Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 17-18/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 62th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
December 18/2019
Tites For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 17-18/2019
Kubis Warns Lebanon Leaders that ‘Blocking Solution’ Will Stoke Unrest, Tensions
Tenenti Says Aircraft Flew for ‘Maintenance’ to UNIFIL Headquarters
Report: Postponement of Talks on PM ‘Surprised’ Diplomats in Beirut
Lebanon’s Berri, Hariri call for calm after night of violence
Berri and Hariri Urge Fast Govt. Formation, Say Security Forces Must Play Their Role
Hezbollah supporters attack several protest camps in Lebanon
Analyst: Monday Unrest May Have Been an Attempt to Undermine Protests
Bassil Bodyguard Seizes Prominent Journalist Phone at U.N. Forum
Bassil Warns World of ‘Hundreds of Thousands of Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian Refugees’
Bassil Flies to Geneva for Conference on Refugees
Report: AMAL Supporter who Shared Sectarian Video to be Questioned
DR Congo Freezes Assets of Lebanese ‘Bread King’ over U.S. Sancti
Protesters Storm Commerce Chamber during Meeting Attended by Choucair
Dozens of Protesters Rally near Hariri’s Residence
Lebanon: Mustaqbal Says Premiership Cannot Be Held Hostage to Any Party
Lebanon FM Gebran Bassil on protests, corruption and reforms
Beirut left reeling after online video sparks violent clashes
3rd Night of Unrest, Hizbullah, AMAL Supporters Clash with Security Forces
Protesters in Arab World’s Newest Uprisings Face a Long Haul
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 17-18/2019
Kubis Warns Lebanon Leaders that ‘Blocking Solution’ Will Stoke Unrest, Tensions
Naharnet/December 17/2019
U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis on Tuesday warned Lebanon’s political leaders that “blocking a sustainable political solution” will only lead to further violence and sectarian “provocations.”
In a series of tweets, Kubis said he was “alarmed to hear about the increasingly complex & dangerous security situation around the protests” from caretaker Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan, Army chief General Joseph Aoun and Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Imad Othman. He said the army and the ISF deserve “respect & appreciation for their professional & largely responsible way.” He also lauded them for “the dedication with which they protect peaceful protests & law & order against politically motivated instigators of violence at a high personal & moral risk.”“When will the politicians finally understand that blocking a sustainable political solution puts Lebanon increasingly on fire?” Kubis wondered.“Manipulation and growing infiltration of protests by political activists, radicalization of parts of the protests movement, relentless attacks on the security forces by stones, incendiary devices and fuel, acts of vandalism, provocations with the aim to unleash sectarian strife — is this what you want, political leaders, for the people of Lebanon? Because this is what you have given them, so far,” the U.N. official lamented.His warnings come after assailants coming from a stronghold of the AMAL Movement and its ally Hizbullah clashed with security forces in Beirut and carried out riot acts in the capital and the country’s south and east following a social media video deemed offensive to the country’s Shiites. It was the third consecutive night of violence in Lebanon, coming after President Michel Aoun on Monday postponed talks on naming a new prime minister, further prolonging the unrest in the protest-hit country. Supporters of Hizbullah and Berri’s AMAL, angered by protesters’ criticism and insults against their leaders, have tried to attack a downtown Beirut protest camps for days. They clashed for hours with security forces guarding the camp on Monday, hurling stones and firecrackers and setting fire to several cars, trees and a building under construction overlooking the square. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons.
Tenenti Says Aircraft Flew for ‘Maintenance’ to UNIFIL Headquarters
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 17/2019
After reports that a UNIFIL aircraft conducted an overflight over Lebanon’s hydrocarbons Block 9 south of Lebanon, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti explained that it landed at the Naqoura headquarters for “non-routine maintenance.” Tenenti was quoted as saying that the chopper that landed at the UNIFIL headquarters in southern Lebanon was a Brazilian helicopter belonging to the International Force navy and that it came from one of its naval ships with the purpose of carrying out non-routine maintenance.Tenenti said the chopper flew right back to the ship after completing maintenance. Media reports said that a British chopper had flown over Block 9 in south Lebanon to later land at the UNIFIL center in Naqoura. Lebanon is set to start drilling in block 4 in December, and in block 9 disputed by neighboring Israel in 2020. Last year, Lebanon signed its first contract to drill for oil and gas in its waters. A consortium comprising energy giants Total, ENI and Novatek took the first two of its 10 blocks, including block 9 disputed by Israel with which Lebanon has fought several wars.
Report: Postponement of Talks on PM ‘Surprised’ Diplomats in Beirut
Naharnet/December 17/2019
Diplomats in Beirut were surprised when outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri requested that President Michel Aoun postpone the consultations on a new PM “in order to garner bigger backing,” for his nomination, the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat reported on Tuesday. “The majority of ambassadors were astonished mainly that Hariri’s position was taken at a glance at the Center House. Shortly before, he was getting prepared to head to the Presidential Palace leading his parliamentary bloc to meet Aoun and name a Premier,” a source following up on the parliamentary consultations told the daily on condition of anonymity. The source told Asharq al-Awsat that he “understands the stance of Hariri,” who refuses to assume the prime minister post without the backing of the Lebanese Forces party. But added that “Hariri must be aware and so must the influential political parties, that every delay will reflect negatively on the internal political situation and the exchange rate of the dollar, adding to the lingering political and security crisis.”An ambassador of a European country in Beirut who declined to be named, rejected the delay saying “it deprives the new government from confidence that will eventually negatively affect the projects that donors will provide to Lebanon, whether in infrastructure, implementation of CEDRE and projects to float liquidity in order to secure the regularity of banking system, which is getting worse.”He said “we are waiting for the foreign ministers to meet and take a decision to urge a speedy formation of a government of independent specialists to start rebuilding before the economic and financial deterioration takes an irreversible turn.”
Lebanon’s Berri, Hariri call for calm after night of violence
Reuters, Beirut Wednesday, 18 December 2019
Lebanon’s parliament speaker and caretaker prime minister warned against strife on Tuesday after clashes between supporters of Shia groups and security forces overnight stirred fears of further political and economic turmoil. Lebanon has been gripped by protests since October 17, leading to the resignation of Saad Hariri as prime minister, amid anger at the government’s failure to address the country’s worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. Security forces lobbed tear gas overnight in central Beirut to disperse supporters of the Shia Amal party of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and its ally, the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. Hundreds of men on motorcycles waving their party flags chanted “Shia, Shia”. They set tires on fire, hurled stones at security forces, and torched cars, witnesses said. They said they were furious at a video that circulated online in which a man curses their party and religious leaders, including Berri and Imam Ali, using language that could be inflammatory in a country with deep sectarian divisions. The men tried to break a security cordon around a square where tents have been set up as part of the wave of protests against the ruling elite which erupted two months ago.
In a statement after meeting on Tuesday, Berri and Hariri, two of the country’s top leaders, urged the Lebanese “not to get dragged towards strife” and to maintain civil peace. “The national need has become more than pressing to speed up forming the government,” the statement added.
