South Lebanese express vulnerability without Hizbullah
source: Reuters, 21-3-2005
summary: KHIAM, Lebanon - For the Lebanese in Lebanon`s deep south, a Hizbullah stronghold once occupied by "Israel", taking weapons away from the resistance they see as their protectors would be tantamount to surrender.
Calls to disarm Hizbullah militants have multiplied since Syria bowed to international demands for a troop withdrawal after last month`s assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
But Hizbullah has ruled out laying down arms, putting the group in direct defiance of the United Nations. A Security Council resolution adopted last year calls on all militias to disarm to enable the Lebanese government to extend its control to all parts of the country.
But Hizbullah (a resistance movement) still holds sway in the southern border region, where it has huge backing. Its yellow flags flutter above shops and weathered pictures of fighters who died battling "Israel`s" 22-year occupation line the streets.
"Hizbullah has a mission and it is the border," said Nabih Abdallah, a 55-year-old shopkeeper from Khiam, where "Israel`s" proxy Lebanese militia once kept a notorious jail.
"The Lebanese army doesn`t have the means, like American planes, as "Israel" has. The army can`t be a policeman to "Israel"."
Many Lebanese see the U.N. demands as U.S.-inspired interference in Lebanon`s affairs.
Hizbullah kept its guns after Lebanon`s 1975-1990 civil war to fight "Israeli" occupation.
The United Nations has certified "Israel`s" (part) withdrawal (year 2000) as complete but Hizbullah fighters occasionally fire anti-aircraft guns at "Israeli" warplanes in Lebanese airspace or launch attacks on the Shibaa Farms region occupied by "Israel".
The group says its battle-hardened guerrillas provide a better deterrent against "Israel" than the untested Lebanese army.
"Every side has weapons in Lebanon... The difference between Hizbullah weapons and other weapons is that one defends the country, and the others are used for personal interests, not for Lebanon," said the Hizbullah-linked mayor of Khiam, Ali Zreik.
"Hizbullah is ready to defend the country... But this is not a rejection of the army. They are our sons and our loved ones."
Many argue that Hizbullah has made south Lebanon secure -- for Christians as well as Muslims.
"Liberated territory. Enter peacefully and safely" a billboard says past a main army checkpoint on the road to south Lebanon, Hizbullah flags flying above.
"They don`t make problems with any civilians," said Ali, a grocer in Khiam. "I don`t see any armed people in the streets. I never see anyone carrying weapons. Hizbullah has high morals. If you ask them for a rose, they will give you two."
Lebanese security forces, dressed in camouflage, do patrol the former southern occupied zone. But the army does not man permanent checkpoints as they do elsewhere in the country.
"Look, "Israel" left. Syria is leaving. Let Hizbullah become a political organization," said Claude, a hardware merchant from the southern Christian town of Qlaiaa (a town known for producing an enormous number of "Israeli" collaborators), just minutes from Khiam.
"They don`t do anything to us. But their role as a resistance movement ended ... As a Christian, I prefer Hizbullah finish its presence. There is no need for a military presence by Hizbullah. It is time for the army to play a role."
The spiritual leader of Lebanon`s Maronites joined voices for Hizbullah disarmament at the weekend during a trip to the United States, saying the group should become a political party.
