France breaks the code, hit by Arab backlash over Hizbullah

PARIS -- France is encountering withering protests for its condemnation of Hizbullah.

French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's condemnation of the Lebanese Shi'ite militia as terrorists has sparked both Arab government protests and demonstrations by Arab rank-and-file. Jospin's trip to the West Bank was marred by Palestinian stonethrowers at a university outside Ramallah.

On Thursday, Jospin said, "France condemns Hizbullah's attacks, and all types of terrorist attacks which may be carried out against soldiers or possibly Israel's civilian population."

The governments of Lebanon and Syria also expressed anger over Jospin's condemnation. In Damascus, the French ambassador to Damascus, Charles-Henri d'Aragon, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Saturday.

"Jospin's position endangers French interests in Lebanon and the Arab world, and it contradicts its attempts to build an Arab policy independent from American policy," Hizbullah said in a statement. "This immoral declaration destroys the basis of the French policy."

French President Jacques Chirac has reprimanded Jospin and said his description of Hizbullah did not reflect French policy. Two weeks earlier, the United States came under withering criticism and protests for its condemnation of Hizbullah.

Earlier, the Syrian government daily Tishrin said Jospin had "surprised Lebanon, the entire Arab world and many Europeans." The newspaper said Israel would "take advantage of his remarks to launch new attacks on Lebanon and further damage the peace process."

In Beirut, Lebanese government leaders, subservient to Syria, expressed anger over Jospin's remarks. The Al-Anwar paper said Lebanese "couldn't believe their ears and had to shake themselves to figure out if the denigration of the Lebanese resistance was actually coming out of the mouth of the French prime minister."

In the Gulf, government-controlled newspapers expressed astonishment. "How can the resistance in Lebanon be likened to terrorism?" asked Al Khaleej, published in the United Arab Emirates.

The Saudi Al-Nadwa newspaper went further. "Franco-Arab relations, which have always been special, are today in danger if this position is not rectified," it said.

Before he arrived in Paris, Jospin tried to undo the damage. On Saturday, Jospin focused on Israel's military presence in Lebanon. "France condemns the presence of Israeli troops in Lebanon, the occupation of south Lebanon by Israel," he said.