Shi'ite resentment of govt fuels Lebanon crisis

Beirut, Nov 29: Hadi Saeed's bakery was wrecked by Israeli bombing during the Jewish state's war with Hezbollah.

Freshly tiled and equipped with a new oven, the shop in the southern suburbs of Beirut is now back in business and baking lunch for workmen who are removing the rubble of nearby buildings destroyed in the war.

The cash which helped him refit his bakery came from Hezbollah.

He feels betrayed and neglected by the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, which is now at political loggerheads with the Shi'ite Muslim group.

''I have not got one dollar from Fouad Siniora's government,'' said Saeed, raising his voice over the noise of mechanical diggers as they scooped debris away from the site.

''We want this government to fall,'' he said, echoing the demand of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah who has pledged to use peaceful protests to topple the cabinet.

''As soon as Sayyed gives the word we will all go out into the streets because he is the one working for our interests and who stands beside us,'' said Hassan Zarif, a builder taking a break from his work.

Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria, is paying for the building work being done by Zarif's firm. It has pledged to rebuild all the homes destroyed in the war, which was triggered by Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers in July.

Nasrallah has accused the government, dominated by anti-Syrian politicians, of wagering that Israel would deal a strong blow to Hezbollah during the 34-day conflict.

Saeed said he felt betrayed by the cabinet. ''It's not a Lebanese government,'' he said. ''All we wanted from them was a position of support. It's like treachery.''

''PROFOUND MISTRUST''

The United States has said that Iran and Syria, acting through Hezbollah, could be on the verge of a coup in Lebanon against the Siniora government which it supports.

The government was weakened this month by the resignation of six opposition ministers and the assassination of anti-Syrian minister Pierre Gemayel.

Anti-Syrian leaders have portrayed the resignations and assassination as designed to bring down the government to derail an international tribunal to try suspects in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

They say Hezbollah is trying to defend Syria, which they blame for the killing. Syria denies involvement.

Hezbollah and its allies in the opposition say they support the idea of the tribunal, but want more seats in a cabinet they have branded as a US government in Lebanon.

''They want the truth (behind the Hariri) assassination. At the same time, they forget everything else,'' said Zeinab Saad, a shop worker in the southern suburbs.

''They neglect our rights as humans,'' she said. ''Negligence, negligence,'' muttered a customer standing next to her.

A deep mistrust of the Interior Ministry's security forces has widened the gap between residents of the southern suburbs and the government.

Saad said her brother had quit the police force over a shooting in a Shi'ite area in October which killed two children. Residents blame the Interior Ministry, which said it would open an investigation into the incident.

''They are killing, not protecting,'' Saad said.

REUTERS