Can Hizbullah `discipline men` keep protesters in line?

Source: Daily Star, 1-12-2006
BEIRUT: Thousands of Hizbullah "discipline men" will deploy to maintain order during protests scheduled to take place in Downtown Beirut beginning at 3 p.m. Friday, Hussein Rahhal, the group`s media officer, said on Thursday. Political opposition leaders have announced plans for a series of protests aiming to unseat the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) official Tony Mokheiber said on Thursday that some "5,000 FPM, Hizbullah, Amal and Marada supporters will be sleeping in Beirut`s squares." He added that the protesters will be provided with tents, food, medication, mobile toilets, generators and other logistics.
"This sit-in is the first step of a long chain of steps that the forces of the opposition will be taking until their national demands are fulfilled. It is a protest against the absence of true partnership in ruling and a demand for a national unity government," Mokheiber said.
Rahhal told The Daily Star that Hizbullah "is prepared and has several thousand of our discipline men ready to monitor the situation during the demonstration tomorrow. The men will be deployed to prevent trouble and clashes and to prevent infiltrators and isolate fights that might break out."
Rahhal argued that every organization and party "is responsible for its supporters."
The opposition includes Hizbullah, the Amal Movement, the Marada Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement, the Communist Party and the Lebanese Democratic Party.
The protesters will carry Lebanese flags only and call for a national unity government, Rahhal said.
"We have agreed that this will be a peaceful political protest and the slogans and banners are supposed to comply with that," he added. "No one is supposed to carry party flags tomorrow, only Lebanese flags."
The protesters will be gathering in "Martyrs Square, Riad Solh Square, anyplace. Whereever they reach and find a place, they will sit there," Rahhal told The Daily Star.
Mokheiber called upon FPM supporters not to carry party banners or flags. FPM posts across the country are distributing banners and Lebanese flags, he said.
A source close to Interior Minister Hassan Sabaa told The Daily Star on Thursday that government forces would not seek confrontation.
The Internal Security Forces (ISF) "will not be clashing with or opening fire at the protesters," the source said.
"We are here to help democratic demonstrations and to protect civilians," he added.
"The ISF are fully prepared for tomorrow," he said. "Thousands of officers and personnel will be deployed across Beirut to maintain safety. As long as the protesters don`t vandalize public or private property, the ISF will not interfere."
Meanwhile, widespread rumors that March 14 Forces would take to the streets tomorrow to protect the Cabinet remained unconfirmed.
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, considered by many a supporter of the March 14 Forces, called on followers on Thursday to refrain from taking to the streets!?