Echoes of Hizbullah New Manifesto

Sara Ibrahim

After 25-years, Hizbullah announced the second 32-page Manifesto, stating that a new political statement was needed to reflect a change in the region. The media, politicians and analysts' comments, followed Hizbullah Secretary General's recitation of the New Manifesto last Monday.

The Lebanese dailies covered Hizbullah's New Manifesto from different angles.

According to As-Safir Lebanese daily newspaper, for the first time since Hizbullah's participation in the Lebanese Parliament in 1992, Hizbullah gave in an intensified document that covers different sensitive issues, starting from the Resistance, to the State in Lebanon, the Palestinian cause, the Arabism and the relationship with Iran.

Assafir concluded that Hizbullah presented a fine and well-studied political document.

The Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar reported that the fact that Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has personally read the new manifesto, indicates the importance of the manifesto and Hizbullah's wide concern to the Lebanese and Arabs. Noting that the manifesto included terms and expressions that appear for the first time in the form of a document, such as conflicts related to exploitation and the gap between rich and poor.

As for Lebanese daily An-Nahar, Hizbullah new Manifesto holds a high and remarkable change in their rhetoric and terminology over the Lebanese internal issues, adding that the manifesto gained attention throughout the Arab and Western diplomatic circles.

Meanwhile Al- Jazeera TV news site, added that Hizbullah has toned down its rhetoric recently as it gained political clout, after the first manifesto in 1985, called for the establishment of Islamic rule in Lebanon.

Moving on to Ynet an "Israeli" news site, they noted that Hizbullah new manifesto promotes armed battle against "Israel" and the US, as well as all of the latter's protectorates, and that it is a rage against the US.

The Jerusalem Post an "Israeli" newspaper commented on the manifesto saying that it showed some signs of moderation on the Lebanese political scene, and underscored the importance of coexistence among Lebanon's 18 religious sects.

Analysts had their say in different Lebanese newspapers as well, Paul Salem Head of the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut said: "Hizbullah's new Manifesto signals a shift in its position as it seeks to portray itself as an integral part of Lebanon's domestic scene rather than an Iranian proxy", adding that this time Hizbullah is balancing its ties to Lebanon and its ties to Iran.

Salem pointed out that the manifesto defends Hizbullah's right to bear arms, and that their weapons are a fixture and not a transitional phase followed by integration with the army.

Ousama Safa, Head of the Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies, said that the manifesto clearly shows that Hizbullah's weapon isn't opened to discussion, and that while the manifesto sounds more Lebanese in tone, Hizbullah is indisputable about its right to keep its arsenal.

A political analyst and Journalist Nicholas Nassif, said in one of his articles that Hizbullah's new manifesto clearly shows a turning point in Hizbullah's political methods, adding that Hizbullah's stances on Syria, Iran and Palestine didn't change, but the stance towards Europe surely changed.

Nassif noted that Hizbullah's path has always been the same, but it was in the stage of resurrection.

Lebanese Media followed the Lebanese politicians for a word on Hizbullah Manifesto.
MP Mustafa Alloush said that Hizbullah's new manifesto is abstract and that it reiterated its insistence on the continuation of the status regarding the weapon and Shiba'a Farms.

Knowing that Sayyed Hassan stressed that abolishing political sectarianism is a "basic condition" for the implementation of the majority-minority rule; MP Mustafa Alloush disagreed saying that this demand is intended to manipulate the majority of people in Lebanon to rule.

March 14 General Secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid said that the new manifesto torpedoed the national dialogue and efforts to come up with a unified defence strategy.

Although Prime Minister Saad Hariri's new government in November agreed on a policy statement that acknowledged Hizbullah's right to hole weapons for use against "Israel", underlining the right of Lebanon, its government, its people, its army and its resistance to liberate all Lebanese territory. Fares Soaid noted that the cohabitation between Hizbullah and the Lebanese army in a single state is impossible to achieve.

Soaid considered the new manifesto not much different than the first document issued in 1985.

The latter echoed Foreign Secretary David Miliband's words in an exclusive interview with the Daily Star.

Miliband said there should be no weapons other than those controlled by the Lebanese state. Knowing that Britain is now trying to open contacts with Hizbullah, it ceased contact with Hizbullah in 2005 and officially listed it as a terrorist organization last year.

Continuing with the Lebanese politicians, State Minister Jean Oghassabian said that Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has offered contradictory positions in the party's new political Manifesto, of where he considered Sayyed Nasrallah opening the door to dialogue on one hand, and on the other hand speaking of interaction between the army and the resistance because the state is unable to face up to "Israeli" aggression, stressing that the resistance has a separate moral identity.

As for Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt, he agreed with the new manifesto. Especially when speaking about the US position and its support to "Israel", the inter-Arab relations, the important of Resistance's track record between 1968 and 2006.

Unlike MP Alloush, Jumblatt agrees with Sayyed Nasrallah, that the political sectarianism is the main "flaw" of Lebanon's political system.

Despite the fact that the Lebanese can't agree on everything, but as Sayyed Nasrallah said, we all want a Lebanon that is unified through its land, its people, its state and institutions!

Sayyed Nasrallah vowed that Hizbullah would continue to build up its arsenal to protect Lebanon against "Israeli" aggression. That vow shall be fulfilled.