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<P><A name=Anchor-7></A><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#9c3632
size=+1>LEB</FONT><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#9c3632
size=+1>ANON</FONT><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#9c3632
size=+1><STRONG>: </STRONG></FONT><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
color=#3a3838 size=+1>Shiites Reject Calls for Hizbullah to Lay Down its
Arms</FONT><BR><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#9c3632
size=-1><EM>Daily Star</EM></FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial color=#3a3838
size=2>Lebanon's Shiite community, which stretches from the Southern tip of
Lebanon to Beirut, has resoundingly rejected international and internal calls
for Hizbullah's disarmament. Calls for the disarmament have multiplied since
Syria bowed to international demands for a full troop withdrawal from its
smaller neighbor. Moreover, increasing international pressure, manifested by UN
Security Council Resolution 1559, on the Lebanese government to disarm what is
known as "the resistance," has split Lebanese public opinion. The international
community defines the organization as a militia that should be disarmed. Earlier
last week, the U.S. stand regarding Hizbullah seemed to have softened when Bush
expressed openness to the idea of Hizbullah as a Lebanese political party, as
long as it discarded its military wing and laid down its arms. But, Hizbullah
has repeatedly ruled out laying down its weapons, placing the organizati on in
direct defiance of Resolution 1559, adopted last year, which also calls on the
Lebanese government to extend its control to all parts of the country - namely
Hizbullah's stronghold along the southern borders with Israel.</FONT><BR><FONT
face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#3a3838 size=-1><A
href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=13617">Continue
reading this article</A><A
href="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=13617"></EM></A></FONT><BR></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#3a3838 size=2><FONT
face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#3a3838
size=2><STRONG>Links to related articles:</STRONG></FONT><BR><FONT
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