Hizbollah puts on a show of political muscle

Wednesday, Mar 09, 2005

The head of Lebanon's Hizbollah party, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, recently promised that "viewed from a narrow or wide camera angle" his party's pro-Syrian demonstration would be huge.

Yesterday he delivered, flooding the streets of central Beirut with protesters and underlining Hizbollah's political weight. It was the first time the party had flexed its considerable muscle since the killing of Rafiq Hariri, former Lebanese prime minister, plunged the country into crisis.

By dwarfing the anti-Syrian protests that had been held nearby, Hizbollah's strategy appeared aimed at two objectives. The first was to give Syria, which has backed Hizbollah, room to manoeuvre as it faces international pressure to withdraw from Lebanon. The second was to warn Lebanon's anti-Syrian opposition and its international backers against disarming Hizbollah's military arm.

Although a timetable for the departure of Syrian troops has yet to be set, the prospects of a Syrian exit are shifting the political debate in Lebanon to the future role of Hizbollah. The party represents the Shia, perhaps the country's largest minority.

Last year's United Nations Security Council resolution 1559, which calls for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon, also demands the disarming of Hizbollah guerrillas, who helped drive Israeli troops out of southern Lebanon in 2000.

Lebanon's opposition parties have sought a dialogue with Hizbollah, hoping to convince it to join their ranks. But Mr Nasrallah has demanded that the opposition take a firm position on the elements of the UN resolution dealing with Hizbollah and explain its position towards Israel.

"We are entering a new era, a dangerous era," Nawaf Mousawi, a Hizbollah official, told a Lebanese television station. ."

Lebanese opposition leaders, including Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, the Christian Maronite patriarch, have said Lebanon would not sign a peace treaty with Israel before Syria and the Palestinians did so.

The statements came after Shimon Peres, Israeli vice-premier, said a Syrian withdrawal would allow Israel to start talks with Lebanon with which it had neither water nor territorial issues.

Lebanon and Israel signed a peace agreement on May 17 1983, a year after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, but an uprising by pro-Syrian militias prevented it being ratified and it was later annulled by Lebanon. In a speech on Saturday, Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, told the Lebanese: "The new May 17 is looming, so be ready to foil it again as you did over two decades ago."

Since Israel withdrew troops from Lebanon in 2000, the border has remained tense around the Israeli-occupied Shebaa farms area. The fortified hill is the site of sporadic encounters between Israeli forces and Hizbollah guerrillas.

The UN regards Shebaa farms as Syrian territory. Syria and Lebanon insist the land is Lebanese in order to give Hizbollah a pretext to remain armed.

Lebanese opposition leaders say they have told the US that the issue of Shebaa farms and the disarmament of Hizbollah should be resolved through a dialogue with the party.

Hizbollah is the best organised political movement in Lebanon and has nine members in the Lebanese parliament.

"Hizbollah is an issue that will be dealt with internally," Samir Franjieh, a Christian opposition leader, told the FT yesterday. "The party is part of Lebanon and is now trying to improve its negotiating position in the upcoming dialogue."

Leaders of the opposition, made up of Christian, Druze and Sunni Muslims, have said that Syria must provide documents to the UN showing that Shebaa is Lebanese if Hizbollah is to remain armed.

Some analysts argue that Israel could increase the pressure on Damascus by unilaterally withdrawing from Shebaa farms. Editorial Comment, Page 18

By ROULA KHALAF and HARVEY MORRIS