Lebanon’s main parties have feuded over how to agree on a new government since Hariri – the leading Sunni politician – resigned under pressure from the protests. He has stayed on as caretaker prime minister. The job of premier is reserved for a Sunni, according to the country’s sectarian power-sharing system. The Internal Security Forces said on Tuesday that 65 police were injured in the violence overnight and three people were detained. In the mainly Sunni city of Sidon and the mainly Shia city of Nabatieh in the south, groups of men also attacked protest tents overnight, local TV stations said. Angry at chants against their politicians, Amal and Hezbollah supporters have at times attacked protesters who are seeking to remove a political class that has dominated Lebanon since the civil war.The unrest took a violent turn at the weekend when security forces fired tear gas in Beirut at protesters and dozens of people were wounded in the clashes.
Berri and Hariri Urge Fast Govt. Formation, Say Security Forces Must Play Their Role
Naharnet/December 17/2019
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday discussed the latest political developments in a meeting that lasted for more than an hour and a half in Ain el-Tineh, a joint statement said.“The two leaders urged all Lebanese to show awareness and vigilance during this period and not to be dragged into strife,” the statement said, warning that some parties are exerting “strenuous efforts to drag the country into the inferno of strife.”The threat of strife “can only be confronted through preserving civil peace and national unity and shunning incitement, and mainly through allowing security forces and the Lebanese Army to carry out their roles and perform their mission of safeguarding security and protecting people’s safety and public and private property,” the statement added. As for the designation of a new premier and the formation of a new government, Berri and Hariri emphasized that there is “a dire national need to form a government,” calling for “approaching this juncture in a calm atmosphere away from political tensions” and urging the parties to “put the country’s interest before any other interest.”The statement comes after assailants coming from a stronghold of Berri’s AMAL Movement and its ally Hizbullah clashed with security forces in Beirut and carried out riot acts in the capital and the country’s south and east following a social media video deemed offensive to the country’s Shiites. It was the third consecutive night of violence in Lebanon, coming after President Michel Aoun on Monday postponed talks on naming a new prime minister, further prolonging the unrest in the protest-hit country.The violence was fueled by an undated video circulating online of a man, said to be living somewhere in Europe but otherwise from Lebanon’s majority Sunni city of Tripoli, railing against Shiite politicians, religious figures and others. It was unclear what the link was between the video and the attacks on protest camps. Supporters of Hizbullah and Berri’s AMAL, angered by protesters’ criticism and insults against their leaders, have tried to attack the protest camps for days. They clashed for hours with security forces guarding a central Beirut protest camp on Monday, hurling stones and firecrackers and setting fire to several cars, trees and a building under construction overlooking the square. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons.
Hezbollah supporters attack several protest camps in Lebanon
The Associated Press, Beirut /Tuesday, 17 December 2019
Assailants attacked several protest camps in north and south Lebanon early on Tuesday, according to state-run media, demolishing tents and burning down others as anger boiled over in the capital following a video deemed offensive to the country’s Shia. The violence — some of it apparently carried out by Lebanese Hezbollah supporters and their allies — threatened to plunge Lebanon further into chaos amid two months of anti-government protests and a spiraling financial crisis. In Beirut, charred remains of several torched cars were scattered on a main highway while faint smoke smoldered from a fire set in a building overlooking the epicenter of two-month-old protests after a night of rage by supporters of Lebanon’s two main Shia groups, Hezbollah and Amal. It was the third consecutive night of violence in Lebanon, coming after the Lebanese president on Monday postponed talks on naming a new prime minister, further prolonging the unrest in the Mediterranean country. The violence was fueled by an undated video circulating online of a man, said to be living somewhere in Europe but otherwise from Lebanon’s majority Sunni city of Tripoli, railing against Shia politicians, religious figures and others. It was unclear what the link was between the video and the attacks on the protest camps. Supporters of Lebanese Hezbollah group and the Amal movement, angered by protesters’ criticism of their leaders, have tried to attack the protest camps for days. Late on Monday, hundreds of angry men — apparently supporters of Hezbollah and Amal, which is led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri — descended on the camp in central Beirut. They clashed for hours with security forces guarding the camp, hurling stones and firecrackers and setting fire to several cars, trees and a building under construction overlooking the square. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons. Meanwhile, reports emerged of assailants attacking protest tents in northern Lebanon’s Hermel district, in the southern city of Sidon and the town of Nabatiyeh, where the protesters are also Shia. The assailants set fires to the tents in Sidon, and destroyed the ones in Nabatiyeh, according to the National News Agency. In the district of Hermel, fires raged in tents set up by protesters in the village of Fakeha after assailants lobbed a bomb into it, the agency said. The anti-government protests, which erupted in mid-October, have spared no Lebanese politician, accusing the ruling elite of corruption and mismanagement, and calling for a government of independents. They have largely been peaceful, sparked by an intensifying economic crisis. While initially spontaneous and unifying, supporters of the Shi’a groups later grew intolerant of criticism of their leaders and sought to quell the rallies.
Analyst: Monday Unrest May Have Been an Attempt to Undermine Protests
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 17/2019
Lebanese academic Imad Salamey has said that the Monday night clashes could have been an attempt to undermine the anti-establishment protests. “Stirring sectarian strife is one of the ways used by those in power to divide Lebanese and weaken the street movement,” he said. But “I don’t think it will work this time,” added the professor at the Lebanese American University. Salamey said solidarity between Lebanese has only increased “after people started losing their jobs and companies and being unable to withdraw money from the banks.” “The economic crisis has broken the barrier of fear, or at least the barriers between different religious sects,” he said. Dozens of people were wounded in overnight clashes between security forces and supporters of Lebanon’s two main Shiite political parties, Hizbullah and the AMAL Movement. It was the latest incident of violence in what have been largely peaceful protests since October 17 against a political class deemed inept and corrupt. Shortly before midnight on Monday, young supporters of Hizbullah and AMAL tried to attack the main anti-government protest camp in central Beirut. They arrived on foot and scooters, apparently fired up by a video of a Lebanese man living abroad in which he insults the sacred symbols of Shiites. They lobbed stones and fireworks toward the anti-riot police trying to prevent them from entering the largely empty main square. The counterdemonstrators also torched several cars. The security forces responded with teargas and a water cannon. In the southern city of Sidon, young assailants also attacked a protest camp during the night, destroying several tents. The two-month-old protest movement has been mostly peaceful — with the exception of some unprecedented clashes between anti-government demonstrators and security forces at the weekend.
Bassil Bodyguard Seizes Prominent Journalist Phone at U.N. Forum
Naharnet/December 17/2019
A bodyguard of caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Tuesday snatched the cellphone of a prominent journalist during a U.N. forum in Geneva, the journalist said. “Lebanese FM Gebran Bassil had his security confiscate my phone and erase the video when I was trying to interview him at UN Refugees forum in Geneva,” Lebanese-German journalist Jaafar Abdul Karim tweeted. “UN Security is investigating the incident,” he added. Abdul Karim is an award winning journalist and the host of a popular Arabic-language talk show on Germany’s Deutsche Welle television. Sources close to Bassil meanwhile told LBCI TV that the journalist “did not ask for an interview with the minister but rather repeatedly filmed his movements with his phone and tried to take a statement from him as he was walking in the lobby of the U.N. headquarters.”“This provoked Swiss and Lebanese security guards tasked with protecting the minister,” the sources added.
