LEBANON: HIZBOLLAH CALLS FOR A PRO-SYRIAN MARCH IN BEIRUT

Record ID: 276742

  • Title: LEBANON: HIZBOLLAH CALLS FOR A PRO-SYRIAN MARCH IN BEIRUT
  • Date: 6th March 2005
  • Summary: (W3) SOUTHERN SUBURBS, BEIRUT, LEBANON (MARCH 6, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. SLV HIZBOLLAH CHIEF HASSAN NASRALLAH AND LEBANESE PRO-SYRIAN LEADERS AROUND A TABLE 0.05 2. MCU NASRALLAH SPEAKING TO ANOTHER LEBANESE LEADER AT THE TOP OF THE TABLE 0.11 3. SV/SLV OF LEBANESE LEADERS AT THE MEETING WITH NASRALLAH (5 SHOTS) 0.35 4. SV SECURITY GUARD
  • Embargoed: 21st March 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BEIRUT, LEBANON
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Reuters ID: LVAENDHGOERK5KDZ0PUZVRK7K2R1
  • Story Text: Hizbollah calls for a pro-Syrian march in Beirut,
    says will not lay down arms.




    Hizbollah, Lebanon's most powerful party, threw its
    weight against Syria's opponents on Sunday (March 6),
    calling for a peaceful mass rally in central Beirut on
    Tuesday (March 8) in support of Damascus and against
    Western meddling.

    The Shi'ite Muslim group which has the largest
    following in the country and is the only one with weapons.

    It has in the past steered clear of plunging into internal
    Lebanese politics or flexing its political muscles against
    domestic rivals.

    But after Syria announced on Saturday (March 5) a
    two-phased total troop withdrawal from Lebanon, the
    staunchly anti-Israeli group entered the domestic political
    ring facing the opposition.

    The group's chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah warned that
    Syria's pullout under intense global pressure could spell
    chaos for Lebanon and push it towards peace with Israel.

    He accused the United States and Israel of trying to
    divide and rule Lebanon and "find excuses for foreign
    intervention".

    He added that the pro-Syrian government would meet with
    the Damascus leadership to discuss security in Lebanon.

    Nasrallah also dismissed calls in United Nations
    Resolution 1559 for its disarmament.

    "We consider the redeployment plan to the Bekaa a
    positive step and one which serves the interests of Syria
    and Lebanon because we are all keen on the implementation
    of al-Taif agreement fully. If there were some issues that
    have blocked the implementation of this accord (in the
    past) we can now bypass those issues. As for the presence
    of Syrian forces in the Bekaa , the participants of the
    meeting , refuse for this issue to be subjected to U.N
    resolution 1559. This (Syrian presence in the Bekaa
    valley) should be subject to Al Taif agreement and to the
    will of the Syrian and Lebanese governments who will meet
    and decide on this issue with regards to the security and
    military interests of Lebanon and Syria--with the reminder
    here that Lebanon and Syria are still in a state of war
    with Israel," Nasrallah said after the meeting.

    He elaborated on the calls for disarmament laid out in
    the UN resolution 1559 saying it would continue to fight
    against Israel and that Lebanon's defence depended on the
    resistance.

    "I have said that the role of the resistance is not
    limited to the liberation of Shebaa farms but also to help
    defend Lebanon with the Lebanese army. As long as Israel is
    violating Lebanese air space and keeps Lebanon in its own
    circles of interests we consider we are still in a state of
    war with Israel," Nasrallah said.

    Nasrallah said Tuesday's rally would also be in
    appreciation of Syria and its "great achievements" in
    Lebanon.

    Hizbollah, or Party of God, was set up during the 1982
    Israeli invasion of Lebanon by Iranian Revolutionary Guards
    as a small guerrilla force with a security arm widely
    blamed for anti-Western attacks and hostage taking in
    Beirut.

    In the early years the Shi'ite Muslim group was
    financed and armed by Tehran. It grew into a complex,
    well-trained guerrilla force with a political body and
    welfare institutions.

    In the 1990s it also formed an alliance with Syria
    which became a transit route for Iranian weapons to
    Hizbollah. It has several members serving in Lebanon's
    parliament and in recent years analysts believe it has
    become self-sufficient financially.

    Hizbollah, as the main guerrilla force fighting Israeli
    occupation at the time, was the only group allowed to keep
    its arms after the civil war. The various other Christian,
    Muslim and Druze militias were disbanded.


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