Inside the Middle East - Blog
May 7, 2008
Lebanon - A Blogger's Report

A cameraman reacts after being injured during protests in Lebanon today. (Photo AP/Hussein Malla)


A fellow journalist I've interviewed several times in Lebanon, Habib Battah, posts an interesting entry on the tense situation on the streets of Beirut today.

He writes:

"The chaos came as a surprise because up until last night organizers had pitched the event as a simple labor strike to pressure the government into raising the minimum wage. But by early Wednesday, a completely different plan seemed to be in place. In a clear show of force, the Hezbollah-led opposition had actually hired dump trucks and bulldozers to enforce what was thought to be a voluntary act of staying home from work. The move caught most Lebanese off guard, eroding the notion that this was a spontaneous 'public' outcry against the government's labor policies."

Pro- and anti-government demonstrators have been clashing today and the army has been forced to keep rival protestors apart.

Cars and tires went up in flames and in mixed Shiite-Sunni neighborhoods, the ominous crackle of gunfire could be heard throughout the Lebanese capital.

“This is a turning point. There can be no more cohabitation between the Government and the opposition. All trust is gone,” a Lebanese expert on Hezbollah, Amal Saad Ghorayeb told the Times of London.

Tomorrow will be a real test for Lebanon: will protestors stay home?
the stupid decision of the Lebanese government to listen to the advice of Jumblat to confront Hizbollah is what brought this mess.Jumblat and Jajja are happy that Shia and Sunni are fighting each other, because if the Sunni and shia get together these so called leaders will be out of business. I hope the sunni and the shia realize that their common enemy is Israel and not each other.
Lebanese are not obliged to bear those corrupted criminals in the unconstitutional so called saniora government with its unilateral decisions and pitiful economical and political strategy. So the best thing Lebanese should do is topple those criminals from the Lebanese government. As to Jumblat and Jajjaa, where there any justice in Lebanon those two with their loaded history as criminals should be in jail by now. As to Hariri who claims himself to be a Saudi Arabian then he should return home after returning to Lebanon the 40 billion dollars that his late father has stolen from Lebanon over 15 years.

In reply to 7:36 the stupid is not the government but all the Lebanese that follow such pitiful leaders in the image of jumblat, jajja and hariri.
It is simply sad what hizbollah is doing to this country. They have no principles and moral values of life.
They have repeatedly hijacked the country and its interests for their personal unrealistic goal, (an iran state) especially now that Syria has been bribed to abandon hizbollah. They hijacked downtown, forcing major international companies to close down or leave the country,lost the presence of tens of thousands of tourists. Caused unlimited traffic in the city, and now with their current hijacking of the airport, again all foreign business and tourism have come to a stop. One million tourists were allready expected to arrive in lebanon in the early summer. And now cancellations are allready queued up on the way. Needless to say they are blocking roads, burning tires all over the city further polluting our allready polluted air from all the traffic they've caused the city with their nonsense road hijacking and problem causing tactics, starting fights with sunnis al around beirut. Their aim is simply to cause an all out civil war. They have nothing to lose.They dont believe in living in peace, they only believe in war and have been waiting for war with israel all their life, ON OUR BEHALF unfortunately. They want war simply because they literally have nothing to lose. Even their kids they happily march on tv and eventually send off to die for selfish reasons. Brainwashing starts as soon as they utter their first word. How can we live with people that dont believe in peace. They should all just be shipped to iran.
In reply to 6:24, it would be easier to ship you alone outside Lebanon. I am a Lebanese sunni who admire the patriotism of Hizbulla and don't support the pathetic politic of those ROBBERS in this unconstitutional government.

it's very unfortunate that you're judging a person who is lacking money to feed his children, go to hospital or buy medication as someone with no principles and moral values.

