A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 22-23/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 67th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
December 23/2019
Tites For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 22-23/2019
Report: Govt. May be Formed before Year’s End
Diab Vows ‘Govt. of Independents’, Says It Won’t be ‘Hizbullah’s Govt.’
Thousands protest against new PM, close roads in Lebanon
Thousands protest against new PM, close roads in Lebanon
US envoy David Hale meets Lebanese leaders amid protests at new prime minister
Protesters Denounce Diab’s Meeting with ‘Civil Society Figures’
Qaouq: Diab’s Designation Puts End to American Exploitation Attempt
Scuffles after Army Stops Buses Carrying Protesters from Tripoli
AMAL Bloc MP Says Diab Nomination was ‘Plan B’
Al-Rahi Urges No Roadblocks, Calls for ‘Cooperation’ with Diab
Rahi presides over Mass service in Bkirki
‘Revolution Fist’ raised at Zahle’s main roundabout
Italian Foreign Minister visits Beirut on Monday
Nawaf Salam: I was subjected to a defamation campaign to which I found no reason to respond, and I was touched by the confidence that many Lebanese accorded me
Army: What happened at the Madfoun Bridge checkpoint today was merely a ‘strict inspection’
Molotov Hurled at Christmas Tree in Dinniyeh
Lebanon’s new prime minister must stand up to Hezbollah
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 22-23/2019
Report: Govt. May be Formed before Year’s End
Naharnet/December 22/2019
Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab might form his government before the end of 2019, informed ministerial sources said. “The efforts are focused on saving time as much as possible in order to form the government before the beginning of the new year, which means within a week or 10 days, unless an obstacle arises,” the sources told An-Nahar newspaper in remarks published Sunday. “There is a greenlight for Diab to carry on with his plan, which he wants it to be a salvation plan, and all circumstances will be provided for his success, because any setback will undermine what’s left of the new presidential tenure,” the sources added. “Should a setback happen, it will be some sort of conspiracy which some inside and outside the country are seeking in order to stir chaos in the country,” the sources added. An-Nahar also reported that countries concerned with the Lebanese situation are awaiting the PM-designate’s first steps and the standards he will rely on in the formation of the government in order to voice stances.
Diab Vows ‘Govt. of Independents’, Says It Won’t be ‘Hizbullah’s Govt.’
Associated Press/Naharnet/December 22/2019
Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab held consultations Saturday with parliamentary blocs in which they discussed the shape of the future government and said afterward that legislators all had one concern: To get the country out of its “strangling” economic crisis. Diab, a university professor and former education minister, will have to steer Lebanon out of its worst economic and financial crisis in decades. He’s also taking office against the backdrop of ongoing nationwide protests against the country’s ruling elite.
“Lebanon is in the intensive care unit and needs efforts” by all sides, from political groups to protesters, Diab said. Consultations began a day after scuffles broke out in Beirut and other areas between supporters of outgoing prime minister Saad Hariri and Lebanese troops and riot police. The ex-premier’s supporters were protesting Diab’s nomination. At least seven soldiers were injured. Diab told reporters later that all members of parliament encouraged him to form a Cabinet “as soon as possible.” Cabinets usually take months to form in Lebanon because of bargaining between rival groups. Diab said he hopes to form a government of about 20 ministers made up of independents and technocrats within few weeks. “It’s time to work and we ask God to make us successful.”He added that the situation in Lebanon cannot stand any delays amid its worst economic and financial crisis since the end of the 1975-90 civil war.
Lebanese banks have imposed unprecedented capital controls in recent weeks. Thousands have lost their jobs and the economy is expected to contract in 2020. Diab began his meetings Saturday at Parliament with Speaker Nabih Berri, then held talks with former prime ministers, including caretaker premier Hariri. He later met with blocs at the legislature.
Hizbullah and its allies had previously insisted that a new government consist of politicians and experts but on Saturday, Diab said “all parties agree with me regarding a government made up of independents and experts, including Hizbullah.”
