lebbohemian

Lebanon and it's Collective Memory: A National Travesty?

2008-04-27T23:04:00.000-07:00

Since the Lebanese Civil War ended in 1990, and particularly since the Syrian withdrawal in 2005, there has been much talk of a need to create some kind of popular consensus on the nation's turbulent history of civil wars, invasions, assassinations, and general political strife.

Since 2005, and particularly since July 2006, Lebanon has been undergoing further domestic troubles, partly due to sectarian dissent over the sharing of the spoils and partly due to its position as a pawn on the regional and international chessboard.

Given the periodic troubles that plagued the country even in the 1990s and early 2000s, Lebanon has been unstable for more than three decades in all.

Since the Syrian withdrawal in 2005 and the effective meltdown of the police state that was prepped up by the Syrian presence, speaking of certain formerly "taboo" matters has become permissible.

Many thinkers, activists, and even some politicians have posed the question of the why there is as yet no systematic attempt to bring together the nation's collective traumatic memory into some kind of memorial meeting place for all the Lebanese.

There are, in my view, two reasons:

- The fact that this was neglected in favour of economic reconstruction and the interests of business

- The fact that the Syrian imposed police state judged that a national reconciliation was not in its interest, since its policy was effectively one of "divide and rule".

With regard to the first, in terms of economic reconstruction, considerable though the achievements have been, they will remain incomplete if the Lebanese nation continues to suffer from the psychological malaise that it suffers from; and that will continue to be so until it deals with its turbulent past (and present).

Various half-hearted remedies have been attempted: The preservation of a war-damaged building near the Sodeco district of Beirut, the holding of a day-long event to commemorate the outbreak of the War (April 13) by different groups.

But none of this will suffice to heal the national psyche.

To this end, I propose the following list of measures:

- The creation of a Truth Commission to find the truth behind the myriad crimes of the War, though NOT to try any war criminals as that would be problematic and would destabilise the country.

- The creation of a memorial in Downtown Beirut for all who died or disappeared in the Lebanese War, regardless of their sect or the side on which they were.

- The purchase of the Ayn er Remmaneh Bus, now in private ownership, and putting it on public display, also in the downtown. Perhaps one could put it in the ball shaped "dome" near Martyrs' Square, as part of a War Museum to be created as part of the collective consciousness. That would also be a way to preserve the endangered dome.

- The revival of the prewar "Cenacle Libanais" as a meeting place for artists and intellectuals of all creeds and orientations in the Downtown.

The Legend of Fairuz: What Are They Up To?

2008-03-17T00:24:00.000-07:00

I think it's clear what the Syrian regime is up to:

Besides waging a de facto war on Lebanon by terrorism and economic means, they are doing it by psychological means as well.

How?

Lebanon has very few symbols that unite its people to create an identity.
Fairuz is one of them.
By getting her to sing in Damascus, knowing the Lebanese people would disagree over it, they are desecrating this symbol.
What's next? The Cedars of Lebanon?

While there's no point in saying it now, maybe Fairuz should have come up with some kind of diplomatic solution to avoid such a controversy. That's because to give a clear answer would play into that regime's hands by angering either one side or the other.

Anyway, provided nothing else happens and this mess doesn't get out of
control, the Legend of Fairuz will endure.

A Blueprint for Putting Lebanon Under An International Umbrella

2007-11-11T15:59:00.000-08:00

As a subscriber to the Avaaz mailing list, I received two days ago an email from that organization regarding the Lebanese Presidential election dilemma. It was addressed to the Lebanese members of Avaaz, and the line they took was the following:

That as the Lebanese members of Avaaz, they felt we should be the first to be consulted about the Lebanese situation. A promotion line, one might think, but one based in common sense nonetheless.

It contained a general survey, a choice of the candidates, and, at the end, some room for personal comments.
In that category I told them the following:

That while I personally favoured the creation of a new Lebanese foreign policy, one of positive neutrality along the Austrian model, which would get the country out of the Middle East quagmire, thus making its internal divisions more manageable, I knew this to be impossible at present.

Therefore, I advocated instead putting Lebanon under an international umbrella, (something which is already happening to some extent), along the following lines:

1- The setting up and fortification of the International Tribunal to investigate the Hariri assassination with the full powers accorded it by international law.

