Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's disclosure that his party is likely to be implicated in the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri could send the country sliding back to chaos, analysts warn. In a rare press conference late Thursday, Nasrallah said that Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of the slain ex-premier, had informed him months ago that Hezbollah members would be accused by the STL. Saad Hariri is scheduled to speak Saturday at the opening of the two-day founding convention of the Future Movement, with Lebanon waiting to see what response he will give, if any, to recent declarations by Nasrallah. Sources in the movement, however, say that Saad Hariri will maintain silence on remarks concerning the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), a UN-backed court tasked with finding and trying former prime minister Rafiq Hariri's killers, and that he is concerned to maintain calm and “refrain from entering into argument that may affect stability and the progress of the court and pursuit of the truth”. “This new situation is very alarming,” said Paul Salem, head of the Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East Center. “Hezbollah is in a very worrisome position and the tribunal is just one symptom of this position,” Salem told a news agency. Politicians and judges, including STL president Antonio Cassese, have said they expect an indictment by the end of the year, sparking fears of a repeat of the violence in May 2008 that brought Lebanon close to a new civil war. Fares Soaid, the secretary general of Hezbollah's main rivals, the March 14 Movement, meanwhile, responded Friday to calls for “self-criticism and review” by saying that Hezbollah was not asking for “self-review” but instead “surrender”. “His words were inaccurate and unacceptable to us and the majority of the Lebanese who he accused of treason just for wanting the international court,” Soaid said. According to Soaid, Hezbollah is worried at the nature of the discourse and vexed by Lebanese-Syrian approximation. “Only one thing can save Lebanon, and that is the return of Hezbollah to the Lebanese state and the conditions of the state,” he said. Imad Al-Hout, a parliamentary representative of the Jamaa Islamiya, described the Lebanese as “seeking the truth of the assassination of Rafiq Hariri through the relevant judicial bodies, not through the media”. “Wisdom and responsibility require handling the presumed decision outside the media and without overreaction,” he said. “All political powers and all the Lebanese are aware of the dangers of the presumed decision to the political situation and Lebanese stability, regardless of its content or whether it's directed at individuals or any place else.” “The only way to avoid the risks of such a decision is through joint solidarity through the national unity government and handling the issue officially and calmly,” Al