Legislator Paula Yacoubian, who backs the protest movement, said Diab told her “the government will be fully made up of independents and that he will step down if there is going to be members of the state’s political parties.”She added: “I heard very nice talk similar to what the people have been demanding.”The protesters have been demanding a government that does not include members of political parties whom they blame for widespread corruption. Media reports said that Diab will meet with representatives of the protest movement on Sunday.
Earlier on Saturday, Hariri cautioned supporters after meeting Diab against violent protests, saying: “The army is ours and police forces are for all Lebanese.”Shortly before sunset Saturday, scores of protesters including Hariri supporters, closed two major intersections in Beirut demanding that Diab step aside, saying he failed to win wide support from Sunni legislators. Saturday’s protests were peaceful unlike those of the night before when stones and firecrackers were hurled at security forces.
The new prime minister won a majority of lawmakers’ votes after receiving backing from powerful Hizbullah and its allies, which have a majority of seats in parliament. However, he lacks the support of major Sunni figures, including the largest Sunni party headed by Hariri. That’s particularly problematic for Diab, who, as a Sunni, doesn’t have the backing of his own community.
The head of Hizbullah’s 12-member bloc, Mohammed Raad, said the group wants a government that preserves what the Lebanese have achieved in “victories during the confrontation with the Israeli enemy and to maintain our national sovereignty, our maritime (oil and gas) wealth and land and to prevent the enemy from undermining its sovereignty and the national dignity.”A lawmaker from the bloc led by Speaker Nabih Berri said the incoming government should focus on fighting corruption. “It should be an emergency government that works on solving the economic, financial, social and banking crisis,” said Anwar al-Khalil after the meeting with Diab. Samir al-Jisr of Hariri’s bloc said they will not take part in Diab’s government. Hizbullah’s ally, Jebran Bassil, who heads the largest bloc in parliament, said the future government “is not Hizbullah’s Cabinet but of all Lebanese and it is not against anyone.”Michel Mouawad, a harsh critic of Hizbullah, said Diab told him the new government will not be controlled by “Hizbullah and will not be confrontational.” Hizbullah had backed Hariri for prime minister from the start, but the group differed with him over the shape of the new government. Lebanon’s sustained, leaderless protests erupted in mid-October, and forced Hariri’s resignation within days. But politicians were later unable to agree on a new prime minister. The ongoing protests and paralysis have worsened the economic crisis.
Thousands protest against new PM, close roads in Lebanon
Associated Press/December 22/2019
The protesters, many of whom came from northern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley, also gathered in Beirut’s central Martyrs Square
BEIRUT: Thousands of protesters demonstrated in central Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon on Sunday against the country’s new prime minister, saying he should abandon the post because he is a member of the ruling elite. After sunset, protesters closed several roads and highways in Beirut and other parts of the country to rally against the nomination of Hassan Diab, who was backed by the militant Hezbollah group and its allies and failed to win the backing of the main Sunni Muslim groups. The protesters, many of whom came from northern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley, also gathered in Beirut’s central Martyrs Square, one of the key places of the protests which have been underway for more than two months. They later marched toward the parliament building guarded by scores of riot police. Unlike last week, when scuffles were reported between protesters and policemen outside the parliament, there was no violence on Sunday. Prime Minister-designate Diab, a university professor and former education minister, will have the task of steering Lebanon out of its worst economic and financial crisis in decades. He’s also taking office against the backdrop of ongoing nationwide protests against the country’s ruling elite that the protesters blame for widespread corruption and mismanagement. Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the head of the largest Sunni group in Lebanon, resigned on Oct. 29, meeting a key demand of the protesters. According to Lebanon’s power-sharing system, the prime minister has to be a Sunni. “We are not convinced by their choice,” protester Hanaa Saleh said about Diab’s nomination. “We don’t believe this movie.” Diab has vowed his government will not include politicians and will only consist of independents and experts. In Washington, a State Department spokesperson said that U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale had encouraged Lebanese leaders during his two-day visit last week “to put aside partisan interests and support formation of a government committed to and capable of undertaking meaningful, sustained reforms.”Hale “reaffirmed America’s longstanding partnership and enduring commitment to a secure, stable, and prosperous Lebanon,” said Morgan Ortagus.
