The appeals to Hizbollah have left its leadership in a quandary. The party is supported by Syria (as well as Iran) and is reluctant to turn against its backers. But it is also a popular movement in Lebanon; its guerrilla campaign drove Israeli troops out of Lebanon in May 2000, earning Hizbollah respect, including from Lebanese Christians. The party is now Lebanon's best organised political movement and has nine members in parliament.
Afraid of losing popular support, but unable to back the opposition, Hizbollah has tried in the past two weeks to remain neutral in the conflict between the opposition and Syria's allies in Lebanon, calling for dialogue between the two sides.
"The party is caught in a dilemma," said Nizar Hamza, a university professor in Beirut and expert on Hizbollah. "They don't want to lose the sympathy of the opposition but they are afraid of the opposition's views regarding future prospects for their party."
The appeals to Hizbollah come as the opposition struggles to sustain the pressure against Syria's presence in Lebanon. Opposition leaders acknowledge that the government's demise was only the first step in a long battle to remove Syria's military and political influence.
To encourage Hizbollah, the opposition has portrayed its struggle against Syria as an extension of Hizbollah's war of liberation against Israel. Christian members of parliament have sent signals to Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Hizbollah chief, suggesting that Damascus might suddenly drop its support for the party as a concession to the US, leaving it isolated.
"The liberation is an integral part of the independence struggle," said Nayla Mouawad, a Christian politician in the opposition. "The unity of Lebanon is Hizbollah's only guarantee."
Mohamed Afif, a Hizbollah spokesman, said the group was aware of the popular pressures. "We see the situation and the people - we are not blind," he said. But he said the party could not back UN resolution 1559, which calls for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and the disarming of Hizbollah.
"There is a problem that is being ignored. We understand the demands for the withdrawal of the Syrians but some people [in the opposition] also want implementation of 1559, which we reject," said Mr Afif.
He said the opposition should focus on implementation of the 1989 Taif agreement, rather than the UN resolution. The Taif accord, which underpinned the resolution of Lebanon's 1975-1991 civil war, called for the redeployment of Syrian troops to the Beka'a valley by 1992, to be followed by a timetable for withdrawal agreed between the Syrian and Lebanese governments. Despite repeated promises from Damascus, the agreement was never implemented.
The UN Security Council included the dismantling of the guerrilla arm of Hizbollah in resolution 1559 under pressure from the US.
But Washington faces two problems. Hizbollah argues it must remain armed to liberate a parcel of land, called Shebaa farms, that it claims remains occupied by Israel, despite Israel's UN-backed withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000.
Hizbollah also has a long history of enmity with the US, which considers it a terrorist organisation. The US and Israel lobbied hard, but unsuccessfully, last month to persuade European governments to include Hizbollah on their list of terrorist organisations.
France, which co-sponsored resolution 1559, adamantly opposed the move. The French position on Hizbollah, and the Lebanese opposition's need to win the party's support, may explain the distinction made in recent statements by US officials who have suggested that the emphasis now is on the first part of resolution 1559, dealing with a Syrian withdrawal, rather than its entirety.
Mr Jumblatt said the UN demands could be separated, adding that the opposition's main focus remained on implementing the Taif accord. "The Americans are asking for the dismantling of Hizbollah. We want to enter into negotiations with Hizbollah about its future role in Lebanon."
Beirut protests leave Hizbollah with a dilemma
By Roula Khalaf in Beirut, Financial Times
Lebanon's opposition, flush with success after forcing the collapse of the pro-Syria government, has intensified appeals to Hizbollah, the Shia Islamist movement, to join its ranks.
Ghazi Aridi, an opposition parliamentarian close to Walid Jumblatt, one of the main opposition leaders, on Wednesday met Hizbollah officials for the first time since the assassination last month of Rafiq Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister.
Shia Muslims are the only large community that has not joined what the Lebanese refer to as the "intifada for independence" - the protests against Syrian dominance over Lebanon that helped topple the government on Monday. Christians, Druze and Sunni Muslims have all taken part.
"We want them [Hizbollah] to join us or be half way between us and the Syrians," Mr Jumblatt told the Financial Times.
The appeals to Hizbollah have left its leadership in a quandary. The party is supported by Syria (as well as Iran) and is reluctant to turn against its backers. But it is also a popular movement in Lebanon; its guerrilla campaign drove Israeli troops out of Lebanon in May 2000, earning Hizbollah respect, including from Lebanese Christians. The party is now Lebanon's best organised political movement and has nine members in parliament.
Afraid of losing popular support, but unable to back the opposition, Hizbollah has tried in the past two weeks to remain neutral in the conflict between the opposition and Syria's allies in Lebanon, calling for dialogue between the two sides.
"The party is caught in a dilemma," said Nizar Hamza, a university professor in Beirut and expert on Hizbollah. "They don't want to lose the sympathy of the opposition but they are afraid of the opposition's views regarding future prospects for their party."
The appeals to Hizbollah come as the opposition struggles to sustain the pressure against Syria's presence in Lebanon. Opposition leaders acknowledge that the government's demise was only the first step in a long battle to remove Syria's military and political influence.
To encourage Hizbollah, the opposition has portrayed its struggle against Syria as an extension of Hizbollah's war of liberation against Israel. Christian members of parliament have sent signals to Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Hizbollah chief, suggesting that Damascus might suddenly drop its support for the party as a concession to the US, leaving it isolated.
"The liberation is an integral part of the independence struggle," said Nayla Mouawad, a Christian politician in the opposition. "The unity of Lebanon is Hizbollah's only guarantee."
Mohamed Afif, a Hizbollah spokesman, said the group was aware of the popular pressures. "We see the situation and the people - we are not blind," he said. But he said the party could not back UN resolution 1559, which calls for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and the disarming of Hizbollah.
"There is a problem that is being ignored. We understand the demands for the withdrawal of the Syrians but some people [in the opposition] also want implementation of 1559, which we reject," said Mr Afif.
He said the opposition should focus on implementation of the 1989 Taif agreement, rather than the UN resolution. The Taif accord, which underpinned the resolution of Lebanon's 1975-1991 civil war, called for the redeployment of Syrian troops to the Beka'a valley by 1992, to be followed by a timetable for withdrawal agreed between the Syrian and Lebanese governments. Despite repeated promises from Damascus, the agreement was never implemented.
The UN Security Council included the dismantling of the guerrilla arm of Hizbollah in resolution 1559 under pressure from the US.
But Washington faces two problems. Hizbollah argues it must remain armed to liberate a parcel of land, called Shebaa farms, that it claims remains occupied by Israel, despite Israel's UN-backed withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000.
Hizbollah also has a long history of enmity with the US, which considers it a terrorist organisation. The US and Israel lobbied hard, but unsuccessfully, last month to persuade European governments to include Hizbollah on their list of terrorist organisations.
France, which co-sponsored resolution 1559, adamantly opposed the move. The French position on Hizbollah, and the Lebanese opposition's need to win the party's support, may explain the distinction made in recent statements by US officials who have suggested that the emphasis now is on the first part of resolution 1559, dealing with a Syrian withdrawal, rather than its entirety.
Mr Jumblatt said the UN demands could be separated, adding that the opposition's main focus remained on implementing the Taif accord. "The Americans are asking for the dismantling of Hizbollah. We want to enter into negotiations with Hizbollah about its future role in Lebanon."
Posted by Ted Belman at March 3, 2005 09:34 AM