2- The liberation of the Shebaa Farms and what remains of occupied land and having it placed under a UN Trusteeship until further notice.

3- A return to the 1949 Armistice Agreement with Israel until such time as a peace treaty can be negotiated (that will not be politically viable until Syria has done so).

4- The delineation of the borders with BOTH Israel and Syria.

5- The extension of the UNIFIL mandate North of the Litani and along the Syrian border as well.

6- An exchange of embassies with Syria

Note that the above list is a very theoretical, idealistic one and that some of the above proposals may be difficult or well nigh impossible to accomplish, for various reasons.

Nevertheless, I considered it worth putting down such a blueprint in order that one may set a ceiling in order to try and accomplish as much as possible of it toward a stronger, stabler, more peaceful Lebanon.

All input is welcome.

Lebanon, Lebanon

2007-09-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

"Ce Petit Pays Qui Est Si Important".

The philosophical words of Prince Metternich, the Austrian Chancellor, ring down to us through the ages.

Less well known are the words with which he concluded his philippic: "If there will be peace in Lebanon, there will be peace in all of the Levant."

Metternich's words, said in 1840, at the Height of the Eastern Question, showed a unique insight into and about Lebanon, a land he had never visited.

Even then, the country, a little Emirate, was a plaything in the hands of greater powers and a doorway into the Levant, a smaller part of that which we now call the Middle East. It was composed of numerous sects that were constantly at each other's throats.

Its civil wars then were brief and manageable, because at the time there was an Ottoman Empire that spread from Egypt to the Balkans. There were no tribes with flags. There was no Arab Israeli conflict. In a nutshell, there was no Middle East problem to complicate matters as happened with the War of 1975.

It is not the purpose of this work to delve into history, so suffice it to say that now, nearly two centuries on, Lebanon continues to suffer.

It is therefore increasingly clear that the only solution is for Lebanon to become a neutral country, thus allowing it to avoid getting further involved in the regional fracas, and allowing its divisions to become more manageable.

As long as this problem remains unsolved, Lebanon will continue to suffer. For the foreseeable future that is.

Indeed, it is our destiny as Lebanese to suffer and yet savour (I refuse to use the term "love") life as well, in this ancient land so laden with perils.

War of the Barid: A Victory Long Overdue

2007-09-03T08:36:00.000-07:00

The Lebanese Army's victory Sunday at over Fatah Al Islam at the Nahr Al Barid camp was a source of happiness and relief to every true Lebanese and all of Lebanon's well wishers abroad. It has provided a morale boost to the war weary Lebanese people and might boost general confidence in the country and the government, provided that certain sides do not attempt to sabotage this achievement by disturbing the public peace.

It ought to have happened long ago however. The Army's weapons are obsolete, some of them actually dating back to World War II. Numerous promises have been to provide it with weapons but few have been fulfilled. As General Michel Suleiman put it, the message is basically "die and the aid might come later". As I have said before there are many ways to provide the money for arming our military, and one must be creative. One way is by making use of private initiative and the Lebanese diaspora.

Prime Minister Siniora was right when he said this was not a victory over Islam or the Palestinian people but over terrorism, and equated it with Hezbollah's victory over Israel last summer.

The camp must be brought under the control of the Lebanese state and only the Lebanese state; under no circumstances must the armed Palestinian factions be allowed to regain control of the camp. The camps when armed are a breeding ground for lawlessness.

The time has come for Lebanon to formally repudiate all remnants of the 1969 Cairo Agreement that has caused so much death and destruction in Lebanon.

On another note, Lebanon's political malaise is two parts:

internal- sectarian/clannish

external- regional/international.

Neutralizing the Palestinian camps (while bearing in mind the humane needs of the civilian inhabitants of the camp) is a major step toward stabilizing Lebanon as a prelude toward making its internal divisions more manageable.

The Mask has Fallen: Musings of an Angry Shiite

2007-06-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

The Mask has Fallen. When I say this I am referring to my revered coreligionists.
They have shown their true colours, and with little camouflage.