You know well that life in Lebanon is very expensive and unlike other Middle eastern countries, Lebanese are paying high taxes while receiving nothing in return.
well weve had enough it feels so bad to see my country in such a bad situation it makes me feel so sad.i just want to say that weve had enough of all these politicians they are a gang of robbers they pretend thay r good but all they are doin is just preaching and speaking and makin peoples life impossible .its a real crisis now everything is getting expensive and no salary increase so what. its the lebanese right to ask for this but what is happening that all these political parties benefits from the critical situation to make disorders and start fire and killing and all the violence . it feels so bad to hear all this.so please u lebanese people stop running after these bastards who are just taking your money and ur life and try to get together this could lead to a solution. thanks
I am the one who posted 6:24 and i respond as follows.
Hizbollah should be simply called Hizbiran, The lebanese people are Arabs not persians, they just want to live in peace.
Please don’t get me wrong, i believe that the government is a bunch of thieves too. All of them with exception to harriri who is rich enough to not want to meddle around in headaches and petty cash. And who dreams of trying to fill his father’s shoes and follow his footsteps. His father has done so much for this country it makes me cross my fingers and hope his son turns out like him. I only have hope that is all. I support no one, BUT THIS IS AT ALL NOT THE WAY TO HANDLE ANY SITUATION, thieves or no thieves. You don’t mess with the Lebanese public's internal stability, you don’t terrorize and kill them, and offcourse happily risk starting a civil war.
Nasrallah knows exactly what he is doing, after his speech last night, he proved to be one that can easily tell lies. You can’t get in to politics and not lie. . For a little while some of his words seem to bring some hope to the situation, also considering the fact that he is a man of God who should not gamble with people's lives like that. But now i ask myself, man of whom? What god condones such behavior? What has he become? Nothing happens on the street by his people without his say so. The reason he is a scary politician to deal with is because of his Total influence on his people, whether good or as seen last night very bad influence. What i am trying to say here is whatever Simon says they do and that is indeed scary. Especially when these Lebanese people subconsciously favor death over life
Nasrallah himself said on TV, that when we shoot back on the streets, we will be firing at our own dreams. What does that mean? I call it a Slip of the tongue. Unaware he just admitted that only his people benefit from total civil war. Because my friend once again i tell you they have little value for career life. They believe if they die fighting for an Iranian cause, (or against Israel) they go to heaven. Turn on Al Manar and see how young these poor kids are, when they are dressed in black and marched with Guns chanting Slogans and Learning to Hate before they even learn to love. Love is peace, Love is god, Islam comes from salam, which means peace not war. It means love not hate.
After Last night Hizbiran proved to be the biggest threat to the country's stability, which confirms the Lebanese government’s greatest fear. It makes you Wonder whether they even deserve to keep their weapons anymore. Since their weapons were raised against Lebanese people.(although i supported them fully during the war and was a strong believer that they deserve to keep their weapons to keep Israel’s adventures in check)
This is 6:24 Continued.
The Same lebanese people that took Hizbiran's displaced families during the war with Israel were shot at last night, these people had no place to go and were welcomed with open arms, food, and beds in Sunni schools and homes. you say you are a Sunni, i am a Sunni too but this is irrelevant, i speak to you as a Lebanese, why did Hizbirans followers leave their areas and come to sensitive Sunni areas and start such a volatile situation, NOT CARING AT ALL ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES,OR IT MAKES YOU REALLY THINK THAT THEY ARE TRYING HARD TO START A CIVIL WAR. I don’t want war. They apparently are happily causing a civil war. What happened last night was an internal revolution, They surrounded major politician homes, even shot at them during the night, surrounded the Saraya government building and government buildings, and Blockaded all major roads , the airport , the Port and much more. People are trapped in their houses, they cant even go out to buy food because everything is closed and the only cars on the streets are Press/TV, and in Hizbirans occupied areas in Beirut, those who dare to venture out their balconies even, are screamed at or threatened by gunfire to return inside their homes. You don’t call that a revolution? At first i thought it was a shock and Awe tactic to scare the government and demonstrate what they are capable of in order to sit on a negotiation table Holding all the Aces. Boy was i wrong. They hit the government way below the belt. Also makes me wonder why this event came only one day after a Lebanese government official commented about sending the Iranian ambassador back to Iran.
Their children you said need medical help and food and what not. No one is starving in Lebanon, 20 years of war has made sure starvation will never be a problem. On a large scale some of these people chose to live like that, it’s only what they know, they generally are happy with their current state and don’t like updating and don’t believe in much of technology, They believe this life is insignificant, and it’s all about the life after so they must suffer in this life. They seem to forget that in all major religions people are judged in this life as to where they deserve to go in the life after.
As for medical help and taxes, There are government hospitals that offer free medical help to the general public, nasralla and harriri both own Free of charge hospitals and welcome them with open arms, You also said Lebanese pay high taxes. Do you even know that the Lebanese people in Dahyeh don’t even pay Electricity and Water bills/taxes. What are you talking about taxes; They Steal Water and electricity from the main lines and don’t pay the government anything who happily turn a blind eye because they understand their situation and are stealing enough money in those departments. Needless to say that they do kidnap any government personnel who dares even attempt to go in and read their meters. As I type this message I just heard on the reputable LBC news channel, that hizbirans fighters just entered some houses and terrorized their women and children in Aramoun. I feel frustrated and wrestles, i want to go out in the street and join the Sunni resistance only to counter hizbirans tyranny because its so unfair. But that’s just what they want, a civil war. So what do i do? I’m confused. No one wins in war. The future is looking dim. Now in god’s name they lay down a new level of sin. God help us all.
Mr 9:02 Keep supporting Hizbirans Patriotism until u find them terrorizing your livingroom , or you find yourself running for your lives with your family, in the streets of civil war, dodging bullets and hoping to make it around the corner.
A new era of might. Is might right? or are we really in trouble this time ?
The question is, does Hezbollah want to really negotiate? Or are they happy with the current Tyrant situation? Are we becoming a new Iranian platform to better confront Israel as more pressure is put on Iran by the international community.
Any more surprises from Hezbollah? Or will more red lines be crossed?
The situation is so tense; one more red line could open Pandora’s box. The druze and other different factions (Christian and Sunni) are so far showing restraint. Because they know the game Hezbollah is playing. They feel that they are being drawn in to an all out civil war and since they have the most to lose, they are still holding their breath hoping for some miracle.
They seem to care more about their families and investments, while Hezbollah cares more about dying for a greater cause at whatever cost. I can’t imagine how a war will suit Hezbollah since no one wins in war. But they really seem to want to cause a war and continue to cross red lines. Maybe they believe once they open the airport and terrorize the people enough, they will start leaving the country until slowly but surely only Iranians supporters are left standing. But until when will our dignity be held as ransom. The Lebanese people will not sit back and watch an Iranian state come to be. The Christians, Druze and the Sunni will not allow it. Their pride and true patriotism will not allow them to sit back silently much longer and watch their leaders surrounded and humiliated.
what will happen now that all the cards are laid straight out in the open ? Our worst nightmare has come to be, Hezbollah have used their weapons against fellow Lebanese.
Will the government legitimize it now? Is there really a government left standing?
Will Hezbollah negotiate with the weak? What is Iran really after ? These are the questions that will soon decide our faith.
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