Bassil Warns World of ‘Hundreds of Thousands of Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian Refugees’
Naharnet/December 17/2019
Caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Tuesday warned the international community, especially European countries, that “hundreds of thousands of Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians” might flee to Europe should Lebanon turn into another “Syria.”Speaking at an international conference for refugees at the U.N. headquarters in Geneva, Bassil urged the world to stand by Lebanon and “prevent its collapse.”“Do not allow the economic wars to aggravate its plight, which might push its people and guests to jump on the first boat in search of a new land in your countries, in which they would find their needs and dignity,” Bassil warned. Cautioning that the refugees in Lebanon might turn into “fuel for the war of others on our soil,” the foreign minister said “plots” against Lebanon might push “hundreds of thousands of Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians” to flee the country. “The situation is not good and what happened in Syria might be repeated in our country,” Bassil warned.
Bassil Flies to Geneva for Conference on Refugees
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 17/2019
Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Jebran Bassil led a Lebanese delegation to the first Global Refugee Forum in Geneva where heads of state, government ministers, and business and civil society leaders are gathered to discuss ways to support refugees and host communities. The National News Agency said Bassil’s visit is expected to last for a few hours, as he will be returning to Lebanon after delivering Lebanon’s speech. The forum, which officially opens Tuesday, is the first follow-up meeting after countries last December adopted the so-called Global Compact on Refugees. At the end of 2018, nearly 26 million people were living outside their home countries as refugees. Lebanon hosts around 1.5 million Syrian refugees who fled their war-torn country to Lebanon.
Report: AMAL Supporter who Shared Sectarian Video to be Questioned
Naharnet/December 17/2019
The Central Criminal Investigations Bureau will interrogate AMAL Movement supporter Abbas al-Shami, who has received and shared a video deemed insulting to Shiites following a Facebook feud with a Lebanese man who lives in Europe. LBCI television said the interrogation will take place under the supervision of the public prosecution. Earlier in the day, five Lebanese lawyers filed a lawsuit against the man who appears in the video, Samer al-Sidawi, accusing him of “jeopardizing civil peace” and demanding his arrest and interrogation.The video sparked riots by AMAL and Hizbullah supporters in central Beirut and attacks on protest sites in Sidon, Nabatieh and Hermel. The assailants demolished tents and burned down three cars as anger boiled over the video. In the video, Sidawi, said to be living somewhere in Europe but otherwise from Lebanon’s majority Sunni city of Tripoli, rails against Shiite politicians, religious figures and others. It was unclear what the link was between the video and the attacks on the protest camps but Shami is suspected of having played a role in incitement. Sidawi later released another video apologizing for his words, stating that he “takes medicine and is sick,” and that his insults were the result of a personal feud with Shami and that he did not intend to distribute the video to the public. Screenshots published online, apparently of the Facebook chat between Sidawi and Shami, show that the online feud took place on Sunday night, during fierce confrontations between anti-corruption protesters and security forces in downtown Beirut. Supporters of AMAL and Hizbullah intervened in the clashes and attempted to storm the protest site. Shami himself had appeared in a live Facebook video filmed at the protest, in which he said that the protesters would soon be assaulted.
Ali Merhi, an electrician from Khandaq al-Ghamiq, the Beirut neighborhood where the Monday night assailants appear to hail from, said in response to the violence: “The people of this area are all against what happened yesterday, and things have calmed down … but some are still holding a grudge.” Shiite cleric Sheikh Mohammed Qassem Ayyad from Khandaq al-Ghamiq told LBCI TV Monday night: “If the attackers really loved (revered Shiite imam) Hussein, let them evacuate the streets. These are not the ethics of the Shiites.”Another protester from the northeastern region of Baalbek, Abbas Huwada, 34, said in Beirut that he is opposed to the violence, adding: “It doesn’t matter if I am Shiite or Sunni. We are all Lebanese living under one flag. We need to be wiser. Someone comes out, makes a statement, and turns the country upside down.”
The anti-government protests, which erupted in mid-October, have spared no Lebanese politician, accusing the ruling elite of corruption and mismanagement, and calling for a government of independents. They have largely been peaceful, sparked by an intensifying economic crisis. Speaker Nabih Berri and outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri met on Tuesday and urged the Lebanese to be aware from being “drawn toward strife” saying that some sides that they did not name are working to incite violence in the country. Both leaders called on the army and police to protect public and private property.
DR Congo Freezes Assets of Lebanese ‘Bread King’ over U.S. Sanctions
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 17/2019
DR Congo said Tuesday it had frozen the assets of a Lebanese businessman dubbed the Bread King after Washington accused him of financing Hizbullah. But fearing disruption of bread supplies, the government will allow his businesses to open new bank accounts under supervision, government spokesman Jolino Makelele told a press briefing. The U.S. sanctions target Saleh Assi, who is based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and a compatriot, Nazem Said Ahmad, a Lebanon-based diamond dealer and art collector. In a statement last Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department accused the pair of being “money launderers” who had generated “tens of millions of dollars for Hizbullah, its financiers, and their malign activities.”Assi’s assets and those of “all of his businesses” will be frozen, along with “all transactions from these accounts,” Makelele said after a special cabinet meeting. The businesses will be placed under “an independent administrator until a lasting solution is reached, in line with the requirements of the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision,” he added. The companies will have a special dispensation to open new bank accounts, but under government supervision. This is to “avoid damaging effects… on the economy and public,” Makelele said, referring to the supply of bread by Assi’s mega-bakery to the 10 million residents of the capital Kinshasa. The United States considers Hizbullah a “terrorist” organization. The group is a key political player in Lebanon. Washington has targeted the Iran-backed party with tough sanctions, ramped up under the administration of President Donald Trump. Early last year authorities in the DRC forced Assi to abandon a plan to hike prices, which they said would destabilize the country.
Protesters Storm Commerce Chamber during Meeting Attended by Choucair
Naharnet/December 17/2019
Anti-corruption protesters on Tuesday stormed the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture in Sanayeh during a meeting attended by caretaker Telecom Minister Mohammed Choucair.
The protesters expressed their rejection of any privatization of the mobile telecom sector and the costs of telecom services in Lebanon. The debate that ensued between the two sides did not involve any violent incident according to a widely shared video.
Dozens of Protesters Rally near Hariri’s Residence
Agence France Presse//Naharnet/December 17/2019
Dozens of protesters rallied near caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s residence in downtown Beirut on Monday evening, refusing his return as prime minister — a scenario put forward in the past week. “We’re protesting here until they form the government people want,” said activist Claude Jabre, referring to demands for a cabinet entirely formed of independent experts. Nearby, 27-year-old Youssef said he utterly rejected Hariri as he represented the old political system protesters want to replace. “The parliamentary consultations should reflect what the people want, not what the parliament and the ruling authority want,” said the bearded protester, a red and white checkered scarf around his neck. Cabinet formation can drag on for months in the multi-confessional country, with Hariri taking almost nine months to reach an agreement with all political sides for the last one. Consensus on the name of a new prime minister is frequently reached before parliamentary consultations begin. The names of various potential candidates to replace Hariri have been circulated in recent weeks, but bitterly divided political parties have failed to agree on a new premier. Earlier this month, the Sunni Muslim establishment threw its support behind Hariri returning. The powerful Shiite movement Hizbullah, a key political player with ministers in the outgoing government, has also supported the outgoing premier or someone nominated by him. But it has repeatedly dismissed the idea of an exclusively technocratic cabinet.
