UPDATED ON:
Saturday, October 25, 2008
20:32 Mecca time, 17:32 GMT
News Middle East
Nasrallah decries 'propaganda'
Nasrallah, left, rarely appears in public because of concerns over his safety [EPA]

The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement has denied allegations linking the organisation to a Colombian drug trafficking network.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address on Saturday that claims that a drug gang was providing funding for Hezbollah were propaganda. 

"There is an attempt to damage the image of Hezbollah through lies and allegations such as the news published recently in the matter of Colombia," Nasrallah said in remarks broadcast on Hezbollah's al-Manary television channel.

"Unfortunately many Arab satellite networks did broadcast that report but without our denial."

Colombian authorities said on Tuesday that more than 100 people had been arrested in a number of countries after a drug and money-laundering operation which stretched from South America to Asia was broken up.

The attorney general's office said three of the men who had been detained inside Colombia were suspected of co-ordinating drug smuggling and channelling funds to Hezbollah and other groups. 

The Hezbollah secretary-general also rejected a report on a Iraqi website which said that he had been poisioned and had only been saved by emergency treatment from Iranian doctors.

"As you can see, I'm sitting here in front of you and I'm telling you there has been no poisoning. This is just an invention of websites," Nasrallah said.

The al-Malaf website said on Wednesday that Nasrallah, who is rarely seen in public because of fears for his safety, had survived an assassination bid in which a "highly toxic chemical substance" had been used.

Nasrallah said that the report could have been "part of the psychological war" against Hezbollah aimed at portraying internal divisions within the group, which is backed by both Tehran and Damascus.

 Source: Agencies
 
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Feedback Number of comments : 6
 
Ayub
Afghanistan
26/10/2008
What Next:
Obama is related to Osama because the name rhymes.Joe Biden is related to Ahmedinijad.What will the FBI come up with next,it never ceases to amaze me.Hesbollah has been receiving help from the Iranians and they admit to it.Maybe the Russians are helping them who knows.They should be able to defend themselves against the Murdering Israelis...l

Constantine
Israel
26/10/2008
Nasrallah is a cancer of Lebanon
Without Nasrallah the peace deal between 2 countries would be reached in 3 months. The terrirtorial issue is minor, a few sq km, the advantages of trade, tourism, energy cooperation etc would be awesome. However, the cancer grips poor Lebanon and until dismantled, I don't see any bright future for this lovely country. As to the drugs-South Lebanon is known as drug growing area, including drugs supply to Israel. There is nothing astonishing in international drug cooperation between the parties.

seph
Philippines
26/10/2008
To constantine
Don't accused Nasrallah for hindering the peace process in Lebanon. It is the Israel who broke the peace process and attacked Lebanon without any justification at all for your own information. If God didn't caused the hezbollah to intervene,Israel would have invaded the Lebanon. Nowadays, news channel isn't anymore a very trustful and credible source of truth. There is a clear discrimination in their news like media blackout, black propaganda, psych war and etc.

Ricardo
Brazil
27/10/2008
War on Lebanon
I have a hint that the attack of Israel on Lebanon was a way for Israelis and North Americans know Hezbollah defenses that was supplied by Iran. Should Hezbollah have lost easily, Iran would be the next target. As Hezbollah showed their defense capacity, Israel and USA postponed the war on Iran. Thanks Hezbollah. Wtih your strong resistance you may have saved thousands of lives on Iran.

boy_george
Israel
28/10/2008
Response to Ayubs comment
You're right about that Ayub, Obama may not win the election because the average American when they get to the polling place they might look at the Democrats as: Obama Biden Laden!

Nibble
Malaysia
26/10/2008
Israel Propaganda
In the world today those who speaks loader are believed to be truth bearer even though what they bring is actual lies. Israel will try to invade Lebanon again and this is just one of the steps. Trying to convince the world to total massacre of innocent civilians of the Arab world. They did it to the Palestinians, why not doing it to Lebanon right?

 
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