Jade at Blacksmiths Of Lebanon reports on the latest efforts to solve the crisis which seem to be bearing some fruits..Read more..

It remains to be seen if the circle of violence can be abated. There is already blood on both sides and the streets are boiling for revenge and counter revenge. Cooler heads should be louder and more persuasive.

Please spread the word: The real target of Hezbollah’s vicious campaign is free media in Lebanon.

A little something I designed for those who want to spread the word (details below)

Hidden under the coverage of explosions, smoke and gunmen roaming Beirut is the real story: Hezbollah and its backers in Syria and Iran can’t stand any voice that freely express a different point of view.

The guns were dispatched to silence the voice. All over Lebanon, in Beirut, In Tripoli, in Saida, and in Bekaa, Iranian and Syrian allies are targeting the media organizations that are critical of their regimes. This is an orchestrated, pre-planned campaign that includes dismantling hardware, destroying archives and intimidating Journalists.

Regardless of where we stand politically, we have to make it clear to the world that we will not accept tampering with the free exchange of ideas, the main foundation of any democracy.

Please do everything you can to spread the word and be part of this:

Bloggers and Website owners: Please include one of the banners below, depending on your size preference, by right-clicking the banner you want and copying its location. If you don’t know how to do this, send me an email to mustapha at beirutspring dot com and I’ll gladly help

Regular folks and activists:

1- The above vertical banner will make a great facebook profile picture (please also link to this post)

2- You can send an email with the text below to politicians, newspapers and anyone you know who might have access to international media.
Hidden under the coverage of explosions, smoke and gunmen roaming Beirut is the real story: Hezbollah and its backers in Syria and Iran can’t stand any voice that freely express a different point of view. The guns were dispatched to silence the voice. All over Lebanon, in Beirut, In Tripoli, in Saida, and in Bekaa, Iranian and Syrian allies are targeting the media organizations that are critical of their regimes. This is an orchestrated, pre-planned campaign that includes dismantling hardware, destroying archives and intimidating Journalists. We shall not accept tampering with the free exchange of ideas, the main foundation of any democracy.

Video:
Future TV Anchor Sahar Al Khateeb on the situation:

Future TV Manager Nadim Munla explains the situation:

Photo:
Future TV in Ras Beirut:

To put Senator. Obama’s statement in perspective, let’s take a look at the Republican nominee’s point of vue. At the time of posting this, there was still no official press release on the situation.

Calling it a “very serious situation,” presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain said here Friday that the seizure of parts of west Beirut by Iranian and Syrian-backed Hezbollah fighters demands immediate action.

McCain made it plain he was talking about diplomatic, not military initiatives.

The Arizona senator said the fighting that has humiliated and weakened the government of Lebanon threatens to further destabilize the Middle East and embolden Iran while raising the prospect of new attacks on Israel.

McCain said President Bush should seek heavier involvement by the United Nations which has a small peacekeeping force in south Lebanon to pressure Syria and work with other nations with interests in Lebanon.

Senator Barack Obama, the likely democratic nominee for the American presidency has issued a statement on the events in Lebanon:

Chicago, IL | May 09, 2008

Hezbollah’s power grab in Beirut has once more plunged that city into violence and chaos. This effort to undermine Lebanon’s elected government needs to stop, and all those who have influence with Hezbollah must press them to stand down immediately. It’s time to engage in diplomatic efforts to help build a new Lebanese consensus that focuses on electoral reform, an end to the current corrupt patronage system, and the development of the economy that provides for a fair distribution of services, opportunities and employment. We must support the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions that reinforce Lebanon’s sovereignty, especially resolution 1701 banning the provision of arms to Hezbollah, which is violated by Iran and Syria. As we push for this national consensus, we should continue to support the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Siniora, strengthen the Lebanese army, and insist on the disarming of Hezbollah before it drags Lebanon into another unnecessary war. As we do this, it is vital that the United States continues to work with the international community and the private sector to rebuild Lebanon and get its economy back on its feet.

Lebanese bloggers are not impressed. See Abu Kais and Jeha.

Iran’s Press TV writes a thinly-sourced report on Al-Qaeda declaring war on Hezbollah:

Al-Qaeda has reportedly called on its operatives to go to Lebanon and defend what it called the Sunni community of the country.

The report came while some Arab media outlets described the current clashes in Lebanon as a fight between Sunni and Shia communities.

In an interviews with Sunni clerics with links to Saad Hariri’s pro-government bloc, Al-Arabiya TV network described the ongoing clashes as a sectarian strife.

Sheikh Ali al-Jozo, Mufti of the Jebel region, who is well known for his harsh stance against Hezbollah told the TV network that the clashes are a battle between Lebanon’s Shia and Sunni communities and called on Arab leaders to prevent “Iran’s influence in the country.”

The TV network reported that al-Qaeda on all of its websites urged its operatives to defend the Sunni community of Lebanon.

The reports came while in interviews with NBN and al-Manar TV stations on Thursday, a number of Sunni clerics said that the clashes are not a sectarian strife and many Sunni Muslims in Lebanon support Hezbollah.

All sides should try their best not to portray this as a defeat for Lebanon’s Sunnis.

Humiliated on Hezbollah TV. (Photo Credit: Yahoo!)

As Hezbollah moved into (Sunni) west Beirut and took on the moderate Future Movement, many will be tempted to portray this as a defeat for Lebanon’s Sunnis. That would be bad ideas whose repercussions will affect all parties in the country.

Unleashing the sectarian monster can seem like a good idea to Islamists allied with the Future Movement and to the Saudis, but they had better think twice before letting that genie out of the bottle. All parties, including the Future movement should actively portray this as a security and political situation, not a sectarian one.

Because before we know it, extreme elements can manipulate the sense of victimhood some Sunnis would have and target Shiaa symbols with terrorist operations that would unleash the same god-forsaken death spiral that exists in Iraq.

We don’t have to go through all what Iraq has suffered to realize that Al-Quaeda is not really what the Sunnis want for their protection.