May 25th this year marks the eighth anniversary of Israel's military withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000. While most of the country was preoccupied with the election of Lebanon's new president, the anniversary was celebrated this weekend at all levels of Hezbollah's media and popular culture – from the towns of south Lebanon, to television programming on Al Manar satellite television, and banners displayed on the group's websites.
Being that this year's anniversary comes as Lebanon's political opposition emerged triumphant from Doha, and shortly after the 60th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, the 25th of May this year appears to be more than a celebration of a single event or conflict for Hezbollah. Instead, it is being framed more as a celebration of the group's greater legacy of ‘Resistance’. The election of compromise candidate Gen. Michel Suleiman to the presidency on Sunday, who has signaled that he would honor Hezbollah's armed status, has also perhaps given the 25th of May added importance to Hezbollah in 2008. Accordingly, the significance of the anniversary this year was projected beyond south Lebanon to reflect on a host of issues.
In the 'street’: Take a look at celebrations on Saturday from the town of Bint Jbeil. This coverage is from a website by the same name (bintjbeil.org), which caters to Hezbollah's local Lebanese audience. The town is an important landmark of the armed Resistance being the site of key past engagements with the IDF. Festivities included a performance by the Hezbollah-inspired Firqat al-Wilayya musical group, while townspeople, and local, as well as parliamentary, officials were in attendance.
Festivities also took place on Sunday in Qaliyat al-Shaqeef – an old crusader castle turned military outpost by the IDF and Hezbollah – that were MCed by Issam Abu Jamra, a leader from Hezbollah's predominantly Christian opposition ally the Free Patriotic Movement. He reportedly raised a Lebanese flag above the edifice, perhaps as a symbolic gesture of the event representing a ‘Lebanese’ victory.
On the air: I was able to watch Al Manar satellite television via internet feed this weekend. One reoccurring theme in Al Manar's presentation of the anniversary was stressing the regional importance of this historical victory, as well as its importance to Lebanese history. Throughout the weekend, a number of clips commemorating the 25th of May event were aired between the stations headline programs. This included a number of video testimonials entitled, “…From Palestine”, that were delivered by Palestinian leaders with various political affiliations (from PIJ, PFLP, DFLP, and even Jordan's IAF) reflecting on the importance of Hezbollah's victory in 2000 to both the Lebanese and Palestinian causes.
Much of the station's programs were also geared towards the holiday. While programming on Sunday May 25th primarily covered the election of Michel Suleiman, much of Saturday's prime-time programming reflected upon the significance of the 25th of May event beyond Lebanon. One talk show entitled, “Agendas”, examined the ‘lesson’ of the holiday and what it meant for Palestine's struggle for its own liberation.
The show featured commentary from a variety of Palestinian officials from the PLO, Hamas, and PIJ. While they all attested to the symbolic value of the 25th of May, there were different interpretations regarding if and how the Hezbollah model should be implemented in the Palestinian context. After reflecting upon Hezbollah's actions leading up to the 2000 withdrawal, the relative lack of unity amongst the various Palestinian factions was also addressed by some of the commentators.
Online: In addition to providing news coverage of the festivities on the ground, the group's websites also posted banners commemorating the event as both a victory for Lebanon and a vindicating moment for the May 1948 Nakba. For example, at the base of the banner below, taken from one the group's websites, it reads: “Not a victory for a [particular] party, sect, or group… it is the triumph of the true Lebanon, the true Lebanese people, and every free person in this world”, while written in the foreground is, “May 1948 the Nakba, May 2000 the Triumph.”
