Hezbollah: Terrorist organization or liberation movement?

Five years after the 34-day war of 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah, many Lebanese fear that there could be another, bigger conflict to come.

Created in the early 1980s Hezbollah - the party of God - has become Israel's most powerful enemy. It forced the Israeli army out of Lebanon in 2000 ending decades of occupation.

And in 2006 it withstood over a month of Israeli attacks - which was all its leader Hasan Nasrallah needed to declare victory.

Hezbollah has more weapons than many European armies.

The US designates it as a terrorist organization.

"When you behave like a terrorist organization, you murder civilians and you defy UN resolutions which were on several occasions to disarm, I think it's just pretty clear what you are," says Richard Baehr, the political director of the conservative online magazine American Thinker.

Others, such as Alistair Crooke, disagree. A former British intelligence agent, he now runs a think tank in Beirut through which he has frequent contact with Hezbollah. "They are a resistance movement," he says. "They are a liberation movement."

But can Hezbollah argue it is resisting Israeli occupation when the Israelis have withdrawn from Lebanese land? One answer is that they have not withdrawn - at least not entirely.

Some of the land occupied by Israel is in fact disputed. Some, including the United Nations, believe the Shebaa Farms area is Syrian and not Lebanese territory.

But there is another area, the northern half of Ghajar village. "This is Lebanese territory which is under Israeli occupation," says Randa Slim from the centre-left New America Foundation.

Supporters of Israel, such as Richard Baehr, counter that the occupation of half a village hardly justifies Hezbollah having such a large military force: "Is that the basis for having 40,000 rockets and missiles, for murdering Israeli forces on the border, for firing rockets into Israel?"

Hezbollah, however, argues there is another reason it needs to maintain its force: to deter future Israeli attack.

Rio+20 must 'unenvironmentalise' green issues, says G77 negotiator

Focus should shift to economics to make notion of sustainability more widely accepted, says senior organizer for Brazil.

Next year's Rio+20 United Nations summit must "un-environmentalise" the world's approach to sustainability so that it can reach out beyond the converted, according to a senior organizer in the host nation.

André Corrêa do Lago, the chief negotiator for Brazil, who is also chief climate negotiator for the G77+China UN grouping of developing countries said the once-in-a-generation gathering should focus on economic opportunities.

The efforts to broaden the principles of the original 1992 Rio Earth summit are likely to prove controversial. Supporters say the world needs a new, more inclusive approach to sustainability that emphasizes the benefits to humanity because current efforts to protect nature are failing. Critics warn the increased emphasis on technology and markets will simply green wash destructive levels of consumption and development.

The first Rio summit 20 years ago is seen as one of the most ambitious gatherings in the history of the United Nations. More than 100 heads of state signed up to a raft of actions, including efforts to halt the deterioration of the ozone layer, tackle climate change and reduce the loss of biodiversity. These issues have taken centre stage in international negotiations for the past two decades.

The follow-up in June 2012 will also try to set the global agenda for the next 20 years, predicted do Lago, but he said the outcome would take a different shape.

"There is fatigue of conventions." he said. Instead, he anticipates measures on water, energy, and more discussion on technology and work on how to develop a "green economy", while eradicating poverty.

The shift partly reflects a change in the global balance of power. Twenty years ago, the west dominated the world economy and political agenda. Today, older industrial powers are struggling to recover from the 2008 financial crisis while fast developing nations, like China, India and Brazil are in the ascendant.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 773