Will name games help Hizbullah?

A U.N. Security Council resolution demanding the disarmament of Lebanese militias does not apply to Hizbullah but the group will be disarmed, Lebanon's new prime minister, Najib Mikati, said on Friday. The disarming of Hizbullah, however, "Would have to be in the context of a Lebanese framework," Mikati told Arab-language reporters after meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. "They will. I said it," He said in Arabic when asked if the group would be disarmed. But "In our terminology, Hizbullah is not a militia. It is a resistance (group), and we believe that there is a difference between a resistance and a militia," Mikati told Reuters in English. "To a certain extent," He said, without elaboration, when asked if that meant the resolution did not apply to Hizbullah. Resolution 1559, adopted by the 15-nation U.N. Council last September, also demanded that Syria withdraw its military and intelligence forces from Lebanon and that Beirut conduct free and fair elections free of outside interference. U.N. Officials monitoring 1559's implementation say they are focusing for now on elections set to begin on May 29 after Syria said last month it had withdrawn all its troops. The task of disarming militias is not a priority for now, they say. Annan did not meet with reporters after his talks with Mikati. But a spokesman said he "Reiterated his call for the full implementation of resolution 1559." The resolution said militias operating on Lebanese soil should be disarmed so the central government can exercise sovereignty over the entire country. Parts of southern Lebanon are now under Hizbullah control while armed Palestinian groups occupy other areas. Hizbullah claims enclave captured from Syria But Hizbullah leaders argue that demands for disarmament are part of a U.S. effort to help Israel. Lebanon's Arab neighbors say Israel must withdraw its troops from the contested Shebaa Farms (Har Dov) area in order to comply with the resolution. The area is a border strip that the United Nations and Israel say is in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights --captured from Syria -- while Syria and Lebanon say it is Lebanese. Israeli soldiers occasionally exchange fire with Hizbullah militiamen across the Israel-Lebanon border fixed by the United Nations when Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year occupation. Israeli military jets regularly fly across the border into Lebanese airspace, triggering occasional anti-aircraft fire from Hizbullah that from time to time sends shells crashing into populated areas in northern Israel.

Will name games help Hizbullah?

Lebanese president says Hizbullah a 'resistance' group, not militia, but insists it will be disarmed anyway