Show your anger and cry for Tripoli..

He’s only 8 years old. He does not go to school. Despite his very early age, he works, all day long, giving a shine to the Tripolitan businessmen’s shoes, and injecting hope into his daily struggle to assist his family financially. He is one of many similar poor children in the streets of the capital of North Lebanon; but now he is unique, different.. He died today.. not because of an ever threatening hunger, but because he was killed in one of the harshest Baghdad-style explosions in the history of Tripoli.


But the unfortunate kid of Tripoli's Banks street did not leave this life alone: Nine hero soldiers from the Lebanese army in addition to nine civilian victims shared his bloody destiny.. As their passenger bus was crossing this usually-busy arterial of the "Tell" district, 1.5 kgs of TNT explosives diffused their hatred in a city that has witnessed continuous conflicts and tensions recently.


Today's martyrs join 23 other victims that died in the Sunni-Alawi clashes that dominated the Bab el Tebbaneh-Baal Mohsen areas few weeks ago. Some fundamentalist pockets in Tripoli grew an increasing hatred against the Lebanese National Army especially after the army's determined eradication of Fath el Islam movement from the Nahr el Bared Palestinian Refugee camp. There have been many attempts to demoralize the army -not only in Tripoli-, and today's attempt is another episode of this long Tripoli-based anti-armed forces drama. It is worth mentioning here that this week, veiled women were loudly protesting against keeping people who were arrested during the Nahr el Bared operations, in prisons "without real reasons or accusations, other than their belonging to Islam" - according to the protesters. Despite all that, the Lebanese authorities and the Lebanese army remained firm and maintained their presence in the North's capital with a solid commitment to keep peace and restore security all around the city.



The growing Salafi currents in Tripoli's poor pockets is a real concern for the whole spectrum of the city's political and influential figures. Tripoli's Mufti, Cheikh Malek el Chaar, did all his best to gather Tripolitan figures from all confessions in a unified stand against the danger threatening the city. The moderate Tripolitan political powers (Future Movement, Mohammed el Safadi's Tripolitan Bloc, Former PM Najib Mikati, MP Musbah el Ahdab and even Former PM Omar Karami) are the big losers amidst all this mess. Moderation is being slowly replaced by fundamentalism and agressivity in Tripoli. All the city's politicians and even its -moderate- religious figures are becoming increasingly powerless and their control over the situation became negligible. It is believed that Tripoli has Qaeda cells and members today, it is also believed that there are several Nahr el Bared-like pockets around the city. But who is supporting those, who is bringing them to the Lebanese North and who is turning Tripoli into Qandahar? The simplistic and superficial answer would accuse Sunni figures of empowering those terrorists in order to face the threat of Hezbollah's "shia weapons" that were used against the People of the Sunnah last May in Beirut. But given that the so-accused Sunni figures are all losing ground and control over Tripoli, this explanation cannot be a logical one. Moreover, burning the streets of one of the largest Sunni agglomerations of the country, killing many Sunni people, and attacking the Lebanese army are not what political powers who gave full political support and cover to the Lebanese Armed Forces against [again] the Sunnis of Nahr el Bared would do. Therefore, the Sunni political powers are all falling into a virtual accusatory trap in an attempt to divert the attention from the fact that when Sunnis were attacked in Beirut, they had no militia to defend them- They put all their trust and faith in the Lebanese Army.

But who would benefit from this negative picture of the Sunnis? In the heated debates that marked the parliamentary discussions of the Governmental declaration, there was particularly a loud and harsh exchange of comments between Tripoli's MP Musbah el Ahdab and Amal's MPs Ayyoub Hmayyed and Ali Hassan Khalil. Hmayyed was accused by Ahdab of favoring one side in Tripoli's latest conflicts- the Alawis of Baal Mohsen. Hezbollah's general sceretary Hassan Nasrallah had drawn red lines in front of the army's intervention inside Nahr el Bared's camp. The army was further targeted when some of its officers were condemend and trialled after having tried to put an end to a destabilizing demonstration in the Chiyah area by pro-March 8 supporters.

