TYRE (South Lebanon). (RIA Novosti political commentator Marianna Belenkaya) -- A conference of national dialog is resuming its work in Lebanon.
One of the most urgent issues on its agenda is resistance. Debates are not going to be easy.
Today, the term "resistance" is associated with the Shiite movement of Hizbollah. UN Security Council Resolution #1559 demands that all paramilitary formations (militias) on Lebanese territory should be disarmed, including Hizbollah. But the members of the movement argue that they are not militia but the resistance forces. These notions are different in principle in the Arab world in general, and in Lebanon in particular.
Many Lebanese are supporting the Hizbollah position, and it is officially recognized. Nonetheless, disarmament of this movement remains on the agenda for the following two reasons: the world community, particularly the U.S. and France, is exerting pressure on Lebanon; some political forces in Lebanon, especially those who are part of the March 14 government coalition, are interested in the disarmament of Hizbollah, which is an influential and organized force. They do not feel comfortable in its company. But it is not clear what the authorities should do. Acting against the resistance is virtually impossible because this would be tantamount to betraying the interests of many Lebanese for whom resistance to the occupation is a sacred cause. This is particularly felt in the south of Lebanon. The very word "resistance" is pronounced with awe there.
...An Israeli tank is crawling on the road, which is stretching along an almost invisible barbed wire. It stays put as long as a car on the other side of the Lebanese-Israeli border slows down. Upon seeing the tank stop, the Lebanese driver immediately moves on. Each side awaits trouble from the other.
Israeli settlements and Lebanese villages are so close to each other that it is possible to see with a naked eye what is happening on either side of the border of hatred.
"Feel at home and safe on the territory of the liberated south!" "South is Reborn!" say the posters on the roads in the south of Lebanon. Flags of Hizbollah and another Shiite movement, Amal, posters with portraits of resistance fighters killed in action, and civilian casualties of the conflict are all over the place.
The south is indeed being reborn - new roads are being built; villages are being actively developed. Luxurious villas have replaced the recently deserted houses. But people do not forget the years of occupation and before it, when they had to live under permanent Israeli shelling. It is pointless to explain that Israelis had to live under similar shelling from the other side. The questions of who started it and who is to blame are not raised here. In any event, Israel has been and remains an occupant for many Lebanese. The torture camp of Al-Khiyam, which was run by the South Lebanon Army with Israeli support, is a reminder of the past. It has been converted into a museum, and former inmates talk about their horrible experiences. A list of torturers contains all names. Nobody and nothing is forgotten.
In 2000, the Israeli army left the most of Lebanese territory, occupied after 1967. But the local population does not consider the conflict exhausted. Part of Lebanese land is still occupied. Some of it may be returned on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions, while some is irretrievably lost.
"About 20 Lebanese villages have been occupied since 1948. I don't care that Security Council resolutions do not mention them. What do they mean at all? These are Lebanese villages, no matter what," said a resident of the border area. "Israelis were staying on these hills until 2000. I left the region in 1984, after I was asked to quit my job because the Israelis did not like my convictions, and I didn't come home until the liberation. I found it humiliating to ask the occupants for permission to visit my parents," said he.
As most of his neighbors, this man is convinced that the main credit for the liberation of the Lebanese south goes to the resistance. "Look, the Syrian Golan Heights are still occupied but our land is free," he said.
Today, Lebanese resistance is firmly associated with the Shiite Hizbollah, although in the past other patriotic forces also took part in it. But this Islamic movement has played the first fiddle, and is not going to give up arms to this day. Occupation of part of Lebanese territory is not the whole problem. It is important to prevent Israeli, and, as far as possible, U.S. influence on Lebanon. Hizbollah is the only force, which is capable of resisting it, say the residents of the south.
The other side of the Lebanese political spectrum is represented by the March 14 government coalition, and wants to limit Syrian and Iranian influence on Lebanese policy.
Interestingly, the situation in the south is similar to what is happening in another part of Lebanon, where Syrian forces were deployed just a year ago. Beautiful buildings are also being built there instead of Syrian barracks, and life is actively reviving. In the end of April, the local residents celebrated the first anniversary of Syrian troops withdrawal. The Lebanese newspaper Al-Nahar even published the memoirs of an inmate of a Syrian prison. Her description of tortures is a replica of the stories of Khiyam inmates.
"You won't even believe what a relief we felt after the Syrian military were gone. Their presence kept us in constant tension, and now we can breathe freely," said Lebanese journalist Mona. "When Lebanon was occupied, I couldn't bear to go to Syria (it's two hours by car from Beirut to Damascus). I had some mental block against visiting a country, which occupied Lebanon and ignored our sovereignty. I wanted to go there very much. I am not negative to Syrians - just to the regime."
Lebanese history is more intricate than any other - the civil war is interwoven with simultaneous Israeli and Syrian occupation, and the stay of Palestinian armed formation in Lebanon. Some Lebanese welcomed the Syrians, others the Israelis, and still others hate both. Some Lebanese supported the Palestinians, whereas others accused them of all sins. Coalitions were formed and fell apart with amazing speed, and yesterday's foes became allies.
Now that more than a quarter century has gone since the start of active military actions on Lebanese territory, the political cocktail has the same old components - Syria, Israel, and the Palestinians - and two new ones -- Iran and the U.S. Under the circumstances, it is highly dubious that the Lebanese politicians will be able to move to dialog. They have to elaborate a common strategy of national development, but their views are poles apart.
While politicians are involved in debates, common Lebanese are building new dwellings and coming home. Nobody wants the repetition of the past.
