Blogging Lebanon since 2005

The Voice Of America interviews “Taha” who lives in the Shatila refugee camp

as much as Taha says he loves Palestine, he cannot envision himself there. He says he has been here so long, he is different than his brother who remained behind. He says the refugees have become what they have become. Unlike his relatives in Israel, he says the refugees cannot live with the Israelis. [...] He would just like to be allowed to set up business outside the camp. He says he is Lebanese.

Cynics will say that of course the Voice of America would feature people like Taha because America’s interest is in pressuring Lebanon to take in the Palestinians. Christian parties like the FPM, the LF and the Phalanges always maintained that there’s an international conspiracy to nationalize the Palestinians in Lebanon, and Muslims play along to pay lip service to the Palestinian cause

But the anecdotal reality in not far from where Taha is. In fact I’m surprised that the Lebanese just take it for granted that Palestinians who were born in Lebanon and who lived all their lives here would like to go somewhere else and call it home.. The Lebanese should have a real strategy when it comes to the final regional settlement, and not just stick their heads in the sands.

Statement from The Future Movement:

Demands for a weapons-free Beirut are not aimed at Resistance weapons which are being discussed at the national dialogue [...] This slogan, however, is to protect the principle of Resistance from being tarnished and from sliding in the mud of internal confrontations

Blah, blah, blah…This is the result of intense pressure from Hezbollah, the Syrians and just about anyone with pro-resistance sentiments.

But they’re not fooling anyone. We all know in our hearts of hearts that the original “Weapons Free Beirut” slogan was aimed squarely at Hezbollah.

Unsurprisingly, a Hezbollah M.P. has given special status to Hezbollah’s weapons by calling for the disarming of all factions except for “the resistance.”

History taught us again and again that arms beget more arms, except when held by the legitimate central authority. Even if we do trust Hezbollah and their general struggle, that doesn’t mean that we can trust their rank-and-file elements, who are after all humans who can succumb to the temptations of power such weapons can provide.

If you have an RPG in your trunk, you’re more likely to aggressively demand a premium parking space from a defenseless layman.

Plus there is no argument whatsoever to justify the carrying of arms, designed to fight Israel, in Beirut.

Update: Now Lebanon has an opinion piece on the statements made by the above-mentioned Hezbollah MP and is worth the read.

Mufti Qabbani lead prayers in the Basta mosque that was set ablaze during clashes:

Political differences are legitimate in our democratic system, but they should remain within political boundaries and not spill out into the streets [...] It is our duty to unite our word and join our ranks … among brethren in one homeland

I don’t think the Mufti should have gone there. His visit, as a religious sunni leader, emphasizes the sectarian nature of the clashes. It sends a not so helpful message: “Sunnis are standing together in face of the Shiaa assault”.

Michael Young:

Syria and Hezbollah, and behind the party Iran, are engaged in an increasingly visible struggle for power in Lebanon [...] and it is why Jumblatt is so alarmed. He’s caught in the middle, and though the Druze leader has made clear that he’s on the side of Damascus (and Saudi Arabia, which pays the bills), he also happens to be most vulnerable when facing Hezbollah, which surrounds his mountains and showed in May 2008 that it could penetrate them militarily when necessary.

And yet I feel no pity for the sage of Mukhtara. The man can wiggle his way out of anything. But he seems quite stressed of late. Have you seen the picture posted in the article?

The Future Movement’s bloc:

“If some takes up arms to resist the Israeli enemy, the question that presents itself on citizens: What are these weapons in the capital and in alleyways doing among civilians? Why used in the streets?”

This question -which is on everyone’s minds- sounds to me an awful lot like: “What are the PLO doing in Jounieh?”

Behold these concrete actions:

Lebanon moved to address the widespread possession and use of weapons in the country Wednesday after Shiite and Sunni groups used machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades in a deadly, hours-long street battle. [...] The Information Ministry announced the formation of a committee headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri to come up with proposals for confronting the problem

Read this one more time: A committee will eventually come up with a proposal to eventually confront (not solve) the problem. You know what this is right? We’re been Marriammed again.