Welcome for Ahmadinejad rouses criticism in Lebanon (News Feature)

By Weedah Hamzah Oct 13, 2010, 12:22 GMT

Beirut- The rapturous welcome given to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by the militant Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah on Wednesday has unleashed a wave of criticism from Lebanese who oppose the group - particularly among Sunni Muslims and Christians.

'Why the exaggeration?' said Sofi, a Christian lady who is a follower of the Western-backed government.

'Let him (Ahmadinejad) go back to his own country and treat his people well. There is a lot of opposition against him in his country, and his regime is oppressing them.'

'I tell Hezbollah, Iran is only using them and Lebanon as a place to settle accounts with the West,' she added.

Thousands of Hezbollah followers lined the streets leading to the airport from the early morning hours on Wednesday to greet the group's main ally and financial backer.

Large posters of Ahmadinejad and former religious and political leader Ayatollah Khomeini also marked the way.

The crowd chanted 'God bless Iran and Lebanon' as Ahmadinejad's heavily guarded convoy made its way to the presidential palace, showering him with rice and rose petals.

'He is a historical leader for us. He carries the ordeals of the oppressed people of this region,' Zahra Ali, a Hezbollah follower who attended the welcoming ceremony, said.

Others were less enthusiastic. 'As I was driving to Beirut today I felt as if I was entering Tehran, pictures of Ahamdinejad, Khomeini and Iranian flags covering the streets,' Richard Sabbagha, a Maronite Christian, said.

'Hezbollah should know that not all Lebanese support them or want Iran in Lebanon,' he added.

'Ahmadinejad is only visiting Lebanon to support Hezbollah,' former parliamentarian Elias Attalah said. 'He made it clear in the statement he made on Wednesday.'

Prior to departing for Lebanon, the Iranian president was quoted on state television's website saying that Lebanon was the 'centre of resistance against imperialism.'

The so-called 'historic' visit comes as tension mounts between Hezbollah, the main opposition movement, and Prime Minister Saad Hariri's pro-Western parliamentary majority over a United Nations- backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri.

The tension was sparked after media reports indicated that the tribunal is set to indict Hezbollah members for Hariri's murder.

'This visit is to show the West and the Lebanese who oppose Hezbollah, that Lebanon has become a base for Iran in the region,' Ziad Sinno, a Sunni supporter of Saad Hariri's pro-Western Future Current movement, said.

Dissent over the tribunal has caused a deep rift in Lebanese society, raising fears of renewed sectarian violence and the collapse of Lebanon's hard-fought-for national unity government, in which Hezbollah has two ministers.

He would only be welcome in Lebanon 'if he came as the president of Iran, and not as the president of parts of Lebanon,' Samir Geagea, a prominent Christian political leader known for his anti-Hezbollah stance, said before Ahmadinejad's arrival.

But some fear that his, and Hezbollah's, influence in Lebanon is growing.

'Many in Lebanon see that Hezbollah is daily gaining control over the state,' Raymond Maroun, a Geagea supporter, said. 'And now they will see that Iran is encouraging them.'

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