Toufeili's protests weaken the resistance
Lebanon, Politics, 8/18/1997

Hizbullah declared on August 17 that protest calls by Sheikh Sobhi Toufeili threaten to produce conflict with the government at a time when the resistance should be concentrating on the Israeli threat.

At a commemoration in Baalbek for a resistance fighter killed one week ago, the head of the Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc, Ibrahim Amin Sayyed, condemned "any movement which weakens the resistance under any name or hurts the position of the resistance in the region." Sayyed's remarks referred to Toufeili's hunger revolution.

Sayyed said any protest movement was tolerable as long as it fulfilled three conditions: "that it supported the resistance; that it did not hurt the party's strength and position in the country; and that it conformed to unity in word and among the ranks."

But the Baalbek-Hermel deputy, while claiming his party was willing to cooperate with the government to alleviate socioeconomic problems, warned that Hizbullah would not tolerate a weakening of the Islamic resistance.

"The authorities' recent decisions (to deploy troops in the Bekaa) are an indication of putting the resistance in a trap, and the people into the mouth of the wolf9this is something we will not accept," he said.

Meanwhile, Toufeili, in a rare conciliatory statement, welcomed the government's recent decision to launch development projects in the northern Bekaa but pledged to continue applying pressure until all his demands are met.

"The government has recognized that what is doing is useless... the people are not asking for bullets and tanks but for bread and the easing of the socioeconomic crisis, " he said.

"We have given them a chance until September 13, but this does not mean that we will stay in our homes and do nothing. We are pressing forward with our demands," he added.

Lebanese president Elias Hrawi last week signed a decree on irrigation projects for the Orontes river and Yammouneh lake, drinking water projects in Ayoun Orgghosh, and waste water treatment in Hermel.

All these projects were given priority by the government and were included in the 150 billion Lebanese Lira budget designated by the cabinet in June for the Baalbek-Hermel and Akkar region.

Defense Minister Mohsen Dalloul confirmed the government's will to implement the development projects in the Baalbek-Hermel area but criticized Toufeili's actions.

During a rally in Mashgara, western Bekaa, Dalloul claimed that Toufeili's campaign was "out of proportion" to the needs of the district, and that is why the army was deployed to put an end to it.

He warned against attempts to take advantage of social neglect and added that only the present government has attempted to alleviate poverty in the area.

Previous Stories:
  Hizbullah leader welcomes troops sent to muzzle protesters   (8/14/1997)
  Hizbullah leaders escalate crisis in Lebanon   (8/12/1997)
  State accused of scare tactics   (7/29/1997)

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