Thousands protest against new PM, close roads in Lebanon
Arab News/December 22/2019
A small crowd of protesters rallied outside Diab’s house and slammed visitors who claimed to represent the country’s leaderless movement
The few who heeded Diab’s calls for talks included largely unknown individuals not recognized as representatives of the protest movement
BEIRUT: Thousands of protesters demonstrated in central Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon on Sunday against the country’s new prime minister, saying he should abandon the post because he is a member of the ruling elite.
After sunset, protesters closed several roads and highways in Beirut and other parts of the country to rally against the nomination of Hassan Diab, who was backed by the militant Hezbollah group and its allies and failed to win the backing of the main Sunni Muslim groups.
The protesters, many of whom came from northern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley, also gathered in Beirut’s central Martyrs Square, one of the key places of the protests which have been underway for more than two months.
They later marched toward the parliament building guarded by scores of riot police. Unlike last week, when scuffles were reported between protesters and policemen outside the parliament, there was no violence on Sunday.
Prime Minister-designate Diab, a university professor and former education minister, will have the task of steering Lebanon out of its worst economic and financial crisis in decades. He’s also taking office against the backdrop of ongoing nationwide protests against the country’s ruling elite that the protesters blame for widespread corruption and mismanagement. Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the head of the largest Sunni group in Lebanon, resigned on Oct. 29, meeting a key demand of the protesters. According to Lebanon’s power-sharing system, the prime minister has to be a Sunni.
“We are not convinced by their choice,” protester Hanaa Saleh said about Diab’s nomination. “We don’t believe this movie.”
Diab has vowed his government will not include politicians and will only consist of independents and experts. In Washington, a State Department spokesperson said that US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale had encouraged Lebanese leaders during his two-day visit last week “to put aside partisan interests and support formation of a government committed to and capable of undertaking meaningful, sustained reforms.”
Hale “reaffirmed America’s longstanding partnership and enduring commitment to a secure, stable, and prosperous Lebanon,” said Morgan Ortagus.
Morgan Ortagus’s twitter
@statedeptspox
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale concluded a two-day trip to #Lebanon. He met with government officials and encouraged Lebanese leaders to put aside partisan interests to form a government that is committed to meaningful, sustained reforms.
US envoy David Hale meets Lebanese leaders amid protests at new prime minister
The National/December 22/2019
Protesters angered by his appointment gathered outside the Beirut home of prime minister-designate Hassan Diab
US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale met Lebanon’s political leaders through the weekend as protests on the streets continued in the wake of Hassan Diab being named prime minister-designate. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered near the Beirut home of Mr Diab, an academic at the American University of Beirut and former education minister. Security forces moved in quickly after his appointment last week to secure the apartment building and surrounding street. Many have denounced the appointment of Mr Diab, calling instead for a true technocrat to lead the next administration despite the new appointee saying he will priorities experts over political candidates. Mr Diab was propelled to the post on Thursday by Lebanon’s March 8 bloc – led by the backing of Hezbollah, Amal and the Free Patriotic Movement. Lebanon has been rocked by two months of anti-government protest with thousands taking to the streets to denounce years of corruption, ineffectual leadership, crumbling public services and the worst financial crisis since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. Meanwhile, Mr Hale, who previously served as US ambassador to Beirut, met Progressive Socialist leader Walid Jumblatt, who described the conversation it in a tweet afterwards as “friendly and honest.” He also met Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and caretaker foreign minister Gibran Bassil, who is also head of the PFP. Mr Hale met on Friday with President Michel Aoun and caretaker prime minister Saad Hariri.
In a press briefing from Baabda, Mr Hale said he was in Lebanon at the request of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss the situation. “I’m here to encourage Lebanon’s political leaders to commit to and undertake meaningful, sustained reforms that can lead to a stable, prosperous and secure Lebanon. And that was the content of the conversation I just had with President Aoun. It is time to put aside the partisan interest for the national interest advancing reforms and forming a government that is committed to and capable of doing so.