At the scene of the murder of Future MP Waleed Ido, the correspondent for the NBN-(National Broadcasting Network)- often mistaken for Nabih Berri Network, after the initials of its esteemed owner, said: "Put me on air". Little realizing that she was already being aired live, she went on to say: "I'm surprised they took so long to take him out. Why didn't they take Ahmed Fatfat as well?"

She was, of course, fired by her employers and will be awaiting some kind of legal action.
But this is the culture of barbarism that has been fostered by the media machine of the Shia socalled leadership. Granted, it is a common enough human experience to take pleasure in other's woes. We have all known it.

But to promote a media culture that expresses itself in that vein is pure barbarism and depravity. And it is indeed true that they have taken grim pleasure in watching the politicians of the other camp drop like flies (pardon my diction), and even went so far as to distribute Ma'amoul, or sweets, on the day of Jebran Tweni's assassination.
This might be psychoanalyzed though by no means explained or justified by the fact that Tweni was known to have harbored a deep-seated anti-Shiite bigotry, referring to them as "sheep" on March 8, 2005.

All of this has obscured the fact, and which cannot be repeated too often, that the Shia of Jabal Amil, though mired in poverty and despite a history of persecution, were a proud and generous race, known for their gallantry, and not given over to outbursts of malice. People of the sword and pen, they valiantly preserved their liberty and folkways against a succesion of opressors, Ayyubid, Mamluk, Ottoman, and French, and their heritage that has only recently begun to be studied by international academics in recent years.

The damage and discredit that their reputation has suffered in recent times, due in large part to the imported Khomeini school of fundamentalism, whch runs contrary to freethinking pluralism, must be reversed.

The Question is How?

Al Jazeera: Reporting or Backbiting?

2007-06-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

Watching the sensational documentary "Control Room", one could not but applaud Al Jazeera's courageous, uninhibited reporting on the US invasion of Iraq, hitherto unprecedented in the Arab World. Indeed, for a long time since its inception, Al Jazeera has been hailed as the bearer of a wakeup call to the dormant peoples of the Arab Region, often sending shivers down the spine of many a corrupt and brutal Arab despot.

At times, however, it gives the strong impression of descending into petty, spiteful, and chauvinistic Inter-Arab rivalries. This trend seems to have been getting more pronounced in recent times, and nowhere is it more apparent than in what relates to Lebanon and the Lebanese.

While based in Qatar, AlJazeera is heavily staffed by Palestinian/Jordanians. These promptly take sides with their compatriots in Lebanon when the latter are at odds with the Lebanese authorities. Understandable. It is equally understandable that they should deplore the civilian casualties among the Palestinian refugees in Nahr Al Barid.

What is not understandable, and certainly not justifiable, under any tenet of Media Ethics, is that they should state that the Lebanese Army "says" or "claims" such and such. No other news channel in the Arab World has done so.

Are they accusing the Lebanese Army of lying?

If so they have a lot of explaining to do.

To add insult to injury, they broadcast one of the leading thugs of Fatah Al Islam confirming that he was alive, sabre rattling and uttering all sorts of macabre threats. This has had the effect of raising the enemy's morale.

They did the same during the early days of the US War on Terror, broadcasting footage of Osama Bin Laden, thus causing the American Administration to dubb them "Al Qaeda's Mouthpiece". Reviled as the Bush Administration rightly is, a self respecting news station does not give publicity to mass murdering terrorists just to get high ratings. That only gives the impression that it has a political agenda at hand, and a suspect one at that.

What they do not seem to bear in mind is that it is not the purpose of the Lebanese Army or Government to kill Palestinian civilians, but to fight Fatah Al Islam, most of whose members are NOT Palestinian. These civilians chose to stay in the camp knowing full well what was coming, and are now being used as human shields by Fatah Al Islam. Yet Al Jazeera seems to insinuate that the Lebanese Army is to blame.

Finally, Al Jazeera's claim to be enlightening the Arab masses falls flat on its face when it gives the limelight to common criminals who use the faith of Islam to justify murder, mayhem and subversion. If Al Jazeera does hold the Arab weal at heart, it should stop flirting with fundamentalism and uphold secular values, something we badly need given the current hysteria of fanaticism sweeping over the region.

