Lebanese Hezbollah sets up Arab relations section - paper

Text of report in English by privately-owned Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star website on 30 July

Beirut: Hezbollah has created a new political file for Arab relations in conjunction with its department of international affairs, and is set to formulate a new political charter, media reports said Tuesday [29 July].

According to As-Safir newspaper on Tuesday, Hezbollah has begun reorganizing the framework of the party in order to accommodate "structural modifications" that have emerged since the July 2006 war.

The paper reported that the new department would "monitor the party's relations in the Arab world with the different forces, parties, groups and elites, as well as with governments with which Hezbollah has existing relations or with which it may establish relations."

Hassan Azzadine [Hasan Izz-al-Din], a member of the Hezbollah politburo, will preside over the department.

The party's Political Council chief Ibrahim Amin al-Sayyid is tasked with leading the efforts to draft the new charter, which will be subject to ratification.

When contacted by The Daily Star to get the party's perspective on the new changes being introduced, Hezbollah declined to comment.

According to political analyst Osama Safa, the developments signify an "important public relations move for the group," and are an indication it wants to change its diplomatic strategies, and possibly "launch a rapprochement with countries" it does not enjoy good relations with, such as Jordan or regional super powers Saudi Arabia and Egypt, who back the March 14 ruling coalition. "Now is the time for political accommodation and repositioning for Hezbollah," Safa told The Daily Star on Tuesday. "A devoted Arab file would help to smooth over the edges with those countries."

Hezbollah expert Amal Saad-Ghorayeb viewed Hezbollah's establishment of an Arab relations department as "very much part of a wider appeal to the Sunni regimes in the Arab world." Lately, "Hezbollah has been trying very hard to mend ties with Sunni Arab countries," particularly in the Gulf region, Saad-Ghorayeb told The Daily Star. "There has been a very strong Sunni campaign against Hezbollah and Iran," Saad-Ghorayeb said, referring to the 'Shi'i crescent' Jordanian King Abdallah II claimed the two were attempting to create in the region, along with Iraqi Shi'is. "Iran has also been trying to improve its relations with" Sunni Arab countries, notably Egypt, Saad-Ghorayeb added.

"It is important that Hezbollah has at least reasonable ties with" Sunni states as that could "help prevent further campaigns against Hezbollah and Sunni-Shi'i tension." She said Hezbollah could also be seeking to bolster the role of Arab countries, such as Qatar, who are "relatively neutral and even dormant," in regional affairs. According to Saad-Ghorayeb, pushing for Arab engagement could result in a weakening of the political role and influence of the US, which is hostile to Hezbollah.

Karam Karam, project director at the Beirut-based Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies, told The Daily Star that a possible reason why Hezbollah launched the Arab relations department was to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the Arab nations. "Hezbollah has been trying to forge an image of itself as part of Arab national resistance," he said. The group has "tried to get away from being seen as attached to Lebanon and Lebanon's confessional disputes. It wants to present itself as part of a larger Arab resistance force against Israel."

Source: The Daily Star website, Beirut, in English 30 Jul 08