He said the US has no role in saying who should and who should comprise any cabinet but added that “the unified nonsectarian and largely peaceful protests over the last 65 days … [shows] the Lebanese people’s longstanding and quite frankly legitimate demand for economic and institutional reform, better governance and an end to endemic corruption.”He urged the security forces to continue to protect the right of protesters and added that “violence has no place in civil discourse.” A statement released by the US government after the meetings said Mr Hale had called on the government, army, and security services to continue to guarantee the rights and safety of protesters.
Protesters Denounce Diab’s Meeting with ‘Civil Society Figures’
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 22/2019
Anti-government protesters on Sunday rallied outside the house of PM-designate Hassan Diab to denounce his meeting with a number of figures claiming to represent the protest movement that emerged after October 17.
The head of the so-called Lebanese Media Bank, Mohammed Noun, said he met with Diab in his personal capacity, calling for “cooperation and dialogue with the PM-designate in order to rescue the situation” and describing Diab as an “independent figure.”Noun also called on Diab to “pay attention to the Bekaa region and benefit from its resources, especially the Assi River,” decrying the “deprivation” of the Bekaa and Baalbek regions. Verbal clashes meanwhile ensued between Noun and a number of protesters outside Diab’s house in Tallet al-Khayyat. LBCI TV said Diab did not meet with any “influential groups” from the protest movement but rather with some individuals who said that they do not “represent the revolution.”The TV network identified the figures as Mohammed Noun, Walid Itani, the journalist Waad Hashem and a person from the al-Hajjar family. Protesters outside Diab’s house stressed that the aforementioned figures do not represent the protest movement. “Not a single group actually active on the ground met today with the prime minister-designate because they are not convinced” he can form a government of technocrats, said Wassef Harakeh, a prominent activist. “They want us to get mired in this game of consultations,” he told AFP. In the protest camp in central Beirut, crowds began gathering in the afternoon. “The people that visited the prime minister-designate today do not represent the revolution,” said Ali Haidar, a resident of Beirut’s southern suburbs. “These talks were a failure,” he told AFP from the protest camp. The area outside Diab’s residence also witnessed a sit-in by a group that supports caretaker PM Saad Hariri. Diab had announced that he would meet with representatives of the protest movement as part of his consultations to form a new government.
Qaouq: Diab’s Designation Puts End to American Exploitation Attempt
Naharnet/December 22/2019
The appointment of ex-minister Hassan Diab as premier-designate has put an end to Washington’s perceived attempt to “exploit” the crisis and the protests in Lebanon, a senior Hizbullah official said on Sunday.
Warning that “some are seeking to ignite strife,” Hizbullah central council member Sheikh Nabil Qaouq said “America has failed, because betting on exploiting the domestic crisis and investing in it has reached a dead end, after it tried to take advantage of the crisis to achieve political gains.” “PM-designate Diab’s appointment came to put an end to the American exploitation,” he added. Noting that there is “a real chance to form a government to rescue Lebanon from a worse situation,” Qaouq said Diab’s designation represents “a real chance for the Lebanese to rescue what can be rescued.”The Hizbullah official also urged all political forces to “show a responsible patriotic stance by giving a chance to the PM-designate to form a reformist salvation government, not a government aimed at confronting anyone, a government that would listen to the voices of all people, whether those present in the squares or in their homes.”
The new government should “seek to block strife and regain the confidence of those inside the country before that of those outside the country,” Qaouq urged. As for Hizbullah’s stance, he added: “We have not demanded or sought posts nor a government of confrontation and elimination and we are demanding the broadest participation.”
Scuffles after Army Stops Buses Carrying Protesters from Tripoli
Naharnet/December 22/2019
Scuffles erupted Sunday after army troops at the al-Madfoun checkpoint stopped buses carrying protesters from the northern city of Tripoli. The protesters were heading to a central demo in Beirut dubbed “Sunday of Rejection”, which comes after Hassan Diab was named PM-designate. Media reports said the altercation broke out after protesters rejected to be subject to security measures at the checkpoint. The issue was resolved and the buses were allowed to continue their journey after the passengers accepted to undergo the security measures, the reports said. Several passengers were meanwhile arrested and the reasons remain unclear. On December 14 and 15, central Beirut witnessed two of the most violent episodes of violence since nationwide anti-government demonstrations began more than two months ago. Security forces fired tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons to disperse protesters after powerful firecrackers were hurled at riot police guarding Nejmeh Square. Protesters who came from Tripoli and Akkar took part in the demos last weekend. Caretaker Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan meanwhile blamed the violence on “infiltrators.”