An interesting noticeable fact is that the Lebanese Shia community mainly supports a fundamentalist Shia entity: that is Hezbollah and its Wilayat el Fakih Iranian Khomeinist agenda; while the majority of the Sunnis of Lebanon, and despite their good relations with KSA for example, remain more under the moderate political umbrella of slogans such as "Lebanon First". The Tripoli changes are an attempt to turn the largely moderate Sunni image into a fundamentalist picture that would not leave Hezbollah as the lonely fundamentalist islamist "army" in the country. The Tripoli repetitive events are an attempt to plant Baghdad-like and Tekrit-like terrorist Qaeda sunni fundamentalists to counterbalance Hezbollah, the equivalent of Muqtada el Sadr's Mehdi Army on the shia end. Sad but true, there are continuous attempts to turn the Lebanese Summer 2008 paradise into a bloody Iraq.

In the meantime, President Michel Sleiman is having serious discussions in Damascus: diplomatic relations, mutual agreements and most importantly, the destinies of Lebanese prisoners in Syria are on the table. Tripoli's disaster was not the only attempt to destabilize President Sleiman's firm mission and clear goals; in fact, a very limited regime-orchestrated Syrian protest in front of the Syrian Ministry of the Interior gathered "parents and friends of Syrian workers who disappeared in Lebanon", in an attempt to reduce the pressure of the eternal file of Lebanese political prisoners in Syria. Those are expected moves from a regime that has always denied the presence of a sovereign and independent Lebanese Republic, a regime that oppresses whoever tries to speak against its actions, a regime that contributes to the destabilization of all its neighbors.

As long as people will easily bypass laws in Lebanon, there will always be 8-year old children working in the streets of Tripoli, and as long as regional interventions will keep on haunting our country, those children will not only be threatened by hunger - Explosions can burn their fragile lives anytime...

Hide your anger and Smile for Beirut...

2 a.m.. Long lines are filling the hallways of the only functional airport of the Land of the Cedars.. Women, men and children are enthusiastic, happy, smiling.. Life is abundant in that terminal that links Lebanon to the whole world.. But is this shine real? Are those smiles only temporary summer masks for a deep problem that can re-emerge and shake the country at any point? One thing is sure: the happiness of a succesful summer season - despite all its economic and moral benefits- cannot unfortnuately bridge any gaps between widely diverging views in the country: starting from the very name of our international airport, every social, economic or political item is a source of divides. Are those daily discusssions and harsh arguments worth it though? Why are some people still refusing to endorse the "Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport" label; did you hear any American ever complaining about the JFK airport in NYC or the Ronald Reagan airport in DC? Regardless of your opinion -or mine- about late Premier Rafic Hariri, the man gave Lebanon, worked for Lebanon and died in the harshest way possible in the heart of Lebanon's capital.. Deservedly or not, giving his name to the airport in memory of his martyrdom is not against anyone. Sadly enough, people continuously use that issue for useless attacks against the martyr leader and his followers. It is unacceptable to use the name of the airport in order to create biases, increase sectarian tensions or attempt to mark political points.. Few months ago, when Hezbollah and its allies were taking over Beirut, some enthusiastic March 8 supporters celebrated their "victory" and declared the airport as "Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's airport" through a Facebook group that is still maintained until today. The display picture of the group shows a Hezbollah militant on his motorbike at the airport, brandishing a Hezbollah flag, and the picture says "Al Matar tahta Akdamina - The airport under our feet". This group was launched when March 8 militiamen were attacking Beiruti homes, burning Future TV and forcefully imposing a blockade on all of Beirut's vital centers.
The military domination of Beirut was used by Hezbollah and their allies in order to strengthen Hezbollahland at the expense of the Lebanese government.
But hold on, keep this dark period away for now, and let us focus on the very active airport this summer.. Tourists, Lebanese immigrants: everyone is coming to Beirut this summer and everyone forgot about Hezbollah and their invasion.. Is it really everyone? Or..emmm what about those with killed family members or burned houses?
Hopefully the touristic season will bring back some of the much-needed morale to the Lebanese people.. Lebanon offers the best but Lebanon also deserves the best.. Even from far away now, I will still "Welcome you to the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut"!

Foreigners in Beirut, Karadzic, and Lebanese politiciansTribunals

Foreigners are running all over Beirut. I'm not talking about the Khalijee. They are doing just fine sitting in the downtown, in hotels, and making a few appearances in the neighborhoods.

