Hizbullah: Lebanese government should not describe us as a militia

The Lebanese Hizbullah party called on the Lebanese government not to respond to the pressures made by the UN Security Council by stressing that its armed wing is but a group defending Lebanon against Israel and not a militia.

The Lebanese minister of energy and waters Muhammad Fannish said that the demands set by the UN Security Council to dismantle Hizbullah is "a continuous American pressure in order to enable Israel to continue its occupation (of Lebanese and Arab lands) and to open Lebanon up before the Israeli ambitions."

Fannish considered that this matter is considered an insult for all Lebanese when resistance is called a militia noting "should we tell them this is resistance and not militia, we will prevent them from interfering in our internal affairs," attributing the call by the UN Security Council for a free and transparent elections in Lebanon as an attempt to "undermine Lebanon's stability."

Five Lebanese ministers including Fannish from the bloc which includes Hizbullah party and the Amal movement withdrew in December 2005 from the meetings of the government and set a precondition for their return back to consider the armed group of Hizbullah a legitimate group whose weapons can not be dismantled.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the UN Security Council urged the Lebanese Presidency to spread its control on its lands and expressed satisfaction over the partial implementation of UN resolution 1559.