emergency, granted citizenship to many Syrian Kurds and promised parliamentary elections later this year. In January, he issued the latest of thousands of amnesties for those detained since the uprising began. Syria also in February held a referendum on the country's new constitution. More than 14 million Syrians over 18 could vote and almost 90 percent of the voters approved a new constitution in the referendum. Under the new charter, freedom is 'a sacred right' and 'the people will govern the people' in a multi-party democratic system based on Islamic law, the state television reported. The document allows multiple political parties to compete in elections for the legislature, sets a limit of two seven-year terms on the president, and eliminates a clause that guarantees political supremacy to Assad's Ba'ath Party.