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Journalism of Courage
From the village of Ebel Saki, along the Lebanese-Israel border, one has a clear view of the Israeli gun positions on every elevated ground on the Israeli side of the blue line. Artillery on the Lebanese side, protected by think masonry and sandbags, is in Hizbullah hands. And who keeps the peace between these two almost implacably hostile forces? The captors of Tiger Hill, heroes of Kargil, the Eight Battalion of the Sikh regiment, key elements in a multinational UN peace keeping force in the region.
The Force commander who has various nationalities working under him is, obviously, above any local affiliations, but the jawans8212;mostly Sikhs8212;take heart from the fact that he is an Indian: Major General Lalit Mohan Tewari of the Madras regiment. I do not think folks in India are aware of the remarkable work Tewari is doing on one of the world8217;s most sensitive border. The trick is to have access to the highest echelons on the Israeli side as well as on the Lebanese. Such has been the record of Tewari8217;s neutrality, that he even has access where even the more stout-hearted diplomats fear to tread8212;the super-secretive Hizbullah leadership.
Suddenly someone approaches me and whispers furtively in my ear. I must get into the blue car waiting outside. What about my cameraman? He will come in the next car, I am told. I am then driven to a series of porticos, leading to cunning passages which are guarded by innocuous-looking women peeling potatoes. A flight of stairs and I am gently nudged into a well-lit room lined with ornate, velvet sofas. This is where the interview will take place. Meanwhile in another building, the cameraman has been separated from his equipment which is being scrutinised by Hizbullah engineers. After all the security checks, one is still left in suspense. Who is it that will materialise from the side door and settle down on the sofa under the arc lights:Hasan Nasrallah or Naim Qasim? Finally, Qasim makes an appearance, with a trimmed salt-and-pepper beard, white headgear and the grey, long gown generally worn by Shia clerics.
8220;Hizbullah is an influential party in Lebanon. You already have 12 MPs in a House of 120,8221; I remark. In other words, Hizbullah is not just an underground movement, it8217;s a respectable political party. Why then this cloak and dagger rendezvous? Qasim straightens himself. The security drill we have been witness to is not just theatre, Qasim explains. 8220;Israeli intelligence is out to assassinate the top leadership of the group.8221; Is he against Israeli policies or the state of Israel? He smiles, 8220;There are 350,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and even more in Syria, millions across the globe8212;they must have the right to return to their homes and Israelis must return to their respective homes in Europe, Russia, North Africa.8221;
This kind of cockiness is primarily a function of the fact that the Hizbullah is being given the credit for having forced Israel8217;s unconditional withdrawal from Lebanon on May 25, 2000. The apparent bravado of the group8217;s leaders notwithstanding, among the rank and file a message is sinking in: That the Americans will apply considerable pressure on Syria and Iran to cut all links with groups like the Hizbullah.
Since the occupation of Iraq, Damascus is only too sensitive to the fact that its troops are in Lebanon. Foreign Minister Farooq Sharaa was quite straightforward in his response: We are in Lebanon at Lebanese request. Earlier, in another context, President Bashar al-Assad had argued that Israel was still in occupation of seven villages in the Sheba farms along the Israel-Lebanon border8212;hence the question of withdrawing from Lebanon does not arise. In any event, the level of enthusiasm in Damascus for the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, called the 8220;road map8221;, is minimal because at this stage the 8220;road map8221; does not focus on the Syrian obsession called the Golan Heights.
It is generally not recognised what a key role the UN secretary general8217;s chief co-ordinator between Israel and Palestine, Toerie Larsen, is playing in ensuring the success of the 8220;road map8221;. Even though the focus now is on the Israeli-Palestine track, Larsen is spending a great deal of time softening up frontline states like Lebanon and Syria towards the road map. For example, an issue between Israel and Lebanon is the exchange of prisoners in each other8217;s jails. The Lebanese would be willing to take steps. The big obstacle in their way is the Israelis refusing the Palestinians8217; right to return.
After his recent meeting with US officials, Larsen is convinced of President Bush8217;s eagerness to author peace in the Middle East. The Bush, Abu Mazen, Sharon summit in Amman in the first week of June is being invested with a great deal of hope at the diplomatic level. The intelligentsia across the Arab World is extremely sceptical because American credit is abysmally low after the wide gaps that have appeared between Washington8217;s promises and performance in Iraq.
It is generally recognised that the Israel-Palestinian track is extremely risk prone. But to sensitise oneself to hundreds of unexpected situations that can suddenly overwhelm the region, a day with the Indian troops in Southern Lebanon is most instructive. I drive down the Gajjar village on the Wazani spring. A third of the village is in Lebanon, the rest in Israel. An international situation was created the other day when the Lebanese installed a pump on their side of the spring to draw some water. Before long, Israel had informed Washington that pumping of water by Lebanon would create scarcities in Israel!
Col Romesh Ghai, commander of the Indian battalion, is witness to situations which would be comical were they not taken so earnestly by both the sides. For instance the blue line, which separates Israel and Lebanon, at one point cuts through a shrine: the Lebanese believe it to be the grave of one Sheikh Abad while the Israelis consider it the grave of a rabbi!
