JOIN USEU move on Hizbollah under criticism
The European Union's decision to place the military wing of Lebanon's Hizbollah movement on its list of "terrorist" groups amounts to an insult but not an injury. Wise members of the 28-state bloc argued against such action but under US and Israeli pressure, Britain, France and Holland, ready advocates of the policy shift, won through.
While Hizbollah argues the blacklisting is an insult not only to the military wing, but the movement at a whole, the move is not injurious. The EU says it will differentiate between the political/social and military wings of Hizbollah when applying bans on travel of military personnel and raising and transferring funds for Hizbollah military activities.
This is a fraudulent distinction. Hizbollah's military personnel keep to the shadows and do not travel in Europe. The movement does not depend on funding from EU countries for military - or general - operations. Hizbollah does not have financial or other assets in Europe. Iran was at one time the main source of funds but the amount has diminished. Hizbollah has become self-financing by building a business empire in Lebanon.
Israel is also angry over the half-measure. The movement as a whole has not been blacklisted. Therefore, Israel can be expected to carry on its campaign to attain this goal. Hizbollah is the last Arab entity to continue resisting Israeli occupation of Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian territory.
Europe blacklisted because Hizbollah fighters are bolstering the Syrian army in its war with rebels who are - to varying degrees - supported by the US, Britain and France, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Until May, when Hizbollah joined the Syrian army in the battle for the strategic town of Qusayr, the movement's involvement consisted of providing protection for Lebanese Shia villages located inside Syria (in the Qusayr area) and the Shia shrine at the tomb of Saida Zeinab, the granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad, near Damascus.
Major reverse
For the rebels and their backers, the defeat at Qusayr was a major reverse and they blamed it on Hizbollah's deployment of trained urban fighters who helped rout well dug-in rebels. Qusayr was a strategic asset because is sits on a smuggling route used by fighters to enter Syria from Lebanon as well as arms supplies. While the loss of Qusayr has not seriously impeded the flow of fighting men and weapons into Syria, it constituted a blow to the morale of the rebel forces and boosted the confidence of the hard-pressed Syrian army.
Western analysts predict that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is likely to remain in power for another year while the armed struggle will stay deadlocked. He could even win a fresh term if a presidential election is held next year. Deadlock is not on the side of the rebels, who are fighting amongst themselves and losing ground to the army. Syrians are war-weary and want the conflict to end. They, increasingly, see that if the rebels win, there will be chaos and anarchy, warlordism, and communal and tribal bloodletting.
Syrians want their state to survive. Hizbollah sees Europe's decision as an insult because the military wing, born during Israel's occupation of Lebanon, is a liberation organisation. If there had been no Hizbollah, founded with the aid of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the Israeli army might have remained in Lebanon. Due to constant pressure from Hizbollah, Israel initially withdrew from most of the southern half of the country and then in 2000 from its "security zone" along the frontier.
Hizbollah continues to insist that the military wing, which is stronger than the Lebanese army, is essential in the struggle to liberate all Lebanese land, deter Israel from attacking Lebanon, and prevent Syria, Lebanon's hinterland, from collapsing into chaos.
The social welfare and political wings of Hizbollah are not independent but extensions of the military wing. Hizbollah expanded into the social and political spheres with the aim of supplying to underprivileged Shias services never provided by the weak Lebanese state which was broken by civil war and repeated Israeli military campaigns. Hizbollah's political wing is a major force. Its bloc has 68 out of 128 deputies in parliament and its social welfare department runs hospitals, health centres, dental clinics, schools, training centres, and a construction firm. Hizbollah provides medical care for wounded fighters and pensions for families of those killed in action.
The EU move, which is sharply criticised by Lebanese politicians from all currents, could put European and Indian troops based in southern Lebanon and Syria's Golan Heights at risk if Hizbollah decides to interfere with UN peacekeeping missions in these critical regions where Lebanon and Syria confront Israel across UN monitored ceasefire lines. Hizbollah fighters reside in villages along the Lebanese line while, as allies of the Syrian military, Hizbollah guerrillas could easily gain access to the Golan UN area of operations.