Bull's Eye? Could Be, Could Be Not

2007-06-04T10:29:00.000-07:00

Whether or not the plucky students who had the temerity to make wagers on the location and timing of the next explosion (see previous blog) have been on the mark or off it, Sid El Bouchrieh is a typical target for the mobile bombs for which our cherished brethren are NOT responsible:

It is a lower middle class Christian neighbourhood with a Muslim minority, mostly residential but also containing considerable commercial and industrial setups.

Old Habits Die Hard.

With A Vengeance.

2007-06-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

A Source for Opinion Pieces on what I believe Lebanon needs to become a viable state politically and thereby in other spheres.

Sensational

2007-06-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

Open at your own risk

The Tribunal: A Necessity Long Overdue

2007-05-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

There have been myriad analyses and interpretations of the International Tribunal regarding the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri.

Some have spoken of "internationalization" or "tadweel". Others have said Lebanon would lose its sovereignty. Still others that it would be politicized or be used purposes of revenge or political payback.

Be all that as it may, there are certain basic facts that are being disregarded here.

-For one thing, in the new international order of today, classical notions of sovereignty are gradually being eroded in favour of international legality. Hezbollah's rhetoric about loss of sovereignty and the supposed "internationalization" of Lebanon shows a backward outlook and a certain lack of legal sophistication. There has been talk of trying Israeli leaders and/or officersby creating International Tribunals. We cannot suppose that these same people would object to such a setup on the grounds of "Internationalization". If anything they would be clapping the skin off their hands. Certainly Israel is Lebanon's historic enemy, but this is a double standard nonetheless. In other words, if indeed they believe that Israel is behind the crimes, they should have no compunctions in supporting the tribunal.

-Secondly, China and Russia, the leading international objectors to the tribunal, object to it in order to counter American influence in the region. Beyond that, however, they seem divided. Russia, besides wanting to cover the tracks of the Syrian regime, fears that the tribunal will form a dangerous precedent regarding the Kremlin's own sordid record regarding assassinations, not only in Chechenya but also regarding the murders of journalist Anna Politkovskaya and secret agent Alexander Litvinenko (see a previous blog post). Indeed, Russia's image and its relations with Britain have deteriorated severely due to the Litvinenko affair. The man suspected of poisoning Litvinenko has given a press conference in Moscow in which he accused British intelligence of being behind the Litvinenko murder.

-Finally, and most importantly, Lebanon in the second half of the 20th century has had a larger number of political assassinations than any other country in the WORLD. This trend has been more marked since the beginning of the Civil Wars of 1975-1990. The tragic cortege begins with Kamal Joumblatt in 1977 and ends (so far!) with Pierre Gemayyel Jr. in 2006. Whoever is behind the killings, and that is not the point (it just so happens that most of those culled were anti-Syrian), the Lebanese judiciary is clearly incapable of dealing with the matter on its own, as most of the investigations have been mysteriously shelved due to a mixture of sticks and carrots held out by the police state octopi. The general message sent out is that Lebanon is a veritable jungle where any spygroup, gang, or band of hoodlums may perform target practice on politicians and public figures. Undeterred, the cycle will continue unchecked, the cycle of the war of others on our land. This criminal nexus often plays on Lebanon's turbulent history of clan feuds.

The point of all this, and which cannot be overemphasized, is that the Tribunal,whatever its political implications in the eyes of the Bush Administration or of the March 14 camp, is a tribunal in defence of common civilization in Lebanon, and that its potential failure would be the death warrant for the possibility of all rule of law in Lebanon.

That is the Long and Short of it.

Land and People: No food

2007-05-28T05:42:00.000-07:00

Land and People: No food

www.lebBohemian.blogspot.com

Bombshell Bets

2007-05-26T07:45:00.000-07:00

A classmate of mine has told me that some of her flatmates, after successive explosions in Ashrafieh, Verdun, and Aley, are starting to make wagers on where the next blast will be. Apparently they are training their analytical skills and making money in the bargain.
Macabre or Money Minded?
Ah, the brain of the Lebanese.

