for the good of the people

The economic policies of successive governments in Lebanon have focused on developing the centers at the expense of the peripheries, therefore weakening the central authority’s presence and strengthening the role that sectarian parties play in regions like Akkar, the South, and the Hermel. The latest events show, once again, how these conditions create pockets of poverty and misery prone to sectarian mobilization in times of crisis.

Benefiting from the high rate of unemployment in the mostly Sunni north, the Sunni Future Movement has managed to lure young men to the capital with the promise of work for security companies. I would not trust al-Manar’s reporting on this, but there are other sources. Ras Beirut residents have also witnessed how a large building on Sidani Street, between Shamali Stores and the ex-location of the Ministry of Economy, turned over the past few months into housing for young men from the north. This building was one of the flash points during the recent clashes around Hamra.

In a similar vein, Shiite Hizballah feeds on the economic situation to draw swathes of historically marginalized Shiites into its folds. It is no secret either that the party rides the bandwagon of labor demands to serve its own ends, often at the expense of sabotaging a good cause, as it did with the demonstration of May 7th.

When Hizballah first entered parliamentary politics in the 1990’s, some believed they had found an alley in the fight against the sectarian system and a champion for the Shia. Indeed, economic redistribution and the abolishment of political sectarianism were focal points in the party’s electoral program of 1996.

Hizballah, however, has done nothing by way of achieving these goals, for despite the rhetoric of “justice and equality,” the party is just as invested in the sectarian, clientelist system as the others. In his press conference of May 8th, Hassan Nasrallah “places the dots on the letters” regarding this point:

We do not propose any change in the makeup of the Lebanese system, in the makeup of authority, and some people accuse us because of this position. We are with the Taef agreement and with the implementation of the Taef agreement (…) If there is a general Lebanese will towards modification [of the political system], in the end this belongs to a general Lebanese will. But we, as a group, do we have propositions for adjustment or want to impose adjustments [to the political system] on the Lebanese? No. Thus, we do not have any suggestion whatsoever for change in the positions of authority, not with regards to the position of president, prime minister, or any other positions.

نحن بالنسبة لنا لا نطرح اي تغيير في تركيبة النظام في لبنان، في تركيبة السلطة، وبعض الناس بيتهمونا لان نحن موقفنا هيك، ونحن مع اتفاق الطائف، تنفيذ اتفاق الطائف (…) اذا في ارادة لبنانية عامة بدها تعدل، بالنهاية هيدا صار تابع لارادة لبنانية عامة. لكن نحن كفريق انو عنا طرح تعديل وبدنا نفرض تعديلات علی اللبنانيين، لا. بالتالي نحن ما عنا اي تغيير او طرح يرتبط بمواقع السلطة علی الاطلاق، لا برئاسة الجمهورية، ولا برئاسة الحكومة ولا ببقية المواقع

Myth has it that Nasrallah is a clear and honest man. That, then, should put any doubts to rest.

 

“it appears the telecommunications network is important”

That is how Walid Jumblat resolved the issue in his press conference last night, by recognizing that the telecommuncations network is important to the work of “the resistance,” as he now calls Hizballah. You can hear the entire press conference at elnashra (Note: To Jumblat, as to his father before him, the mountain is a sensitive spot, and it is very obvious in this press conference.)

Beirut and the mountain have quitened down, so has the north after a rough night. Hizballah has opened Pandora’x box and let slip out all the monstrosities of war. They have apparently paid a gruesome price for it too, as two of their fighters have been knived and their bodies mutilated by Jumblat’s men (he assumed full responsibility for that – if true – in the press conference).

Now Wi’am Wahhab is out spewing menacing statements and the SSNP has issued an open threat to Hariri and Sanioura accusing their followers of gruesome acts in Halba (hat tip Tantalus). The open letter warns that if the perpetrators are not handed over, Hariri and Sanioura will be held personally accountable, regardless of any wider political settlement in Lebanon.

You can ask Riad al-Solh and Bashir al-Jumayyil. The sentence of the people was carried out against them by everyday SSNP members and without the need for a decision from the central party apparatus.

Remarkable how easily we slip back into old habits. How easy is it to slip out?

 

snapshots from the sectarian nation

On May 7, and after the longest ministerial session in Lebanon’s history, the government took the descision to remove head of airport security, Brigadier General Wafiq Shuqayr, from his position and to declare Hizballah’s communications network “illegal and constitutional.” Considering this a declaration of war, Hizballah led several of the opposition parties in a strategic military action meant to pressure the government to backtrack, cutting off the capital and placing it under the military control of the opposition.

As the death toll rises and the clashes now spread to the north and the mountains, the outcome remains uncertain. Throughout these events, the usual stream of words continues, with accusations and counter accusations, speeches and counter speeches, interviews and counter interviews. The avid news reader in Lebanon is by now used to the illogical logic of the sectarian nation that refuses to see itself for what it is. Following are a few snapshots from its most eloquent orators.

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In his press conference on May 8, Hassan Nasrallah defended the military actions of the party and its allies in the streets of Beirut saying:

We have not used and will not use weapons inside [Lebanon]… But weapons will be used to defend weapons against anyone.

نحن لم نستخدم ولن نستخدم السلاح في الداخل… ولكن السلاح سيُستخدم للدفاع عن السلاح في وجه اي كان

In other words, the offense was in self defense. It is true, the longer the conflict lasts, the more you resemble your most bitter of enemies. And I am not referring to the pro-government coalition.

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After the Ma`rab meeting of May 9, Samir Geagea, who is fond of rewriting history, sent a salute to Walid Jumblat “who resisted the Syrians for 28 years.” He further elaborated on this new version of history by recalling the siege of Beirut in 1982:

Beirut did not fall under Israeli invasion, and it will not fall today.

So, while Jumblat was resisting the Syrians for 28 years, Geagea was defending Beirut from the Israelis. But of course, we all knew that.

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If Geagea is the nation’s historian, Walid Jumblat is the hypnotist. Yesterday he expressed bewilderment at Hizballah’s overblown reaction to the government’s decision to “transfer” an officer. Only last week, the same Jumblat was whipping up fears of a major operation at the airport and linking it to Hizballah’s infiltration of airport security. His bewilderment did not extend far enough, however, to suggest that the decision be backtracked. It is, according to him after all, only a transfer.