[IMC-Video] War fails to dim Hizbullah's beacon

[a. mark liiv]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/syria/story/0,,1864254,00.html

War fails to dim Hizbullah's beacon

Terror group's scatterred journalists feed stories through hidden studios

Declan Walsh in Beirut
Monday September 4, 2006
The Guardian

Ibrahim Farhad is in a strange predicament. He 
can happily talk about the television station he 
works for - al Manar, Hizbullah's privately owned 
mouthpiece. The problem is, he can't say where it 
is.

"Honestly, I have no idea where we broadcast 
from," says the black-clad public relations 
manager with a smile. "And even if I did, I 
couldn't tell you."

Infused with the same secrecy and iron discipline 
as Hizbullah itself, al Manar - "the beacon" in 
Arabic - has gone underground, perhaps literally.

Israel blitzed the station's Beirut headquarters 
in the opening days of the recent conflict, 
levelling it to rubble. But within minutes the 
station transferred to a new location from where 
it resumed broadcasting its mix of news, prayers 
and propaganda.

The location remains a closely guarded secret, 
second only to the whereabouts of Hizbullah's 
leader, Hassan Nasrallah. A popular rumour has 
the station ensconced inside a fortified bunker, 
which would help explain how it survived the war.

Despite seven Israeli strikes against its 
facilities over 34 days, the channel claims it 
went off air for just two minutes. "We are very 
proud of that. Our station was a prime target, 
but they couldn't shut us down," said Mr Farhad.

Israel is not the only country trying. The US 
government has designated the station a "global 
terrorist entity", and late last month federal 
agents arrested a New York satellite television 
distributor who offered it to his customers. 
France, Spain and the Netherlands have also 
imposed bans.

But the censors have failed to halt its galloping 
ratings in the Middle East. At the height of 
fighting in late July, al Manar was the 10th 
most-watched satellite station in the Arab world, 
according to a poll by the Ipsos-Stat agency - up 
from 83rd in the previous survey period.

"They were well prepared for war. Whether you 
like them or not, you have to admit they are 
serious," said Joseph Samaha, editor of the Arab 
language newspaper al Akhbar.

The station was a key element of Hizbullah's 
armoury. As Israel showered southern villages 
with leaflets warning residents to flee or be 
killed, al Manar journalists offered frontline 
reports about Hizbullah successes and rocket 
strikes into northern Israel.

The station is also a critical element in the 
rise of Mr Nasrallah. The bearded cleric's 
telegenic manner - calm, poised and flashing the 
occasional smile - has undoubtedly helped build 
his stature as one of the most popular figures in 
the Arab and Muslim worlds.

During the heaviest fighting, Mr Nasrallah went 
on air to soothe supporters. Within hours of the 
August 14 ceasefire, he declared a "strategic, 
historic victory" and announced a multimillion 
pound aid package for 15,000 families who lost 
their homes.

Critics counter that the station, which began 
broadcasting in 1990, is a sinister front for 
terrorism. The Foundation for Defence of 
Democracies, a conservative Washington thinktank, 
says its programmes incite suicide bombers and 
have claimed that Jews kill Christian children 
and use their blood to make unleavened bread for 
the Passover holiday.

A French court shut down broadcasts in 2004 on 
the basis that its programmes were anti-Semitic. 
Two years earlier a news executive, Hassan 
Fadlallah, told the New Yorker: "We're not 
looking to interview [Israeli prime minister] 
Sharon. We want to get close to him in order to 
kill him."

These days, though, the station is projecting a 
softer image. Although it still features 
patriotic songs exalting the "Islamic resistance" 
(a synonym for Hizbullah) and condemning the 
"Great Satan" (the US), most airtime is filled 
with political debates and reports about 
reconstruction efforts.

Mr Farhad, the PR manager, said Israel is trying 
to demonise the station in the west for its 
staunch pro-Palestinian stance. "We have no 
programmes about suicide bombs. We simply reflect 
the reality of what Israelis do to the 
Palestinians. For this they classify us as 
terrorists," he said.

He also denied the station is a Hizbullah 
mouthpiece. Although Hizbullah officials own 30% 
of its shares, the remainder are controlled by 
about 50 businessmen including Christians and 
Sunni Muslims. "We are not just for one sect. We 
are a balanced station," he said.

Al Manar's moment of glory may be passing. Eight 
days ago, Mr Nasrallah gave a key interview to a 
competing channel, NTV. Analysts speculated that 
he wanted to widen Hizbullah's appeal to non-Shia 
Lebanese.

Al Manar's schedules are due to return to normal 
this week, with the return of children's and 
sports programmes. Meanwhile most of the 200 
staff - 70 of them journalists - will continue to 
work from remote offices, unaware of where their 
headquarters lies.

"We are a target, we are listed as terrorists, so 
this is necessary," said Mr Farhad, with a shrug. 
"But God willing, it will all come to a happy 
end."



Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006