Lebanon: Mustaqbal Says Premiership Cannot Be Held Hostage to Any Party
Beirut- Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 17 December, 2019
Mustaqbal Movement issued a strongly-worded statement, in which it attacked the Lebanese Forces party and the Free Patriotic Movement.
“The country stands at a critical crossroads that threatens to bring the direst consequences as a result of the race to score political points in one direction or another,” the statement said, after the two parties refused to nominate caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri to head the new government. There is an “intersection of interests” between the two parties, Mustqabal noted. It added that some parties “have sought, throughout two months, to discredit the post-October 17 events before eventually announcing that they were an inseparable part of the protest movement and revolution.” The movement condemned attempts to “besiege the prime minister’s post and breach the constitutional norms in the designation of premiers.” “Mustaqbal Movement is clearly not awaiting any nomination for PM Hariri from the FPM or the LF, and it does not accept that the premiership post be turned into a ball thrown around by some movements and parties,” the statement said. “The premiership post is bigger than all these heresies and it will not be a hostage held to anyone no matter how influential they might be,” it added. In response, Baabda’s Presidential Office on Monday said that President Michel Aoun did not need constitutional “lessons” from anyone. “Claims that the Free Patriotic Movement bloc intended to cede its votes to the President are mere fabrications and a prejudgment that preceded the binding parliamentary consultations that the president intended to conduct today,” the Presidency’s press office said in a statement. “The president, who is entrusted with the constitution, does not need lessons from anyone in this regard,” the statement noted. The FPM, on the other hand, called for a swift formation of a rescue government and urged Hariri to choose a reliable name for the premiership.
Lebanon FM Gebran Bassil on protests, corruption and reforms
Al Jazeera News/December 17/2019
Lebanon’s foreign minister discusses corruption, his role in government and how to address protesters’ demands.
Lebanon has been engulfed by nationwide anti-government protests which began in October.People are demanding an end to corruption, a change in the political system and better management of the economy. As a result, Prime Minister Saad Hariri handed in his resignation in late October. But protesters say that is not enough and have been calling for a complete overhaul of Lebanon’s political system – and its sect-based power-sharing agreement. And as people chant in the streets against politicians, the one name that seems to be singled out often is Gebran Bassil, Lebanon’s foreign minister. Bassil is President Michel Aoun’s son-in-law and has previously held other ministerial positions without being an elected member of parliament. Many consider him to be one of the most divisive figures in their country. But Bassil says protesters are wrong to single him out and stresses that “the priority is to save the country”.
“We are paying the price of 30 years of wrong policies and corruption … The country is at the verge of collapsing … Our economy has all the ingredients to rise up again. This is the priority right now. And later on, justice will prevail, truth will be apparent to everybody,” he says.
“Lebanon is a country that is worth to survive. It is a model of diversity, pluralism and tolerance that is worth to preserve. We need Lebanon to be on its feet again to be that model of co-existence. If Lebanon vanishes it can only see extremism and terrorism in our region. So it’s worth fighting for.”Bassil believes that the one thing Lebanon needs is an efficient government. “We have a failed system but we don’t want to have a failed state. The only salvation for Lebanon is a civil state. We are not there yet unfortunately, but we will fight for this first.” He explains that they are working on a series of anti-corruption laws and believes that “with the people rising we have an exceptional opportunity to pass these laws”. “This (the fight against corruption) is what’s uniting us despite our political and religious differences. So we should seize the opportunity and unite all together,” says Bassil.
“The republic is in danger,” he warns. “Lebanon is a country that is paying for the mistakes of everybody around us. And we are paying a lot, but I think Lebanon should be saved by its friends. And the first thing to do is to stop the external interventions in our country, and not to allow the Lebanese to intervene in others’ affairs.” At the 2019 Doha Forum, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, Gebran Bassil, talks to Al Jazeera about the uprising, the challenges facing Lebanon, his role in government, corruption and the best way to address the protesters’ demands.
Beirut left reeling after online video sparks violent clashes
Arab News/Agencies/December 17/2019
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s capital was rocked by a third night of violence after an online video containing sectarian insults sent hundreds of protesters onto the streets to vent their anger at police and security forces. The protesters, supporters of the Hezbollah and Amal movements, set cars ablaze, and threw stones and fireworks at police, who used tear gas and water cannon to disperse them. Angered by the video, protesters from Beirut’s southern suburb of Khandak El Ghamik used social media platforms late on Monday to issue calls to gather in the capital’s squares, where they again targeted anti-government demonstrators.
It was the third consecutive night of violence in the capital following clashes between anti-government protesters and police on Saturday and Sunday. Riot police and army personnel responded to the attacks by firing dozens of tear gas canisters, wounding several people, including security personnel. More than 20 people were rushed to hospital after the clashes.Appeals for calm by Amal and Hezbollah leaders failed to stop supporters from confronting police and security forces. A local religious leader, Sheikh Mohammed Kazem Ayyad, appeared on television from the Khandak El Ghamik mosque urging protesters to “leave the street.” Youssef Khayat, manager of the Central Monroe Hotel close to the site of the clashes, told Arab News: “Our occupancy rate has fallen to zero. In order to survive, we have to reduce salaries and cut the number of employees. When the confrontations begin in the evening, we lock the doors and stay inside.”Anger over the incident spread to the cities of Sidon and Nabatieh, where young men destroyed protesters’ tents in Elia Square and attacked a number of people. Safety fears forced most schools in Sidon to close on Tuesday while the army carried out patrols throughout the city.
Hezbollah and Amal supporters also destroyed anti-government protesters’ tents in Nabatieh. Nora Farhat, who runs a women’s beauty salon, said the attacks were expected. “Targeting Hezbollah and Amal leaders all the time is bound to cause an explosion on the street. The protesters should accommodate other people, not provoke them. It is true that the protesters are not responsible for the inflammatory video, but everybody is tense.”In an attempt to calm the political situation, caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri visited Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri — the first meeting between the two since the deadlock over forming a replacement government. A statement issued after the meeting said that “it is imperative that the Lebanese demonstrate awareness and vigilance at this stage, preserve civil peace and national unity, and not be drawn into the strife that some are working hard to promote.”Berri and Hariri said that “the need to accelerate the formation of the government has become more than urgent.”Meanwhile, the Imam of Al-Basta mosque, Sheikh Ali Bitar, visited the Khandak El Ghamik mosque to meet Sheikh Ayyad. “We came to assure all Lebanese and the Muslim world that we are one body. We condemn the provocative video,” Sheikh Bitar said. Beirut’s Public Prosecution Department planned to take action against the man who posted the online video but it later emerged he is living in Greece. The man’s uncle said on television: “The family has nothing to do with the words of my nephew.”
