500,000 mass for Hizbullah in Beirut

500,000 mass for Hizbullah in Beirut
Shia poor throw their weight behind status quo

Brian Whitaker in Beirut
Wednesday March 9, 2005

Guardian

Syria's supporters in Lebanon struck back against the "cedar revolution" yesterday with a show of strength which easily dwarfed anything their opponents have been able muster.
They drove into Beirut throughout the morning in cars waving Lebanese flags and battered buses decorated with pictures of the Syrian-backed president, Emile Lahoud.

They came from towns and villages all over Lebanon: from the Beka'a valley, the mountains, and the far south. Opponents claimed that some had come from Syria.

Half an hour before the rally was due to begin Riad al-Solh Square, one of the largest open spaces in Beirut, was already full but more kept coming, often several hundred at a time, and overflowed into side roads and on to flyovers.

In the city centre many shops closed and streets were almost deserted. Large numbers of troops stood by on the fringes of the demonstration.

Trying to estimate the number was futile, but half a million would be plausible and a million not unbelievable.

From a distance it resembled a larger version of Monday's opposition rally. As on Monday, they patriotically waved the red and white Lebanese flag and the national anthem blared out several times over the loudspeakers.

But they also waved pictures of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and his Lebanese counterpart. There were even a few of President Bashar's late and largely unlamented father.

Much of the language, unless decoded, sounded similar too: one of the slogans was "Sovereignty, not foreign intervention". But the foreigners referred to were the Americans, the Israelis, the French: anyone but the brotherly Syrians.

Looked at more closely, this was a very different crowd.

The anti-Syrian protesters who have attracted worldwide attention are mostly Christians, plus Sunni Muslims and Druze, and they are generally from the better-off sections of Lebanese society. Yesterday's masses were overwhelmingly the poorer - and historically downtrodden - Shia, who form 40% of the population.

Armani sweaters and flashy sunglasses were not to be seen. Some of the women were clad from head to foot in black, Iranian style, a few cradling babies in their arms. Among the men there was more than a smattering of beards.

All, ostensibly, had turned out to show their gratitude to Syria for its efforts in Lebanon.

From a platform in front of the sea-green windows of the UN building the Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah denounced security council resolution 1559 as a "coup" against the Taif accord which ended the Lebanese civil war.

The accord is Syria's justification for its leisurely moves to withdraw troops; the UN, citing resolution 1559, is demanding swift action.

Hizbullah has grievances of its own against 1559, because the resolution also calls for all militias in Lebanon to be disbanded. Although Hizbullah functions nowadays mainly as a political movement, it is loth to abandon its guerrilla wing entirely.

Yesterday it flexed its political muscles with conviction - though the rally was not entirely its own. Other supporters included Amal (the other main Shia party), Nasserists, Ba'athists and a long list of obscure organisations.

What cannot be disputed is Hizbullah's ability to organise.

On Monday loudspeaker cars toured the streets of Nabatieh and other towns, calling on citizens to show their "opposition to foreign interference in Lebanese affairs, solidarity for the preservation of national unity and civil peace, objection to the UN resolution 1559, denunciation of the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri and appreciation for Syria's sacrifices in Lebanon".

What is less clear is how many of those who joined the demonstration yesterday had strong personal feelings about any of these matters, and how many were pressed into attending or simply fancied a day trip to Beirut.

Opposition supporters alleged that influential figures in some towns and villages had strongly encouraged attendance, and there were groups of youngsters at the demonstration who looked like entire school classes.

None of this may be enough to save the Hizbullah militia from eventual extinction, but it plainly has no intention of going quietly.

Syrian troops made further moves yesterday in their planned redeployment to the Beka'a valley, according to witnesses in a mountainous area east of Beirut.

Two senior Lebanese officials said a major redeployment of the Syrian army from central and northern Lebanon would begin late last night and would be completed by March 23.

The Lebanese defence minister, Abdul-Rahim Murad, told the Associated Press: "All the force in the [central] mountains and north will move to the Beka'a as of 10pm [20.00GMT] tonight."

He said that included the main Syrian intelligence offices in Beirut.

Under an agreement between the Syrian and Lebanese presidents on Monday the redeployment will be followed at an unspecified date by complete withdrawal of the 14,000 Syrian forces personnel in Lebanon.

The controversial intelligence agents will also leave, a Damascus official source told Reuters yesterday.

"The fact that security forces were not mentioned in the [withdrawal] statement is merely because they move along with the armed forces. It is a given. The withdrawal is of all Syrian forces," the source said.