Western visitors are running all over town. I don't call them tourists, because plenty are not. Some are summer Arabic students, some are backpackers, others are doing internships at the Daily Star, others are foreign freelance journalists, some are tourists (but it is harder to notice them because they do not regularly stop in areas frequented by locals), and some wear high and tight haircuts that bring to mind careers in less pleasant areas of the Middle East.

They are an interesting addition to the normal Beirut mix, yet reminiscent of the sorts of people I assisted in evacuating the country in 2006. Some claim that foreigners are a good sign. 2006 reveals that such opinions are merely that... opinions.

On another note...

Karadzic

Conspiracy theories are welcome in the Middle East. In the West, conspiracy theories sell books (JFK, UFOs, Hitler's bunker, Jimmy Hoffa), but the predominant frame is believed. In the Middle East, the conspiracy theories command more attention.

Former Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadzic attests that the United States promised him a deal, but they are now possibly interested in murdering him.

In Lebanon, there is always talk of assassinations, foreign intrigue, American "meddling," and immoral realpolitik deals. Often, as is perhaps true in Karadzic's case, this is just talk.

However, what strikes me as highly intriguing is how the warlords of 1975-1990 ended that war filled with massacres, atrocities, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity without a single major international charge.

Obviously, no international tribunal, like the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) currently prosecuting Karadzic, existed to prosecute Lebanese crimes. The International Court of Justice existed, but did not prosecute such cases. The International Criminal Court was not formed until 2002.

The Lebanese civil war ended during the Cold War. One might argue that the United States and the Soviet Union were much more interested in global political maneuvering than in prosecuting Third World crimes, some of which these powers are implicated in. Also, the Soviet Union was collapsing, while the United States was seeking Middle Eastern allies to confront Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

The Arab League took and takes no interest in prosecuting criminal behaviors.

In 2001, a case was brought before Belgian courts under a new law to try Ariel Sharon for the Sabra and Shatila massacre. It was later overruled in 2002. However, to my knowledge, no one has ever tried to prosecute the crimes of the Lebanese civil war that involved Lebanese/Palestinian/Syrian actors.

South Africa, El Salvador, Argentina, Chile, and other countries in which trauma occured during the 1980s, all had Truth and Reconciliation Commissions. Lebanon received Syrian overlordship.

The Serbians, who were recently mired in war and committing atrocities, are on the way to being admitted into the European Union. Croatia, just as active a participant in that war, is almost qualified for entry. Slovenia, the country which first broke away from Yugoslavia and helped begin the conflict, is one of the most successful countries in the EU. Romania, a country destroyed by Ceaucescu and without the human capital available in Lebanon, is an EU member. Albania, the country that suffered from the most oppressive form of authoritarianism, is rapidly improving, and can dream of EU membership.

In Lebanon, the memories and hatred remain, the warriors are members of parliament (not just the leaders, but also the henchmen, like Tony Zahra of the Barbara checkpoint), and those injured by the conflict continue to suffer under the whims of those who injured them in the 1980s.

There are plenty of people in Lebanon who support the Serb radicalist cause, and generally for misguided reasons: anti-Americanism, anti-Muslim sentiment, pro-Orthodox Christianity unity (which is the most ridiculous given that Orthodox Christianity never condones murder).

There are others in Lebanon who argue against tribunals. Like Karadzic and some Serb radicals, they argue that international tribunals are politicized. Tribunals go after heroes of the anti-American resistance, while they let others go free. Tribunals give America everything it wants, but deny local citizens their dignity, sovereignty, and justice.

Tell that to the Bosnian Muslims. Tell that to the families of assassinated Lebanese whose families have not received justice. Just because one murderer is not caught does not mean that 20 other murderers should be let off. Just because one crime against humanity is not tried does not mean that all crimes should not be tried.

Lebanon needs to make sure that, domestically, murderers are tried. That sounds obvious to others outside of Lebanon, but you will be surprised by how many people here (including those you think are your allies) agree that murderers should be set free for political reasons.


Middle East Sectarianism

It seems Egypt, too, is suffering from sectarianism.