Later the man posted a second video apologizing for his actions.
3rd Night of Unrest, Hizbullah, AMAL Supporters Clash with Security Forces
Associated Press/Naharnet/December 17/2019
Supporters of Lebanon’s two main Shiite groups Hizbulah and AMAL clashed with security forces and set fires to cars in the capital early Tuesday, apparently angered by a video circulating online that showed a man insulting Shiite figures. Police used tear gas and water cannons trying to disperse them. It was the third consecutive night of violence, and came hours after Lebanon’s president postponed talks on naming a new prime minister, further prolonging the turmoil and unrest in the Mediterranean country. President Michel Aoun postponed the binding consultations with leaders of parliamentary blocs after the only candidate — caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri — failed to win the backing of the country’s largest Christian groups amid a worsening economic and financial crisis.
The postponement followed a violent weekend in the small nation that saw the toughest crackdown on demonstrations in two months. Lebanese security forces repeatedly fired tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons to disperse hundreds of protesters in downtown Beirut in the worst violence since demonstrations against the political elite erupted in mid-October. On Monday night, a group of young men clashed with security forces in downtown Beirut after a video began circulating online in which a man insulted Shiite political and religious figures, heightening sectarian tensions. The group, apparently supporters of Hizbullah and the Amal Movement led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, set at least three cars on fire and hurled stones and firecrackers at riot police. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons. Aoun had been scheduled to meet with the heads of parliamentary blocs to discuss the naming of the new prime minister. Those consultations are binding, according to the constitution, and Hariri, who resigned under pressure Oct. 29, was widely expected to be renamed. The presidential palace said the consultations would be held instead on Thursday, based on a request from Hariri. The U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon, Jan Kubis, had warned that because of the collapsing economy, such postponements are “a risky hazard both for the politicians but even more so” for the people.
Lebanon is enduring its worst economic and financial crisis in decades with a massive debt, widespread layoffs and unprecedented capital controls imposed by local banks amid a shortage in liquidity.
Hariri resigned after protests began earlier in October over widespread corruption and mismanagement. The palace said Hariri had asked Aoun to allow for more time for discussions among political groups before official consultations. Earlier, the country’s main Christian groups said they refused to back Hariri, who has served as premier three times.
His office said in a statement that he is keen for national accord, adding that had he been named to the post, it would have been “without the participation of any of the large Christian blocs.” Under Lebanon’s power-sharing system, the prime minister has to be a Sunni Muslim, the president a Maronite Christian and the parliament speaker from the Shiite community. Hariri has emerged as the only candidate with enough backing for the job, but he is rejected by protesters who demand a Cabinet of independent technocrats and an independent head of government not affiliated with existing parties.
Although the protests had united all sectarian and ethnic groups against the ruling elite, tensions had surfaced from the start between protesters and supporters of the Shiite groups Hizbullah and Amal, after the latter rejected criticism of its leaders. Hariri had asked the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for help developing a reform plan to address the economic crisis. Moody’s Investors Service said that without technical support from the IMF, World Bank and international donors, it was increasingly likely that Lebanon could see “a scenario of extreme macroeconomic instability in which a debt restructuring occurs with an abrupt destabilization of the currency peg resulting in very large losses for private investors.” Its currency has been pegged at 1,507 Lebanese pounds to the dollar since 1997, but in recent weeks it has reached more than 2,000 in the black market. Lebanon’s debt stands at $87 billion or 150 percent of GDP.
Protesters in Arab World’s Newest Uprisings Face a Long Haul
Associated Press/Naharnet/December 17/2019
Abbas Ali spends most of his free time camped out in Tahrir Square — the epicenter of Iraq’s anti-government protests — going home only at 3 a.m. to catch few hours of sleep, change his clothes and check on his family. He is determined to stay in the square until the end, whatever that may be. Ali was only 13 when the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein. He only vaguely remembers life under the dictator. What he knows clearly is that life in post-Saddam Iraq is a daily, often humiliating struggle for survival. The 29-year-old considers himself lucky to have a job, although the pay barely covers medical bills for his ailing father and elderly mother. His two brothers and sister are unemployed. So are most of his friends. He says marriage is the furthest thing from his mind since he couldn’t possibly afford to start a family.
Angry at factional, sectarian politicians and clerics he blames for stealing Iraq’s wealth, Ali embodies the young Iraqis in Baghdad who for more than two months have waged a revolt calling for the downfall of a hated political class. A similar scene is taking place in tiny Lebanon, where for 62 days now, young people have protested the political elite in charge since the 1975-90 civil war, blaming them for pillaging the country to the point of bankruptcy. The sustained, leaderless protests are unprecedented and have managed to bring down the governments of both countries. But they have been unable to topple their ruling systems: The same politicians have kept their hold, wrangling and stalling over forming new governments and ignoring the broader calls for radical reform.
The standoff gets more dangerous as it draws out, posing the most serious existential threat in years — in Iraq since Saddam’s 2003 ouster and in Lebanon since the civil war’s end. Iraq has been plunged into yet another cycle of violence with more than 450 protesters killed by security forces. Lebanon is on the verge of chaos, with a looming economic disaster.
The protests reflect a broader malaise playing out across much of the Arab world. As the Middle East ushers in 2020, experts say a new kind of uprising is unfolding. While the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings that took place in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Syria were directed at long-ruling autocrats, the current economically driven uprisings are directed at an entire class of politicians and a system they say is broken and has failed to provide a decent life. In Iran, economic discontent has worsened since President Donald Trump imposed crushing sanctions last year. The U.N. says more than 200 people were killed by security forces shooting at protesters in recent weeks after the government raised gasoline prices. In Egypt, there have been scattered outbursts of street protests despite draconian measures imposed under President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Jordan, Algeria and Sudan are all witnessing similar protests.
DYSFUNCTIONAL STATES
“The politicians’ corruption has stolen and ruined the future of our youth,” reads a huge banner in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square. It’s a sentiment that sums up the feeling across Iraq and Lebanon. Both countries have a power-sharing agreement that allocates top posts according to religious sect and has turned former warlords into a permanent political class that trades favors for votes. The level of dysfunction and failing services in both countries is staggering, with garbage left uncollected, chronic cuts in electricity and systemic corruption and nepotism. The two countries are also perpetually trapped in and paralyzed by the regional push-pull between Iran and the U.S. and their respective local pawns. Meanwhile, poverty and joblessness continues to rise — in the case of Iraq, despite its great oil wealth. Ali, the Baghdad protester, says he feels like a stranger in his own country, floating between jobs and unemployment. He says he feels sick every time he turns on the TV and sees Iraqi leaders speak.”Mako watan,” he said, a colloquial expression for “this is not a country.”Samar Maalouly, a 32-year-old Lebanese protester, calls her country’s politicians “monsters.””What I’d like to know is, don’t they ever have enough?” she said during a recent demonstration in downtown Beirut. Paul Salem, president of the Washington-based Middle East Institute, summed up the painful standoff. “On the one hand stands a young generation demanding good governance, an end to corruption, and socio-economic progress and justice; on the other sits a corrupt and sectarian political class — backed in key ways by Iran — that doesn’t want to give up any of its positions or riches,” he wrote in an analysis last week.
