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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 June - 5 July 2000 Issue No. 488 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 June - 5 July 2000 Issue No. 488
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Hizbullah's rising star
By Ranwa YehiaLebanese President Emile Lahoud was the first Lebanese president to receive a resistance leader at the presidential Ba'abda Palace. The meeting between Lahoud and Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah on Monday comes only one month after the liberation of south Lebanon from Israel's 22-year-old occupation.
Both Lahoud and Nasrallah were careful to point out that while they were willing to give diplomacy a chance, there would be no compromise in the struggle to regain every inch of Lebanese territory and to stop Israeli encroachments along the border.
"We won't give any guarantees which will reassure our enemy. Lebanon is strong because it still has a resistance movement that is feared by the Israelis, and their fear is a source of strength for Lebanon," Nasrallah said at the presidential palace following his meeting with Lahoud.
"Currently, US and international efforts seek to aid the Israelis and don't give any attention to the Lebanese living in the south or in any other part of Lebanon," he added.
"But it's the Israelis who still occupy Lebanese land. How do we deal with this situation? We'll give the [UN] efforts a chance. There are contacts underway [with the UN]. We expect the world to understand that Israel is the aggressor. We don't want to be accused of being hasty, of being the cause of the problem. Let things take their natural course," he said.
Nasrallah reiterated his group's demand for Israel's complete withdrawal from Lebanese territory and immediate release of 20 Lebanese who have been held for years by Israel without charges or trial. Israel is holding these people prisoner as a bargaining chip to exchange them with an Israeli pilot whose plane was shot down during the Lebanese civil war.
"If the problems aren't solved eventually, the resistance movement is ready to bear its responsibilities. I stress that the resistance movement will assume its responsibilities fully," Nasrallah said.
He added that the resistance would not give up its arms "because we can't guarantee that Israel won't attack us again." In response to the suggestion that the defence of Lebanon is the purview of its army, Nasrallah said that "sometimes the presence of popular resistance is crucial, especially if an army does not want to fight a full-scale war."
According to Professor Nizar Hamzeh of the American University of Beirut, Nasrallah's visit to the presidential palace highlights the strong coordination between the resistance party and the Lebanese government.
On the local level, the meeting also underlines Hizbullah's role as a political party which has a strong relationship with the state.
"It [the meeting] points to Hizbullah's future role as a political party with a large constituency, at least among the Shi'ites, and shows that Hizbullah is able to act on the national level," Hamzeh told Al-Ahram Weekly.
More importantly, the meeting also indicates that the Lebanese state is willing to give Hizbullah a say with regards to more complex issues, including negotiations currently taking place between Lebanon, the United Nations and Israel about the verification of the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon.
Hamzeh pointed out that the meeting between Nasrallah and Lahoud came only a few days after a similar meeting with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
"By visiting Nasrallah, Annan indicated that Hizbullah is a party that is able to play a role in the politics of negotiations, at least from the point of view of the United Nations," he said.
Hamzeh, who is an expert on Hizbullah, added that the meeting with Lahoud was also significant in asserting that Hizbullah has not yet abandoned its resistance activities and will not give up its arms as long as Israel occupies Lebanese territory.
"The meeting has implications for the region because it reflects that there is mutual understanding and cooperation between Lebanon, Syria and Iran. However, should we expect to see other Islamist figures granted similar legitimacy by heads of state in the future? I don't see that happening," Hamzeh concluded.
