Washington, DC (Islam Online) - With the withdrawal of Israeli troops in
Southern Lebanon coming to an end, the Southern Lebanese Army (SLA) members
find themselves in an awkward position.
Although the SLA believes that it was simply defending Southern Lebanon
against foreign interests, its members know that as soon as Israel
withdraws from its territory in the South, they will be faced with a lot of
hardship and hatred on the part of their countrymen.
Lebanon, which rejected an SLA demand for amnesty similar to those granted
to militias after the end of the country*s 1975-1990 civil war, insists on
prosecuting SLA members for "treason and collaboration with the enemy."
Because of this, many of its members have deserted the pro-Israeli group
and handed themselves over to anti-Israeli Muslim groups.
The latest count on desertions bring to 36 the number of SLA members who
have defected since last Monday, according to a tally of communiques from
the Amal and Hezbollah groups. Although, Lebanese security officials say as
many as 80 SLA members have defected over the past week.
This past Friday, Lebanese Interior Minister Michel Murr said the Lebanese
army intelligence services would contact Amal and Hezbollah to arrange for
any deserters who are taken to be handed over to judicial authorities.
Many members of the SLA look at their situation as one that is grossly
misunderstood. "We first carried arms in the 1970s to protect ourselves
from the Palestinian guerrillas who came to fight Israel from here, but
tried to control our region when there was no real government presence,"
explained Mikhael, a Christian SLA officer.
"Now, we want to defend our region against those who want to murder us in
our beds," he said, referring to Hezbollah*s pledge to kill all SLA
militiamen who do not surrender or "repent" by killing an Israeli or SLA
officer.
The two main Islamist groups fighting the SLA believe that the recent rash
of desertions is a positive sign. Hezbollah said in a statement that the
desertions show the decline of "the agents paid off by Israel," while Amal
said they were a "tangible sign showing that the SLA was nearing its last
breath."
The composition of the SLA is 70 percent Shiite Muslim, seventeen percent
Druze, 10 percent are Christian and three percent are Sunni Muslims.
Lebanon estimates that there are now between 2,300 and 2,400 members of the
SLA, compared with up to 2,800 last year. Its members are torn between
defection into various Lebanese factions or migration to countries in the
West. According to the reports, all the deserters are reportedly Shiite
Muslims.
Wassalamu'alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarokaatuh
(DI-23/05/00)