SEEDS OF CHANGE
The protests in Iraq and Lebanon are unique in that for the first time, people from all sects and social classes are transcending divisions to hold their leaders to account. They are desperate to hang on to this gain. Graffiti in Baghdad and Beirut urges an end to the sectarian power-sharing system. In conservative Iraq, women are for the first time openly taking part in the protests. Politicians are betting on the passage of time and internal disputes to destroy the protest movement. In Iraq, a series of attacks by unknown assailants including stabbings, assassinations and kidnappings have fostered fear among demonstrators. Lebanon’s largely peaceful rallies are degenerating into violence. Protesters face a conundrum: By persisting with street action, they risk angering those in the wider populace eager for stability and a return to normal life. Some say the demands are simply too radical to be implemented. But if they stop, they risk losing this moment of unity against their rulers. Protesters insist what they’re planting now are the long-awaited seeds of change. But analysts say it’s a long haul. “Corruption is ingrained at every level, and it’s something that if you wanted to fix, you basically have to take the entire elite class and throw it out of the country. And while people may want to do that, how do you do that without just incredible violence?” said Trenton Schoenborn, an author with the International Review, an online publication dedicated to global analysis. Ali, the Iraqi protester, says he and his comrades have come too far to stop now. “This is a one-way street,” he said. “It’s either us or them. If they win this time, it’s over.”
Titles For The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 17-18/2019
The idea that Lebanon’s armed forces represent a solution to the current crisis is an illusion/Michael Young/The National/December 17/2019
Hezbollah: Renewed Concerns of Power-sharing and Democracy/ظSam Menassa/Asharq Al Awsat/December 17/2019
Analysis/Lebanon’s Protest Have Only One Solution, and It’s Nowhere in Sight/Zvi Bar’el/Haaretz/December 17/2019
Lebanon must find a way to escape Hezbollah’s clutches/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/December 17/2019
The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 17-18/2019
The idea that Lebanon’s armed forces represent a solution to the current crisis is an illusion
Michael Young/The National/December 17/2019
The military reflects a society divided by sectarianism, with all the paradoxes that entails
There have been two broad interpretations of how the Lebanese armed forces have behaved in the ongoing protests in Lebanon. Both are inaccurate and both fail to understand what really drives the country’s military. One interpretation – that held by many protesters – is that the army has protected demonstrators and, within the limits imposed by the sectarian political system, has supported their demands. The second, advanced by politicians and pundits on the political right in the US who support Israel, is that the armed forces are a facade for Hezbollah. Even a cursory look at what has taken place in Lebanon in the past six weeks disproves both narratives. While the army has defended demonstrators in many places, it has also done more than that. Protesters have been detained and even mistreated in some locations. Earlier this week, for example, soldiers forcibly removed demonstrators blocking a main coastal road. At other times, the army has stood by while thugs associated with Hezbollah and the Amal Movement attacked protesters and destroyed their camps. This surely does not suggest that the military is explicitly on the side of the uprising.
On the other hand, the armed forces have definitely not been taking orders from Hezbollah. Where the political class had expected troops to break up protests using force, in fact the military strenuously avoided taking such a radical step. This earned it criticism from the two main Shiite parties, Hezbollah and Amal, underlining how the armed forces pursue their own agenda.
The reality is much simpler. Lebanon’s armed forces are a reflection of the country’s sectarian society, with all its disagreements. To reduce the pressures this might place on the organisation, it has long adopted a corporate identity over and above sectarian divisions. This identity has been focused on preserving the institution and managing its underlying contradictions from within.
What has this meant in terms of Hezbollah? While the party has allies in the army, Hezbollah is not in a position to compel the military to act in a certain way, nor are any of its branches fully under its sway. Rather, the armed forces are made up of myriad interest groups that seek to preserve the status quo from which they benefit, by avoiding a clash among themselves for the greater benefit of the organisation. Some might engage with Hezbollah, others might not. But the different sides will not threaten military unity by turning this into a matter of internal discord.
The principal motives explaining the military’s behaviour in the Lebanon protests have been threefold – to avoid being drawn into the political divisions that the uprising has exacerbated, to retain popular support while portraying the military as a supranational institution free from corruption, and to protect public institutions but without doing so in a way that threatens public support.
In many regards, the model to which the armed forces continue to adhere is that put in place by independent Lebanon’s first armed forces commander, Fouad Chehab. In 1952, there was a political crisis when then president Bishara Al Khoury resigned under pressure from his political foes. At the time, Chehab had shielded the military from the political disputes, agreeing only to head an interim government until a successor to Al Khoury could be elected. In 1958 another political crisis came about when Camille Chamoun sought to use manipulated elections to extend his presidential term. What ensued was a shortlived civil war in which Chehab again kept the army on the sidelines while it actively prevented any one side from gaining a decisive advantage. By playing the role of arbitrator, Chehab not only safeguarded the military institution, he also gained enough trust to be elected president to succeed Chamoun.
The paradox is that while army commanders will strenuously avoid politicising the armed forces, many have had the ambition to become president. In the past two decades, three former armed forces commanders have been president. The current commander Joseph Aoun might well have a similar ambition.
That could partly explain why he has been so keen to preserve the neutrality of the armed forces and avoid alienating the public. Mr Aoun does not want to engage in repression of the population, particularly as its demands are entirely justified. Moreover, he certainly does not want to do so on behalf of a discredited political class, whose number includes the controversial figure Gebran Bassil, the son-in-law of Lebanese President Michel Aoun and a presidential hopeful.
People assist a wounded protester during clashes in central Beirut, Lebanon, 14 December 2019. The sit-in continues its nightly movements in front of the parliament entrance as they refuse to assign Saad Hariri to head the government. Next 16 December parliamentary consultations will begin to choose a prime minister. Nabil Mounzer/ EPA
There is an illusion among some Lebanese that the armed forces represent a solution to the current political crisis. With politicians’ reputations in tatters because of the way they have plundered the state, the notion that the military can successfully take over power is dangerous. Not only would it undermine everything the military has tried to do since the protests began, it would go against the balancing game that has long allowed it to overcome its paradoxes. That’s why it is a mistake for opponents of the protests to try to enrol the military in the suppression of demonstrators, and it is why trying to punish the military for being an alleged Hezbollah cat’s paw is reckless. Lebanon’s military, like most national institutions embodying unity in otherwise divided states, is a reflection of Lebanon itself. Its survival often means embracing uneasy inconsistencies.
