When will the Lebanese government erect posters, preferably the size of Hizbullah's divine victory posters, warning citizens and foreign visitors not to take pictures in territories run by the Hizbullah separatist group?
A French Socialist official attending a conference in Lebanon said Sunday he was detained for four hours by members of the Hezbollah group south of Beirut.
Karim Pakzad said he had been touring the area considered to be a Hezbollah stronghold in a convertible car and taking pictures when he was detained Saturday along with a companion and interrogated for four hours before they were both released.
Hezbollah said the two men were spotted near a Hezbollah official's residence in the suburb of Haret Hreik, "one of them taking a lot of pictures in a way that aroused suspicion."
The group said in a statement that the two were treated with "respect" and released after ascertaining their identities. Hezbollah said it had information of Israeli plans to target its members in the area and carry out other sabotage acts. (AP/IHT)
Pakzad had wanted to see "different parts" of Lebanon.
"We passed by a magnificent mosque ... and I took pictures of it," he said at a press conference. He described his detention as "a unique and painful experience" but said the "political consequences of the incident are much more important than something that concerns me personally."
Following the incident he told police that he was on the road leading up to Beirut International Airport when a motorcyclist followed by an SUV stopped him and led him to an unknown location for questioning, a senior police official told The Associated Press on Sunday.
According to Naharnet, Hizbullah wanted to "make sure they were not Israelis". Because you know, Israeli intelligence relies on photographs taken by spies disguised as French officials.
At the end of the day, it's never Hizbullah's fault.
Hezbollah in its statement accused Jumblatt and his allies of "exploiting the incident" for political gains and planning it by sending off an international delegate to the area without a security escort or any kind of coordination with the group, knowing the sensitivity of the situation.
One way to prevent this from ever happening again, apart from some kind of border demarcation between Lebanon and Hizbullah Land and clear travel warnings from the government of some of Lebanon, is of course dialogue outside the state's institutions!
Perhaps this will be "discussed":
South Lebanon villages are empty as Hizbullah sends recruits to tough training camps in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, Syria and Iran, the Observer newspaper has reported.
"It's not a matter of 'if,' says one fighter. It's a matter of when Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah commands us."
Hizbullah's policy of refusing to discuss military matters extends to the highest levels. But meetings with fighters, activists, Lebanese security officials, the U.N. peacekeepers along the border and residents of south Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, offered a glimpse inside the workings of a group rarely open to outsiders, according to The Observer.
"The most important thing is to never talk," said one fighter, who agreed to speak about the group without revealing his name or specific duties inside "the Islamic Resistance of Lebanon", as the military wing of Hizbullah is known.
"From the moment we begin our training, we are told two things: never disobey an order and never talk about the resistance. Hizbullah is not a job, it is not a family. It is a mix of religion, honor, dignity and discipline. It is my life," the fighter told The Observer. (Naharnet)
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