The Associated Press
September 24, 2006 - 12:00AM
HEZBOLLAH leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah rejected international calls to disarm his Lebanese guerillas and told 500,000 supporters at a "victory" rally they still had more than 20,000 rockets after a month of war with Israel.
Speaking to a sea of followers at a "divine victory" rally in south Beirut on Friday, Nasrallah said Hezbollah had emerged stronger from a conflict in which Israel declared it had destroyed most of the Shiite Muslim group's arsenal.
In his first public appearance since the war broke out in July, Nasrallah told hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters that Hezbollah had "more than 20,000 rockets" and that it had "recovered all its organisational and military capabilities . . . it is stronger than it was before July 12".
Nasrallah's estimate of Hezbollah's retained arsenal is five times greater than the total number it fired into Israel during the war, and higher than any previous figure he has given.
He also warned the United Nations peacekeepers not to seek confrontation with Hezbollah.
"Your mission is not to spy on Hezbollah or to disarm the resistance," he told a crowd packed into the Shiite Muslim suburbs which were heavily bombed in the 34-day war.
He said measures to stop Hezbollah rearming, including international forces patrolling the Lebanese coast and tighter security on the border with Lebanon, would have little impact.
The huge turnout in a country of 4 million was a gesture of defiance to Israel but also marked a challenge to the US-backed Lebanese Government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
Nasrallah called for a change of government in Lebanon and slammed Arab leaders for failing to defend the Lebanese people.
"The building of an able, just and strong state starts first with the establishment of a national unity government. This is our new project that we will work for with all our force in the coming stage."
The rally had been expected to coincide with the final withdrawal of Israeli troops from the south, but Israel's army chief said on Wednesday the pullout might take a few more days.
Israeli forces have been gradually leaving territory they captured in fighting that began after Hezbollah guerillas seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.
Israel and Hezbollah have both declared themselves victors in the war which killed nearly 1200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mainly soldiers.
Thousands had walked to the rally from Shiite villages in south Lebanon battered by Israel's bombardment and invasion.
The Beirut crowds carried pictures of Nasrallah and yellow Hezbollah flags bearing the message "Here we are Nasrallah".
Many wore yellow T-shirts and chanted pro-Hezbollah slogans. Some said they were there not only to celebrate but also simply to see the charismatic Nasrallah.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/half-a-million-rally-in-support-of-hezbolla h/2006/09/24/1158431945449.html
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