*Michael Young is editor of Diwan, the blog of the Carnegie Middle East programme, in Beirut
Hezbollah: Renewed Concerns of Power-sharing and Democracy
Sam Menassa/Asharq Al Awsat/December 17/2019
The night before the binding parliamentary consultations for the formation of a Lebanese government, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, appeared once again to draw the blueprint of the formation. He delineated what was acceptable and what was not, affirming the saying, “One man rules the country.” Speaking before Nasrallah’s statement, the caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gebran Bassil, asserted his party’s determination to refrain from taking part in a government headed by Saad Hariri, adopting the popular demand for a technocratic government from head to toe. On the other hand, he stated that he insisted that the government formation reflect the balance of powers that were produced by the last parliamentary elections, reaffirming his arrogant formula: Either Hariri and I are both in the government, or both of us are outside of it. Bassil’s statement was free of outdated catch phrases concerning the course of the government formation since Michel Aoun became president, such as power-sharing, according to a parliamentary majority and minority in a government of technocrats playing proxy for politicians.
Nasrallah did not deviate from his usual dismissal of the Lebanese uprising as a conspiracy and putting it in the context of an open confrontation between Iran and the United States or rewinding the clock to before the uprising, and then forming a government that reflects the one that resigned in terms of balances of power, with him taking control over it, such as in parliament where he has a majority.
What’s new in his speech is the calm tone that he used and the democratic spirit that dominated the part of his speech addressing the Lebanese government. Nasrallah stated that “just as we rejected a one-sided government when they had a majority we are today rejecting a one-sided government while we have a majority because it is not in Lebanon’s interest.” He demanded a national unity government with the broadest possible representation able to overcome the economic and social crisis in the country.
Also new is his denial of Hezbollah’s insistence on Hariri as the next prime minister while affirming that they will respect that the others will choose the strongest in his sect. Only in passing did he address Bassil’s position, without naming him, asserting that Hezbollah is determined to share power with the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) in the new government.
Putting aside Hezbollah’s concern with Lebanon’s interest, many questions are revolving around his insistence on a power-sharing government with parties whom he one time calls ‘conspirators’ and another ‘corrupt.’ Reason dictates that if Hariri refuses to head the new government and the Progressive Socialist Party, Kataeb Party, and the Lebanese Forces all announce not wanting to be a part of it, Hezbollah will have the chance to form a government that will serve their interests. So why don’t they?
There are questions about the fate of the popular uprising, accusing it of treason on the one hand, and neglecting its demands on the other, especially those related to the formation of an independent technocratic government from outside the political groups in power for thirty years. How will Hezbollah deal with it? Will they deal with it the same way they dealt with the revolution in Iraq, as a by-product of the battle between Iran and the US?
What about Hezbollah’s relationship with its Christian ally and the Secretary-General’s marginalization of Bassil’s most recent statements? Has this relationship been shaken? Or is it just maneuvering behind which something we do not know of is cooking?
In reality, contrary to what they are both trying to imply, Iran and Hezbollah are in an unfortunate position, both regionally and internationally, especially after the popular uprisings in Lebanon and Iraq have proven that the Islamic Republic has failed to appeal to the local Shiite communities. Lebanon is witnessing an unprecedented popular uprising and tensions between the protesters, and Hezbollah and Amal supporters. Iraq is also witnessing a popular Shiite uprising with a primary demand that Iran stops intervening in Iraq’s internal affairs, an uprising that has been very violently repressed with arbitrary killings, persecutions, and assassinations of national activists, for which pro-Iran militias are the prime suspects.
Internationally, the closing statement of the international conference, formed by European initiative to help Lebanon, suggested that Lebanon distance itself from regional conflicts so that aid can reach it. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the Lebanese people, explicitly, to end the danger that Hezbollah poses as a first step towards escaping the crisis. At the same time, he announced new sanctions on Tehran. He also called for limiting the dangerous Iranian influence in the region after what it did in Yemen and Syria, where Iran now shares power with Russia and Turkey after it was the sole decision-maker. From that, we understand Hezbollah’s insistence on sharing the government with Hariri and the FPM, as more than ever, it needs a Christian and Sunni cover.
As for the popular uprising, it is likely that the tensions between the protesters and the supporters of the Shiite duo will persist without an intervention from Hezbollah similar to that of May 7, 2008. Instead they will continue to instruct the armed forces to be firmer with the protesters, which has recently manifested.
As for the relationship between Hezbollah and the FPM, the constant is that Hezbollah will not risk the Christian cover that it received like a gift from the heavens with the FPM. The most likely scenario is that their most recent positions are only a maneuver meant to proceed with appointing Hariri as prime minister while sizing him down by granting him a tiny majority. Later, they may hinder the formation of the government in order to extend the term of the caretaker government and allow it to continue to serve the interests of all the parties that are part of it. Also, the state will have to take unpopular and perhaps painful measures to address the economic and financial crisis, and there is no harm in the caretaker cabinet as it is to do so.
The possibility of forming an independent technocratic government is out of the question for Hezbollah, which will not compromise its influence in Lebanon at a time where the party and its Iranian patrons are in desperate need to hold onto their influence. Hezbollah will not risk all of these achievements, which it has worked hard to introduce to political life from the consensus to the agreement and power-sharing, all of which granted it the strongest hand with regards to drawing the country’s political map.
Another scenario is possible, where Hariri throws the ball into Aoun and Hezbollah’s court and refuses being appointed. Either he will accept or will turn the table on everyone, taking advantage of everyone, from his sect to his opponents, who insists on him being appointed, announcing to everyone, mainly the protesters, the formation of an independent technocratic government that meets the people and the international community’s demands. This would help alleviate the difficult economic situation in the country which may lead to a social explosion that would be difficult to contain. Only then would the white become distinguishable from the black. This hypothetical scenario is unrealistic in a country deluded into believing it is a nation, and it appears that darkness is looming over the country.
Analysis/Lebanon’s Protest Have Only One Solution, and It’s Nowhere in Sight
Zvi Bar’el/Haaretz/December 17/2019
With long and tiresome negotiations expected over the country’s next government, the question is how long the public can wait while avoiding violent clashes.
In a letter sent by the managers of the twelve clubs in Lebanon’s premiere soccer league to the country’s Football Association, they warn that the dire economic conditions, mainly the limits banks have set on releasing foreign currency, could harm the ability of these clubs to hire foreign players.
The practical meaning of this letter is that these teams will be unable to maintain their professional standards, losing their best players, with the entire season going to waste unless a quick solution is found. Legally, explain jurists whose expertise is in these matters, every contract with a foreign player contains a clause which permits one side to abrogate the contract due to “force majeure” such as war, a strike or civil unrest, without paying compensation. This clause offers no solution for someone whose team absolutely depends on foreign players.
In the absence of attractive and suspenseful games, revenues will decline, as will the prestige of the league’s teams. The problem is that no one can tell soccer teams when “unusual circumstances” that constitute a “force majeure” end.
On Monday, 128 Lebanese parliamentarians were scheduled to convene at the presidential palace in Baabda to discuss the selection of a new prime minister. Everyone was ready to set out in their convoys to meet President Michel Aoun, but at the request of outgoing Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, the meeting was postponed until Thursday. In the meantime, demonstrators continue to fill city squares in downtown Beirut, clashing with security forces, as well as occasionally with supporters of Hezbollah and of the Amal movement, movements that oppose the anti-government protests.
The demands of the protesters focus on one central issue: “Remove the government and change the system.” This is the same cry heard in the streets of Baghdad, where party leaders have likewise failed to agree on a person to replace the resigning prime minister, Adil Abdul Mahdi.