Israel Attacks Hamas

2007-05-26T06:17:00.000-07:00

Israel, in characteristic fashion, has taken advantage of the troubled situation in Lebanon to attack Hamas in Palestine.
The same thing happened during last year's July War on Lebanon, only the other way round. The assault on Lebanon helped to deflect attention from a massive crackdown on the Palestinians in retaliation for the capture of an Israeli soldier by Hamas, whom the latter had been hoping to trade for thousands of Palestinian political and other prisoners in the jails of the occupation.
Let us hope that the Lebanese army manages to stamp out Fatah Al Islam with as little effusion of civilian blood as possible.

Lebanon: Is It a Viable Country?

2007-05-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

There is an old joke that Hitler couldn't occupy Lebanon because when he tried to locate it on the map, it was so small that a fly had done the deed on it and thus covered it.

It is a tiny country by almost any standards. In some African countries a national park might be larger. It has few resources to speak of, besides its people, and these are sometimes more curse than blessing, despite their dynamism.
Clannish and corrupt, they are not easy to govern.
Divided into 17 (now 19 with the addition of the Alawis and Copts, respectively) confessions and subdivided into myriad clan loyalties, they are a mosaic, as Antun S'adeh, the semi- fascist Pan Syrian, once said.
Lebanon has witnessed a number of secterian civil wars since the 1820s.
Beginning as Druze/Maronite, they have evolved into Moslem/Christian, and are now forecast to be Sunni/Shia.
What has made the situation far more complex is the presence of Israel and the Palestinian problem, which exploded the situation and complicated it greatly. It may thus be seen that the wars of 1975-1990 were by the far the longest and bloodiest, for they were the most compounded by foreign intervention.
The conventional wisdom has had it that the Lebanese, incapable of reaching a consensus, are in need of foreign mediation to agree on powersharing formulas.
Infact foreign mediation is not a solution but rather part of the problem.
Foreign powers, whether of East or West, tend to manipulate secterian divisions to their own advantage in order to gain influence in Lebanon, often using it as a stepping stone into the Middle East.
The country's Byzantine political system plays into their hands.
In other words, Lebanon, with its current political setup, and in the present inhospitable surroundings, is not a viable state.
The question is: Can it become one?
If the Shebaa Farms are liberated under UN Trusteeship, and a return to the 1949 Armistice is arranged, until such time as a long term solution to the Middle East problem can be found.

If Lebanon builds up a strong defense, from foreign aid and possibly from private citizenry, as I have mentioned before. Note that there is a vast and wealthy Lebanese diaspora, whose potential remains untapped.

If Lebanon explores the possibilities of becoming a neutral country as advocated by Ghassan Tueni in his book "Une Guerre Pour Les Autres" and by the late Raymond Edde before him. By doing so we would effectively neutralize, or minimize, the effects of foreign intervention.

To etsablish long-term economic viability, one needs to make use of the limited resources available, and also make a transfer from a Laissez Faire economic system to one of true free enterprise, that is, one that is truly free rather than chaotic or crony capitalist.

Join me soon for a full view on what that entails.

The Lebanese Army? Dead Weight or Untapped Potential?

2007-05-21T08:50:00.000-07:00

Forgive me readers. It is not the purpose of this work to be lengthy or stylistic. It is merely to convey a message.
The upshot is that a disaster is going in the North, and if it drags on Tripoli itself will be threatened.
Our soldiers have fought bravely, and have sustained heavy casualties against the thugs of the so-called Fatah Al Islam. It is not my aim here to moralize over their raison d'etre. All the Palestinian movements in Lebanon started as freedom fighting movements and mutated into gangs.
This particular specimen, however, was never a freedom fighting movement; it began as a stooge of the Syrian regime, designed to sabotage the international tribunal investigating the Hariri murder. This is proven by the fact that it was condemned by the other Palestinian factions in the Camp of Nahr al Barid.

The casualties on the other side have been found to include other Arab nationalities, Afghans, Bengalis, and various others.

Be that as it may, the army has demonstrated its ability to remain united and fight, bypassing secterian divisions.

On the other hand, it has not proven its ability to fight victoriously against internal adversaries. The point of this is that Lebanon needs a strong defense, and it needs it now.

The problem is not with the military's courage or dedication, but with their training and equipment. Admittedly, I am not, admittedly, a military expert, but there is a general consensus on the subject.