AMAL Bloc MP Says Diab Nomination was ‘Plan B’
Naharnet/December 22/2019
The nomination of Hassab Diab for the PM post was “plan B” after all efforts to secure the return of caretaker PM Saad Hariri failed, an MP of Speaker Nabih Berri’s bloc said on Sunday. “Most of the protest movement’s groups have decided to give the PM-designate a chance to form his government in a manner that satisfies protesters on the streets,” MP Fadi Alameh of the Development and Liberation bloc said in a radio interview. Alameh called for forming “an inclusive emergency government that takes into consideration the sizes of the elected parliamentary blocs and the street protests that have been raging since more than two months.”He also said that the new government should “include everyone and should be composed of experts, even if they have political orientations.”Alameh also stressed that Berri has played a “facilitating” role.
Al-Rahi Urges No Roadblocks, Calls for ‘Cooperation’ with Diab
Naharnet/December 22/2019
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday urged protesters in all regions not to block the main roads during the holiday season. “What we witnessed two days ago, when the Lebanese Army and security forces were pelted with stones during a protest, violates the dignity of the army and the dignity of citizens who believe in the Lebanese state,” al-Rahi lamented in his Sunday Mass sermon, referring to a protest by al-Mustaqbal Movement supporters against the appointment of Hassan Diab as PM-designate. “We rather call for respect and cooperation. And on the eve of Christmas, we plead to all protesters not to block the main roads in all regions, so that citizens can move easily and celebrate joyfully. Do not deprive them of joy,” he added. Turning to the political developments, al-Rahi warned that “Lebanon, with its current state of paralysis and poverty, cannot withstand any delay or obstruction of the formation of the new government.”“We urged all political forces to cooperate with the premier-designate and facilitate the formation process,” the patriarch added.
Rahi presides over Mass service in Bkirki
NNA/December 22/2019
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutors Rahi presided over Sunday Mass service in Bkirki. Speaking to a number of believers, Rahi blamed the practices of Lebanese politicians that led to the deterioration of the economic, social and financial conditions in the country. “The political officials who brought the country to an economic, financial and social meltdown did so because they neglected God’s voice in their conscience,” he said. Rahi also stressed the importance of forming an emergency, neutral, non-partisan cabinet to tend to the pending economic and financial dossiers. The Prelate denounced the hostilities against the Lebanese army and security forces in one of the protest demonstrations, saying: “Such behavior violates the dignity of the army and the dignity of the citizens who believe in the Lebanese state.”Finally, he called on “protestors not to cut off the main roads in all areas, so that citizens can move easily and enjoy the Christmas and New Year holidays.”
‘Revolution Fist’ raised at Zahle’s main roundabout
NNA/December 22/2019
The civil movement in Zahle raised this afternoon an embodiment of the “Revolution Fist” at the city’s main roundabout, during a popular celebration in which crowds from the towns of Saadnayel, Taalabaya, al-Marj, Bar Elias, Jdita and other neighboring areas participated, as national songs and Christmas carols echoed in the background. The celebration ended with the distribution of gifts marking the festive season to the participating children, while the women of the movement offered homemade sweets to those partaking in the popular ceremony.
Italian Foreign Minister visits Beirut on Monday
NNA/December 22/2019
In a press release by the Italian Embassy in Beirut today, it announced the visit of the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio, to Lebanon on Monday, December 23rd, 2019. Minister Di Maio will meet his Lebanese counterpart, caretaker Minister Gebran Bassil, and pay a visit to UNIFIL headquarters and to the Italian contingent operating within UNIFIL in South Lebanon.