The “system” in the two countries is similar. In Iraq, it was the American occupation that created the manner in which portfolios and senior positions are distribution among the larger communities, the Shi’ites, Sunnis, Kurds and other minorities. In Lebanon it was the Taif Agreement that was signed in 1989. This agreement determined the political structure in which every community was allotted a predetermined and agreed-upon number of members of parliament, with senior positions divided between a Christian president, a Sunni prime minister, a Shi’ite speaker of parliament and a Druze army commander. Each community is allotted a consensual number of cabinet members.
The Taif Agreement, which put an end to the 15 year-long civil war, was an exceptional political and civil achievement. Following it, a national army was established, one which, at least formally, is not based on sectarian divisions, in which Shi’ite officers commanded only Shi’ite units, with Sunni soldiers serving only in Sunni units, as was the situation previously. The distribution of seats in parliament created a situation in which no community could form a government on its own, without a coalition with other communities.
For example, the agreement determines that out of 128 members of parliament, 54 are Muslim, 27 of them Shi’ite and 27 Sunni; 54 are Christian, distributed according to different sects, with the rest distributed between Druze and other communities. The result is that the Shi’ites, although constituting a majority in Lebanon, cannot form a coalition without the Sunnis, and vice versa. This division was intended to break down the communitarian politics which had engendered the civil war, while building a balanced administration which can manage the country through communitarian cooperation, with the entire structure precluding any deterioration into a new civil war.
However, 30 years after the signing of this agreement, it turns out that this political balance has created a diplomatic and economic standstill, while building strong political elites and enriching the political leaders of the larger communities. The agreement laid down the infrastructure for the deep corruption which is dragging the government and its institutions, as well as the entire country, into an economic abyss. Every community and its leader stood on guard lest another community obtain more bids or budgets.
Government corporations made sure that jobs were distributed according to a communitarian key. For university graduates, top marks were only a necessary but insufficient condition for getting a government job. They were required to obtain the “sponsorship” of the “right” community or party, or to be part of that community. The army was meticulous in maintaining a balance between different communities in its ranks, but in doing so it pushed away people who wanted to enlist but encountered a military demographic wall. Bids were put together specifically for crony contractors, many of whom received millions of dollars without doing the work. This is how cabinet decisions were made as well.
According to Lebanon’s constitution, cardinal decisions such as ratifying budgets, setting foreign policy or launching national projects, require approval by two thirds of the 30 members of cabinet. It was enough for any block to enlist 11 ministers for a decision to be foiled. This is where Hezbollah’s political power lies.
Even though there are only three ministers representing that group, the bloc that supports it includes 18 ministers which include a Sunni minister who is part of a list of ministers the president can appoint. The organization has thereby assured itself control over any government decision, and it will not relinquish such power at this point. When Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri resigned at the end of October, he left an escape hatch when he demanded the setting up of a government of experts that does not depend on a communitarian distribution of portfolios.
Last week, when his name came up again as a candidate for heading the new government, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah declared that the new government must give appropriate representation to all sectors in Lebanon. In other words, a government of experts which would deprive him of his political clout would be formed only over his dead body.
In the streets of Beirut, they are unwilling to accept the return of Hariri as prime minister. Only a government of experts will assuage the protesters. But the protest movement has only spokesmen so far, not leaders who could dictate to President Aoun how to proceed. Aoun himself has economic and political interests in maintaining the current arrangement, which gives him and his party, the Free Patriotic Movement, which is linked to Hezbollah, its enormous political power. The realistic solution that seems to be shaping up is the appointment of Hariri as prime minister and professional ministers according to a communitarian key, namely, a minster of finance or health with a professional record but also with a particular political identity.
Long and tiresome negotiations are expected, which could take weeks or months. Following the last election in 2018, it took eight months until the sides reached an agreement and formed the current government. The ominous question mark hovering above is to what extent will the public be willing to wait for the results of these negotiations while abstaining from violent clashes, which could deteriorate into street battles, if not worse.
Lebanon must find a way to escape Hezbollah’s clutches
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/December 17/2019
It is now clear that Lebanon is heading for complete financial meltdown. As Saad Hariri, the caretaker prime minister, reaches out to international institutions for help, the best way to describe the situation is not the bailout of a country but a full-on hostage being held for ransom situation.
Hezbollah has been holding Lebanon hostage for too long. The Iranian proxy’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, who proudly admits he is serving under the orders of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Quds Force boss Qassem Soleimani, is the true decision-maker in the country. He is the regime, nobody else. President Michel Aoun, Hariri and their ilk are nothing but pragmatic puppets or useful idiots.
The ongoing protests, which are now in their third month, have taken all the Lebanese politicians by surprise. And, as the people’s resolve is not withering, Hezbollah is pushing the Lebanese security forces and the armed forces to do its dirty work by hitting back at the peaceful protesters. People are now left between a rock and hard place, as Hezbollah’s thugs are being unleashed and the sovereign institutions arrest the protesters rather than those who are attacking them. It has been a constant aim of Hezbollah to weaken the state institutions. Hezbollah threatens all those who dare go after its main interest, which is full military and security control of the territory. The Iranian proxy — it should not be referred to as a Lebanese party — has been controlling all security points in the state to achieve its own objectives. Its mission is clear and simple: To maintain the Iranian balance of power in negotiations with the US and other international powers. Airports, ports, roads, communications, and networks (including electricity) are controlled by Hezbollah. It does not care about the people; it only cares about its mission. It is willing to resort to extreme violence to achieve what it wants, as it has done in Syria.
So where does this leave the protests? Unfortunately, it seems they have little hope of success. On a local level, without the support of the army to force change, nothing will happen and the risks to the lives and well-being of the protesters increase with time. On an international level, it seems the Europeans are keen on maintaining the regional status quo with Iran and not destabilizing Hezbollah in Lebanon in order to continue efforts to re-establish trade deals with Iran through INSTEX. As for the US, most voices are staying silent as the presidential election race is about to begin, and there is no clarity in any of the candidates’ future policies toward Iran and thus Lebanon.
Hezbollah is willing to resort to extreme violence to achieve what it wants, as it has done in Syria. This is also reflected in the low international interest in the protests taking place in Iraq, which have been much more violent, as well as in Iran itself. Yet what is happening in Lebanon is not only a protest against the mullahs’ interference in the country’s policies, but a stand for true state sovereignty. It is also beyond corruption, which is a symptom of a flawed and weak state. As the situation worsens economically, and without any aid forthcoming, the people and public servants alike will no longer receive their salaries and there will be a shortage of imports. This situation can only be blamed on Hezbollah, Hariri, Aoun and all the political leaders, not the people. Another bailout and more debt will not solve the situation, but rather make the hostage-taker dictate the rules once again. It is time to force change and find a way to re-establish the country’s full sovereignty. This can only start with a single army and an end to Lebanese political forces offering international coverage for the mullahs’ nefarious interference. It may be wishful thinking, but — as a Lebanese — I choose this over reality and pragmatism.
*Khaled Abou Zahr is CEO of Eurabia, a media and tech company. He is also the editor of Al Watan Al Arabi.