Our army needs to be armed to the teeth, so to speak, not only in the face of internal threats but external ones as well. This may seem insane to some, but it is possible.
How so?

The idea is not to be able to defeat Syria or Israel in a hypothetical war, but to able to administer them blows strong enough to to deter them.

There are three important questions that must be answered:
Money, money, money.
The government is already almost bankrupt, one would say.
After the July War, however, much of the country's infrastructure was rebuilt by private initiative; in other words, by donations from wealthy citizens. Therefore, is it not possible to buy weapons in the same manner?
The idea to be sure, is outlandish, some would say revolutionary, but desperate times call for desperate measures (even it means using a cliche in one's writing).
Lebanon has historically had weak state, which has led to the rise of a strong civil society to remedy its shortcomings. Perhaps now the civil society, for once, can help reinforce the state.

Some would say Lebanon is too small to have strong army. Spare me that bull. Singapore has a strong army for pete's sake. Why? Because it's government has a spine and cares about safeguarding its prosperity. A major difference is that Singapore is a dictatorship. That's not what we want for Lebanon of course.
All we want is that this little country, so small in size yet so large in human endeavour and achievment, be able to stand up for itself.

Lebanon must build up its army ASAP.

LebBohemian

2007-04-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

Memoirs of a Beirut Fall
Blog Archive
▼ 2006 (2)
▼ December (1)
Aoun: The Missing Link
► November (1)
Sweet November: Memoirs of a Beirut Fall - Part 1

