As a ripple of optimism passed over Lebanon this week, Hizbullah MP Hussein Al-Hajj Hassan tells Lucy Fielder that an end to Lebanon's crisis may be in sight The glimmer of hope arose from Saudi-Iranian talks on Saturday, which tackled the three-month- old political deadlock between the government and opposition in Lebanon, along with the bloodshed in Iraq. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose country is Hizbullah's main backer, made his first official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and met King Abdullah, who has close ties to the Sunni-led Lebanese government. "I hope the next few days will bring a solution," Hussein Al-Hajj Hassan said in interview Saturday. He blamed the United States for obstructing progress so far via two leaders of the governing 14 March movement. "The Iranians, Saudi Arabia and the Arab League are trying to help Lebanon and the Lebanese people to find a solution for the political crisis. But the US and some Lebanese parties, like [Walid] Jumblatt and [Samir] Geagea, have been blocking any solution and creating tension." Druze leader Jumblatt has close US ties and visited Washington this week to request what he called "political and military assistance". He and Maronite Christian leader Geagea are allied with Sunni Future bloc leader Saad Al-Hariri, son of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri. Over the past few weeks, opposition supporters and figures have accused the two figures of having a narrowly sectarian agenda and stymieing a deal to heal the rift in Lebanon for fear it would lessen their influence. Others say their agendas cannot easily be distinguished from that of Al-Hariri's and the rest of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority over which Al-Hariri presides. Al-Hariri's assassination tore Lebanon down the middle. Israel's bombardment of Lebanon in its war against Hizbullah last summer deepened the country's polarisation and the words "civil war" have since hovered on many lips. Hassan believes the US, which has thrown its weight behind the government of Prime Minister Fouad Al-Siniora, had prevented resolution of Lebanon's internal discord because of events in Iraq. Washington had chosen the "way of force and fire" in Iraq instead of the Baker-Hamilton Commission's recommended path of dialogue, he said. In January, Bush announced a "surge" of 20,000 additional US troops for Iraq, a tactic that was met with widespread scepticism within the US and the Middle East, and has failed to stem sectarian bloodletting. "The Americans prefer to know what the result of the new Bush strategy in Iraq and on Iran is before there can be any solution in Lebanon and Palestine," Hassan said. But Hassan's tone was more conciliatory on whether the opposition would escalate its campaign to pressure the government to give it a veto- wielding third of cabinet seats or quit. An encampment of supporters of Hizbullah, Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun and allied parties has taken over two major squares in downtown Beirut, by the Grand Serail government building encircled with troops and razor wire. A one-day national strike, enforced with roadblocks of burning tires, descended into clashes with government supporters in January. Civil disobedience, whereby opposition supporters would refuse to pay taxes and boycott work in public services, may be the next item on the menu, opposition figures have warned. "We're discussing the next steps -- when and the level," said Hassan. "But actually we're giving time to the negotiations and in the last few days many capitals in the region have mobilised to help Lebanon, so we must give them the necessary time to help us. The opposition wants a compromise and a solution." As well as the formation of a national unity government, an international tribunal to try suspects in Hariri's assassination is another sticking point between the two sides. The government accuses Syria of killing Hariri and Hizbullah of blocking the court at the bidding of its allies in Damascus. Hizbullah has approved the court in principle but wants amendments to the draft passed by the cabinet in November in the absence of Shia ministers who had walked out. National media were abuzz Monday and Tuesday with possible solutions to the crisis. Parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri said a solution was near, and most speculated that it would come before the annual Arab League Summit 28 March. The 24-member cabinet is expected to expand to 30 members, with 19 for the government. The remaining 11 will go either to the opposition, or be divided into 10 for the opposition and one to an independent. As-Safir newspaper reported that Saudi Arabia had reassured Syria, despite strained ties between the two countries, that the tribunal would not be politicised. Damascus denies all involvement in the killing and fears the court could be used as a political tool to try the Syrian regime as a whole. Asked why Hizbullah had not presented to Lebanese authorities its amendments to the draft law to establish the court, Hassan said: "we see everybody trying to interfere in our internal matters. We refuse to put Lebanon under the domination of foreign countries, or the UN." Hizbullah's main focus remains resistance to Israel. Asked whether Hizbullah was rearming north of the Litani River, just beyond the remit of the expanded UNIFIL international force that has patrolled southern Lebanon since last summer's war ended, Hassan said: "Because Israeli aggression remains a danger to the whole of Lebanon, and to the south especially, we have the right and duty to prepare our resistance to defend our country in case Israel chooses to attack. Our strategy is a strategy of defence, and our job in resistance is defence." Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah told US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, in a report published late February, that he was anticipating and preparing for another Israeli attack on Lebanon later this year. Hassan said: "It's possible. Israel attacked Lebanon several times, so why deny this possibility? They [the Israelis] talk about it and we must expect it and be prepared to defend our country if Israel attacks." Hizbullah's arms, which it has promised never to turn against fellow Lebanese, have become a growing bone of contention in Lebanon. Hassan also rejected calls by Jumblatt to change the ideology of the Lebanese army, which some thought was a reference to the enemy the 14 March movement sees in neighbouring Syria, which dominated Lebanon after the civil war ended in 1990. "In Lebanon we have three borders: the sea, Syria and Israel. Our enemy is Israel. The ideology of our army is built on the principle that our enemy is Israel. We reject completely and strongly any change in the ideology of our army," Hassan said. The Hizbullah MP expressed support for the Lebanese army, which deployed along the border for the first time in decades under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended last summer's hostilities. He pointed out the army had repelled several Israeli incursions since the war. "It's the job of the UN forces and the Lebanese army to act against any Israeli violation. Any time the Lebanese army or UN repels an Israeli aggression we will be satisfied," he said. "If not, we'll decide what our reaction will be."
