On the Road to a Shia Majority in Lebanon

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=102072

BEIRUT: Comments made by Hizbullah's General Secretary Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in praise of the May 7, 2008 events provoked furious condemnation from politicians in the March 14 coalition over the weekend. Nasrallah sparked criticism on Friday after calling May 7, 2008, a "glorious day" for the Resistance. "I tell the Lebanese, in particular Sunnis and Shiites, that the May 7 events put an end to war in Beirut," he said in a televised speech. Violence erupted last year when forces headed by Hizbullah forcibly took over parts of West Beirut after the Lebanese government attempted to dismantle the group's telecommunications network and remove Wafic Choucair from his post as head of security at Beirut's International Airport.

The clashes, in which at least 81 people were killed, "safeguarded Lebanon's institutions and forced all Lebanese parties to go back to the [national] dialogue, which led to the election of President Michel Sleiman," Nasrallah said. But many other Lebanese politicians disagree, and Nasrallah's comments sparked damnation from the Hariri-led March 14 coalition, which says last May's violence brought Lebanon to the brink of a renewed civil war.

In his speech Friday, Nasrallah also called for the creation of a higher national committee for abolishing sectarianism in accordance with the 1989 Taif Accord, which ended Lebanon's 1975-90 Civil War.