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Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Aoun: The Missing Link
Aoun: The Missing Link “We are going to hold the show even if there’s an Israeli assault on the Biel.”Ziad RahbaniTit for tat. They had their demonstration so we’ll have ours. Or we’ll have our own ego trip is more like it. It’s that simple. That is the sum total of today’s downtown bazaar. Yes, I call this one a bazaar too, only perhaps a more drab one than that of the other camp. Whereas in the first Cedar Revolution the sexual tension had been quite tangible, passes being made, smiles being exchanged, flesh rubbing against tattooed flesh, I assumed that here things would be quite prim and conservative, given the socio-political inclinations of many of the participants. I mean, we were definitely not going to find condoms sprawling on the ground in Martyrs’ Square at midnight, I supposed, until someone pointed out that given a few days they would probably start contracting mut’aa marriages. I have the grace not to mention the street vendors peddling turmos, nara for argileh, and the like. On a less amusing note, let us go back a fortnight in time. When the Security Council voted on the subject of the International Tribunal, two member states were thought to be lukewarm on the subject, namely Qatar and Russia. Why? Qatar, because as the only Arab country currently on the council it did not want to be seen as supporting a Tribunal seen as being aimed against a fellow Arab state, Syria, and Russia, the weightier player, for two reasons. First, because, Syria being its leading ally in the Middle East, it wants to cover the Syrian regime’s tracks. And secondly, because such a tribunal might set a dangerous precedent given its own grisly record vis-à-vis assassinations, not only in Chechnya but also regarding more recent deaths such as those of journalist Anna Politkovskaya and secret agent Alexander Litvinenko. This last analysis, while widely talked about, was confirmed to me by a professor of Political Science at LAU who shall remain nameless. Well there we have it. Crowds of people protesting against Saad Hariri in the downtown that his father built for them (well maybe it was aimed at the rich but it was a farsighted investment for the whole country), agents provocateurs- taboor khamis is the appropriate lingo I believe-shooting innocent bystanders from upper windows (or was it rooftops?) and the rabble’s media outlets using the poor man’s death to recycle their cheap political capital. When I call them “rabble” I am not passing judgment on these people on class grounds but simply because most of them do not and will not think for themselves. They are there because they were told, or rather brainwashed to be there. The dogmatic and comprehensivist approach that Hezbollah takes to almost all issues is contrary to the basic modern liberal ideas of openness, tolerance, pluralism, in short, it is in essence contrary to freedom, that ray of light without which Lebanon would be an overcast wasteland Furthermore, it causes many people to misunderstand and deride the Shiá, causing, causing the public and media to overlook the fact that this is an historic sect with a proud past. In some fields it boasts a stupendous number of achievments.
There are a growing number of voices among the Shiá intelligentsia (e.g. Mona Fayyad, Jihad Zein) and even some Ulama who are growing increasingly vocal in their opposition to the hijacking of our sect’s decision by a single party. The fact is it’s a choice. What do we want Lebanon to be? Do we want to map our way via Damascus and Tehran or via Paris and Washington? I disagree with what some believe that the road through Washington necessarily leads to Tel Aviv. Apart from such purblind neocons as outgoing US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton, much of the American establishment now sees that a peace treaty between Lebanon and Israel is not a possibility in the foreseeable future. In such a case, would it not make sense to return to the Armistice agreement of 1949? Why did the Southern border witness so little action between 1949 and 1969? Because Lebanon wisely (some would say treasonably) stayed out of the conflict.Why did President Nasser of Egypt see fit to browbeat Lebanon’s feeble Helou administration into accepting the armed Palestinian presence?Because he saw that Lebanon was the weak link in the Arab chain, and could conveniently be taken advantage of.In response the Maronite militias began to arm and within six years the Paris of the East had become the Stalingrad of the East, from being a toast of hope to a toast of nostalgia. As Dr Marwan Iskandar said in his article entitled “The Other Voice”, published in An Nahar last October, “Lebanon has given forty years of its life to the Palestinian cause. Enough is enough.” Why not declare Lebanon a neutral country, as the late Raymond Edde advocated? Why should we see that as contradicting Lebanon’s Arab identity? That identity is enshrined in the constitution, besides the fact is that Lebanon is a member of the Arab League and Arabic is the official language. That is what embodies Lebanon’s Arab identity, not continuing to flog a dead horse for the sake of the Golan and the harebrained schemes of Ahmadinajad, who has been compared by many to George W. Bush in his manner of policymaking and execution. (Note: for a further discussion of the Lebanese dilemma and what sort of treatment I believe it needs see my next article coming in the next couple of days)One hears chilling stories about neighbors in places like Barbour who used to play backgammon and smoke argileh getting into fistfights. Why? Because one family is Sunni and the other Shiá. Not Muslim and Christian. Sunni and Shiá. Because if there is another war, which is possible if not probable, it’ll be between Sunni and Shiá. Does the word “Iraq” ring a bell?Where do the provocateurs come from? Need one pose that question? The big sister of course, ever present and ready to shower us with devoted care. The Palestinian camps, belts of misery, provide droves of potential troublemakers, fueled on by decades of poverty and humiliation. The news of LF elements training in the Kesrawan, true or not, is not an encouraging item of news in itself. General Michel Suleiman’s statement that the situation is not parallel to that of 1975 is a pile of rubbish. I think they’re eerily alike. Once again the most volatile fault line is the Southern Suburbs, Dahiyeh/Ayn Er Remmaneh. Both are underprivileged low income suburbs, one Shiá, one Maronite. It has already seen a number of tremors. That is not to say there will be another Ayn er Remmaneh Bus incident anytime soon, but it is worth noting. It is these young bloods who will staff any future militias, not the bourgeois youths of Ashrafieh and Verdun. Dahiyeh was not always an exclusively Shiite area. It once had a sizeable Christian community, and was the birthplace of Michel Aoun, whereas the second was the childhood home of Samir Geagea. The two men of war turned politicians are now at loggerheads with each other, as they were during the 1990 War of Elimination, again manipulated by Syria. This grand irony aside, one cannot help remembering the seemingly clairvoyant words of the late Georges Hawi, who said that either Geagea’s release from prison or Aoun’s return from exile was good but the two combined would not be advisable for they would soon be at odds again, given the fact that the Lebanese stage is too small for two such prima donnas. He could not have been more prescient. Many predicted that would happen though, and this was probably the calculation of our cherished brethren when they made their infamous “deal” with Mon Generale vis-à-vis his return. To give their client axis nationwide legitimacy, they need a Christian partner. Aoun, in his mania for the presidency, is the Missing Link in this chain of events. No pun intended. The final question is the following: With their ongoing carnival in the downtown, Israel, whose destruction they claim their mantra, is seeking to take advantage of the situation. Do they not realize that if they persist in this farce, they are not only obstructing progress and the normal evolution of things, but playing into the hands of our historic enemy?
Posted by Amer at 12:03 PM 0 comments
Saturday, November 25, 2006

