Hizballah Mounts Pro-Syria Demonstration.

Hizballah has brought out thousands for the pro-Syrian part of the program:

BEIRUT, Lebanon Mar 8, 2005 — Pro-Syrian protesters gathered in a central Beirut square Tuesday, answering a nationwide call by the militant Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group for a demonstration to counter weeks of massive rallies demanding Syrian forces leave Lebanon.

Loudspeakers blared songs of resistance and organizers handed out Lebanese flags and directed the men and women to separate sections of the square. Black-clad Hezbollah guards handled security, lining the perimeter of the square and taking position on rooftops. Trained dogs sniffed for bombs.

Large cranes hoisted two giant white and red flags bearing Lebanon's cedar tree. On one, the words "Thank you Syria" were written in English; on the other, "No to foreign interference."

Hmmm. No foreign interference. This kind of attitude reminds me of the way some Russian officials view Ukraine and other former Soviet satellites.

This preview piece form Aljazeera contains some interesting points:

Hezbollah, one of the most widely popular and highly respected groups in the country and in the region, was a major factor in driving out the Israeli troops from southern Lebanon in 2000.

Remember also that Hizballah was responsible for the deaths of 240 Marines in Beirut, leading Ronald Reagan to pull troops from Lebanon. Some background here.

Furthermore, it has joined mainstream politics with nine members of the group in the current legislature while social and educational work across Shiite parts of the country have been undertaken by the group which also owns medical clinics, a newspaper and a TV station.

Yeah, these are just regular politicians. Of course, this is in a region where mainstream politics usually involves recruiting children to blow up Israelis.

The party remained mostly neutral since anti-Syrian protests took place in Lebanon last month. But last Sunday, the group threw its weight behind Syria and its allies and called for massive rallies in Beirut to show loyalty to Damascus.

For background on this feature see Tony's post here.

The leader of Hezbollah Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah called for the massive peaceful demonstration to be held on Tuesday in central Beirut, saying the protest is to denounce international interference, show support for resistance movements and foil any attempts to make a peace deal with Israel.

Nasrallah has also rejected the UN Security Council resolution sponsored by both France and the U.S. which calls for Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon to be accompanied by the disarming of all groups within the country.

I guess that's the bottom line, isn't it? No peace ever with Israel.

The reporting now is describing a peaceful protest with the usual anti-American and anti-Israel flag burning, etc. Contrast that with the pictures of happy people from yesterday's rally. As Glenn Reynolds says, which ones would you rather hang out with?

Tony takes a look at the list of organizations involved and has these comments:

An-Nahar reports that the Syrian mukhabarat has been pressuring municipalities in areas directly under its control in the north of Lebanon and the Bekaa to participate in the loyalist rally today. In one particular town, in the northern district of Akkar, clashes broke out between citizens and the mukhabarat. The mukhabarat had arrested a young man after an argument on participation in the rally, so the townspeople intercepted their vehicle and disarmed them and forced them to release the young man. More interesting is the report about busloads crossing the Syrian border carrying Syrians to participate in the rally, to boost its numbers. Hizbullah's station, Al-Manar, had a program urging people to show up, and it had call-ins from Syrians who confirmed that they will be attending the rally (with the Phalangists!!!). Anyway, anytime you hear some idiot like Cobban (or Leverett) talking about "fascist Phalangists" planning to retake power, nod your head in pity, and carry on. These people are totallyout of touch with any semblance of reality. They're stuck in a moment and a mindset that's over 20 years old.

Tony believes that Hizballah will suffer as a result of these protests. The Caveman has more here:

Nasrallah knows that Hizbullah sits in a state of political limbo at this point, and its position in Lebanon is not clear politically (for some background, see here, here, and here). Since Israel's withdrawal in 2000, it has had few occasions to create real trouble for the Israeli army, and simultaneously it has made attempts to increase its political visibility. In short, Hizbullah sits at a political crossroads, and the only way forward is to consider how to redefine itself within a Lebanese political framework. Largely, the "Lebanonization" program initiated by Hizbullah's spiritual leader Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, in which the party adopted as its primary mission the achievement of acceptance within mainstream Lebanese politics, is bearing fruit as we speak. At the same time, however, Hizbullah's pragmatism brings with it questions regarding its possession of weapons and whether it plans eventually to integrate itself into the Lebanese army in order to remove any other discrepancies about its status as an armed movement. Hizbullah has made its position clear on this, and paradoxically so: it will not give up its weapons, it will not join the Lebanese army, and it will continue to augment its level of political participation in the Lebanese state.

Also, some background on Iran, Syria and Hizballah here.

UPDATE: From Tempest at LBF (Lebanese Blogger Forum):

I beg to differ, Messrs. Nasrallah, Berri, Qanso, Oureiji, Frangieh and Andil. You are inciting chaos by shooting at innocent protesters. You are inciting chaos by carrying weapons to face peaceful, democratic protests. You are carrying non-Lebanese flags, pledging allegiance to non-Lebanese leaders, and shooting at your fellow Lebanese. You are mistaken. And -newsflash!- you are the minority. I pray for you sake. I pray that you come to your senses, and shed your chains. I pray that you throw off your allegiance to foreigners and join the rest of the free, independant, and sovereign Lebanese.

The hundreds and hundreds of thousands of patriotic Lebanese who have taken to the streets these past few weeks, waving only Lebanese flags, shouting only national slogans, deserve more than that.

UPDATE: For more developments see this post.