Beirut Explosion Unleashes Public Anger at Hezbollah, Lebanon’s Most Powerful Group.

 

BEIRUT—The throngs of antiestablishment protesters marching in Beirut after last week’s devastating explosion have turned their sights on one group above all: Hezbollah, the powerful, Iranian-backed Shiite political party and militia that has in recent years become a nearly untouchable force in Lebanon.

Hezbollah, which since its birth has billed itself as a bulwark against Israel and other foreign powers and a protector of Lebanon’s Shia population, is facing new, public criticism as an impediment to political reform. Critics say the group helps cover up systemic corruption and has focused its attention abroad instead of dealing with a deteriorating economic situation at home.

“They are the biggest obstacle to the project of founding a strong state with working institutions,” said Nizar Hassan, a 27-year-old activist with the Lebanese rights group Li Haki. “They are to blame for a lot of this.”

In the case of Hezbollah, it has operated a network of charities and welfare organizations parallel to the state, catering to the Muslim Shiite community. Such organizations often have been more efficient than those of the state, largely thanks to funding from Iran.

Hezbollah—which maintains a large militia and has been blamed for terrorist attacks around the world—is officially labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. and many European nations.

Lebanon’s sectarian structures are showing cracks, and not just in cosmopolitan Beirut where a youth-led protest movement erupted last year. Even in Hezbollah’s bedrock Shiite community, from south Beirut to Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, dissent is surfacing.

“He cries on live TV when they kill an Iranian leader but he is laughing and grinning in the face of a Lebanese catastrophe,” said Gino Raidy, a veteran antiestablishment blogger who has participated in the protests.

Hezbollah didn’t respond to several requests for comment.

“Hezbollah is bigger, greater and more noble than to be taken down by some liars, inciters, and those who are trying to push for civil war,” he said. “They have failed before and will fail again.”

The group has solid support among its key constituents. Even Shiites who are critical of the movement’s politics say Hezbollah is the only faction capable of protecting them.

In a bid to weaken Iran’s influence in Lebanon, the U.S. has pushed for Hezbollah’s disarmament and tightened economic sanctions on its officials. But while Western officials accuse Hezbollah of taking control of Lebanon, analysts say the group’s goal isn’t to govern the nation. It is to protect its own commercial and security interests, especially now as it comes under pressure from last week’s massive explosion, says Mr. Hokayem.

“Now, Lebanon is not functioning, and that’s a real existential risk,” says Mr. Hokayem. “It happens at a time when there is huge financial pressure on Hezbollah and the Shiite community is starting to see the costs of all this.”

—Dima Sadek in Beirut contributed to this article.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/beirut-explosion-unleashes-public-anger-at-hezbollah-lebanons-most-powerful-group-11597350861?mod=itp_wsj&mod=&mod=djemITP_h

 

 

 

 

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