Sweet November: Memoirs of a Beirut Fall - Part 1
Sweet November: Memoirs of A Beirut FallThere we were all over again. There was a supreme sense of deja vue. Or, should I say, a benighted sense of deja vue.The crowds in Martyrs’ Square, the Place de la Liberte, the flags fluttering, children carrying placards, and gorgeous, buxom girls literally belly dancing to the sound of patriotic music.It was the Beirut Spring revisited. But this time it was a Beirut Fall. As summed up by Charles Malik Jr., grandson of Lebanon’s most illustrious diplomat, on one of our national blogs, it’s basically a devastating summer war, followed by anger and depression, and then this outpouring of emotion over the assassination of one of Lebanon’s most charismatic young politicians. It was the Independence Intifada revisited, but now by a people in a mood of anger, bitterness, and sheer hopelessness at the relentless cycle of bloodletting on Lebanon’s soil.There were a number of amusing sights and sounds. Some filled you with confidence in your country; others made your hair stand on end. Having collected the hutafat, or slogans, of the Cedar Revolution, I was pleasantly surprised to find a whole set of new ones, some quaint, some morbid.When I some heard some LF Kid yelling “Nasrallah Sabrak Sabrak, Ayn er Remmaneh Abrak”, my blood ran cold.A more pleasant sight was a watching group formed of veiled women and LF bloods coming together (yes, I kid you not) to wave a giant flag. Despite my distrust of the LF, I took part for about five minutes then continued along my way.But what really caught my attention was the sight of a huge placard that said: Our Blood is Hariri, Our Summit is Joumblatt, Our History is Phalange, Our Inclination is LF, Pierre Lives On In Us, We Are March 14, and Enough is Enough.” It was carried, surprise, surprise, by a veiled Sunni woman from Tarik Jdide.It was, as I told a friend, a bazaar, which is not to detract from the importance of the event. When I say that, I mean that it was full of the usual quaint street scenes, follies and inconsistencies that Lebanon so richly boasts. More importantly, it showed that despite the sheer exhaustion of the Lebanese people, the Lebanese spirit was not to be cowed by the Syrian killing machine.Many of the speakers had words of substance to say, but the words of President Gemayel rang with truth: “A countdown has begun that will conclude with a change of president, for reform and change, and those who want reform and change must join hands with us in order to achieve it”, in a clear jab at that power mad clown General Aoun.Although Gemayel was highly popular, he was also a controversial figure. The Phalange Party, founded by his grandfather, Sheikh Pierre Gemayel Sr., is unpopular in some circles, especially non-Christian ones, for some of its actions during the Civil War. Sheikh Pierre Jr. himself drew hostile criticism from Muslims early last year for making a public statement about “quantity and quality”.Nevertheless, he showed great promise as an upcoming politician, and might in another generation have reached the Presidency. He had that rare combination needed to be a President of Lebanon: A strong will, charisma, integrity, intellect, and the appropriate background, for the history of the Gemayel family spans the history of modern Lebanon.There can be little doubt that the assassination of Pierre Gemayel is being used for political purposes. Still, if this turns out to serve the interests of Lebanon, as the Hariri assassination did, then perhaps Sheikh Pierre will not have died in vain.Perhaps the biggest turnoff in all this was the populist rhetoric, the crowd pleasing speeches used to move the people, to mobilize the masses, Sadly, we have not yet evolved beyond demagoguery.While we are still not above being manipulated by spin and rhetoric, we at least have (hopefully) enough awareness to avoid being drawn into the quicksand of another civil war, fed by the venom of sectarian incitement. This was proven when we came out in droves last year in peaceful protests that lit TV screens in all 24 time zones. Instead of the rioting and police brutality that many feared, protesters exchanged white roses with soldiers. Let us hope to see that once more.Finally, we are all united by a shared belief in freedom and in Lebanon’s greatness. Indeed, freedom, and those values and traditions that accompany it, are what made Lebanon great in the past. We must not allow this greatness to go to the dogs once more. Today is a Day of Reckoning, the reckoning of our posterity. If we choose to go once more down the dark path of April 1975, we will have consigned ourselves to the dustbin of history.