Hizbollah Hints At Disarmament Compromise

Roula Khalaf, The Financial Times:

Lebanon's Hizbollah is signalling a willingness to discuss the fate of its military wing as the Shia Islamist group adopts a more assertive role in Lebanese politics and positions itself for the aftermath of Syria's withdrawal from the country. READ MORE

In an interview the Financial Times, Sheikh Naim Qassim, deputy head of the party, said Hizbollah would be ready for talks with other Lebanese groups on the future of its fighters, but after the dispute over Shebaa Farms, a small strip of land near the Lebanese-Israeli border, was settled.

Although it includes stiff conditions, Mr Qassim's statement is the first sign of a possible future compromise over the Lebanese organisation's fighting arm as it faces the loss of Syria's protective umbrella in Lebanon.

Mr Qassim confirmed that one potential alternative would be for Hizbollah fighters to become a kind of “reservist army”, co-ordinating activities with the Lebanese authorities.

Hizbollah is listed as a terrorist organisation in the US, which has long demanded the movement's disarmament. But it is considered in Lebanon, and the rest of the Arab world, as a resistance movement that successfully fought Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon, driving Israeli troops out in May 2000.

It is also a well-organised political party, with representation in the Lebanese parliament.

The disarmament of Hizbollah became the subject of heated debate in Lebanon in the aftermath of the February 14 assassination of Rafiq Hariri, the former prime minister. The killing set off a wave of anti-Syrian protests and intensified international calls for a withdrawal of Syrian troops and secret services.

Terje Roed Larsen, the United Nations envoy, last Sunday secured a Syrian pledge to complete the military departure from Lebanon by the end of this month, in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1559. The UN decision includes a provision demanding the dismantling of remaining militias in Lebanon, a reference to Hizbollah's military wing.

The sticking point is likely to be Shebaa Farms, occupied by Israel but claimed by Lebanon. “We will discuss [Hizbollah's] arms after Shebaa but on condition that a credible alternative is found to protect Lebanon. A reservist army doesn't mean the resistance becomes part of the army but it's a formula of co-ordination with the army. It's resistance by another name.”

When Israel withdrew its troops from Lebanon in 2000 the pro-Syrian Lebanese authorities insisted that Shebaa Farms remained occupied, although the UN considers the land to be part of Syria. Lebanon and Syria continue to insist it is Lebanese, a position that justified continued Hizbollah operations against Israeli troops in the border area.

Mr Qassim was adamant that Shebaa Farms was Lebanese land and he said the controversy should be ended through an Israeli withdrawal. But he also acknowledged that Hizbollah would have to abide by the position of the Lebanese government.

He insisted that despite the withdrawal of Syrian troops and the weakening of Damascus' political protection, Hizbollah would still be able to acquire weapons and equipment. “When Hizbollah needs military means it knows how to get them. The markets are filled and there are many ways. So we don't have a problem there. Israelis know our capabilities are a lot better since 2000.”

Mr Qassim admitted that the weakening of Syrian influence in Lebanon had also reduced the support to his group from a strategic backer. But he said Hizbollah's strategy was to compensate for the loss of Syrian support by expanding the party's political role in Lebanon.

“Hizbollah has to do more to make up for this political loss and this is what we're doing with our political activities in the last two months.” He said it was “possible” that Hizbollah would one day join the government a move that it has avoided until now.

“But we haven't decided yet. Being in the government is tied to the type of government and to its programme and to our ability to influence it.” Last month Hizbollah staged a massive street demonstration in central Beirut to counter the protests of the opposition and strengthened its alliance with the “loyalists”, the pro-Syrian parties.

At the same time, however, it initiated a dialogue with the anti-Syrian opposition. Hizbollah leaders now have almost daily meetings with opposition figures.

The opposition has been divided over whether Hizbollah should be disarmed. But in recent days some prominent opposition leaders have issued statements to reassure the party that the fate of its military wing will be decided in an internal dialogue and without international interference.

“The other elements of 1559 are domestic Lebanese issues and the Lebanese voice is now almost in consensus that Hizbollah's arms would be discussed between the Lebanese without going back to the UN resolution,” said Mr Qassim. “So we don't consider that we're confronting the international community because we're applying an understanding between the Lebanese.”

The US recently hinted that if Hizbollah were to become purely a political party its status as a terrorist organisation could also change. Although this signalled a policy shift, Mr Qassim said he was not impressed.

“The US thought it would entice the party with political recognition in return for [Hizbollah] giving up the resistance. So it wants to take with politics what Israel could not take with arms,” he said.

“But they don't understand the problem it's occupation and Israeli expansionist ambitions and they're not treating the problem. They want to break the ability of any group to confront Israel and this is something we reject.”

The Security Council was expected to approve on Thursday a resolution authorising an inquiry into Hariri's killing, diplomats said, Reuters reports from New York.

The 15-nation council could adopt the measure unanimously after its drafters, the US and France, fine-tuned its language to reassure Beirut that investigators would not impinge on its sovereignty.

A UN fact-finding mission recommended the independent inquiry after concluding that Lebanon's probe into Hariri's assassination in a Beirut bomb attack on February 14 suffered from “serious flaws” that would prevent it from reaching a credible conclusion.