As Hizbollah meshes into Lebanese political life, a serious effort is afoot to push the organisation into laying down its arms and distancing itself from the policies of Iran and Syria. It comes at a critical juncture: Iran is under pressure over its nuclear programme, Lebanon is out from under the Syrian military thumb, and another Islamic movement, Hamas, is set to take a Palestinian governing role. Hizbollah, branded a terrorist organisation by the United States, has been reinventing itself in Lebanon in recent years to ensure its survival. From a shadowy group linked to militants who carried out some of the worst violence of the 1980s, it is evolving into a mainstream political party with 11 legislators in the 128-seat Lebanese parliament and two ministers in the 24-member Cabinet. Now, with its Syrian backers in Lebanon having lost power since Syrian troops quit Lebanon last year, Hizbollah may be facing its greatest challenge. For the first time, open debate has unfolded in Lebanon about Hizbollah's weapons as well as its allegiance to the country. Many among Lebanon's new anti-Syrian majority accuse it of dividing its loyalties among Beirut, Damascus and Tehran.
Critics worry that Hizbollah, whose name means Party of God, has become the Lebanese arm of an anti-US regional front for Iran and Syria. Anti-Syrian politician Walid Jumblatt and others have said Lebanon should not be "a barricade for Iran's nuclear facilities." Referring to Hizbollah's leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Jumblatt said Friday: "No matter how strong he is — and he is strong — as a simple Lebanese citizen I say no to Syrian and Iranian tutelage." Meanwhile, Hizbollah faces a 2004 UN Security Council resolution demanding it disarm. Lebanon's many militias disarmed in 1991 after a 15-year civil war ended, but Hizbollah kept its weapons, saying it needed them to fight Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese army of about 70,000 troops with a modest arsenal couldn't move against Hizbollah for fear it would split along sectarian lines as happened in the civil war. The Israelis left in 2000, but Hizbollah fights on over a disputed piece of land called. Shebaa Farms. It maintains that Israel, having twice invaded Lebanon, could do so again, and has been cool to the idea of merging into the Lebanese army, lest its options be curtailed in any future conflict with Israel. It has mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, rifles and over 10,000 Katyusha rockets. It is believed able to field thousands of armed supporters, drawn from the Shiite Muslim community who are Lebanon's largest single sect.
Nasrallah says he is open to discussions on the arms, and disputes the idea that his group does the bidding of Damascus or Tehran. To burnish his credentials as a Lebanese political figure, Nasrallah joined hands last week with a major anti-Syrian Christian leader, Michel Aoun. The two men called for a national defence strategy that would deal, among other matters, with the weapons issue. "How do we protect Lebanon and what is the best strategic way to protect the country — when we agree on that, we can discuss the weapons," Nasrallah said.