Nawaf Salam: I was subjected to a defamation campaign to which I found no reason to respond, and I was touched by the confidence that many Lebanese accorded me
NNA/December 22/2019
In an issued statement by the Lebanese Judge at the International Court of Justice, Lebanon’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Nawaf Salam, he indicated that he was subjected to a “defamation campaign” to which he found no reason to respond “because it was not based on any evidence.”
He added: “I was deeply touched by the confidence that was shown to me by many of the young women and men of my country and the people of free opinion and noble stances in it, especially those who seek the establishment of a true democratic state.”
Salam said he remains committed to the principle of reservation, in light of his current role as a judge in the International Court of Justice. “What further confirms the groundless slanders directed against me is that the hundreds of stances I took and the addresses I made in defense of Lebanon, and the issues of the Arabs and Palestine, are fully documented,” he said, noting that “in none of them nor in any of my books and published articles can a single utterance be found that could be considered a base for any of these slanders.””What saddens me here is the belief by these individuals that they can continue to underestimate people’s minds, and work on the assumption that it would suffice to repeat the lie in order for it to become a reality,” added Salam. He concluded by stressing that what’s most important, in the end, is how deeply moved he felt by the trust invested in him by many Lebanese young men and women, “those who seek to have a true democratic state, a state of inclusive citizenship and social justice, a civil state that is based on the rule of law and which upholds the principle of accountability.”
“They have all my appreciation and a thousand greetings. Perhaps in this confidence, too, is the best response to this defamation campaign,” Salam underlined.
Army: What happened at the Madfoun Bridge checkpoint today was merely a ‘strict inspection’
NNA/December 22/2019
In a statement issued by the Lebanese Army Command’s Orientation Directorate this evening, it indicated that “contrary to what has been reported through some media outlets and social media platforms, the Army leadership clarifies that what happened at the Madfoun Bridge today was merely a strict inspection that falls within the framework of the security measures adopted by the army units.”The statement categorically denied that any of the buses were prevented from crossing. It also indicated that a number of individuals tried to object to the search operation, refusing to comply with the army checkpoint instructions and orders, and hence were briefly detained and then released. It added that several sticks and masks were found inside the buses.
Molotov Hurled at Christmas Tree in Dinniyeh
Naharnet/December 22/2019
Unknown assailants hurled a Molotov cocktail overnight at a Christmas tree that is being set up on the main street of the northern town of Sir al-Dinniyeh, the National News Agency reported on Sunday.
The attack burned the tree as the attackers fled to an unknown destination, NNA said. “This morning, organizers repaired the damages and are preparing the tree to be ready before Christmas Eve, which will be marked Tuesday,” the agency added. Security forces have since launched an investigation to arrest the suspects. A similar attack had targeted a Christmas tree in Tripoli in recent days. The perpetrators of that incident were eventually arrested.
Lebanon’s new prime minister must stand up to Hezbollah
The National/December 22/2019
The terror group’s backing helped Hassan Diab get the top job – now he must confront its influence
After nearly two months without a leader or a government while a major financial crisis looms on the horizon, Lebanese politicians have chosen a prime minister expected to lead the nation out of its current deadlock.
Hassan Diab is not officially a member of any political party but he is backed by Hezbollah and its allies. He is a relatively unknown politician and was working as a professor and vice president at the American University of Beirut, when he was assigned the job on Thursday. Mr Diab has been tasked with an almost impossible mission: to save a country on the verge of economic collapse, one which has been rocked by nationwide protests since October 17. But little is known about Mr Diab’s political ideas and his tangible achievements, aside from the abundance of academic papers, biographical details and inspirational quotes he has previously shared with the world via his website. His tenure as minister of education from 2011 to 2013 as part of former prime minister Najib Mikati’s Hezbollah-leaning government – the only cabinet position he has ever held prior to his nomination as prime minister – was marked by the renaming of a public school after his late mother, as well as publishing books costing the ministry an estimated $50,000 on what appears to be Mr Diab’s favourite topic: his life, aspirations and accolades. They included a 1,000-page publication titled Documentary of Events During Minister Hassan Diab’s Term at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, detailing all the events he attended and speeches he gave as minister.
Protesters have queried whether these credentials and others cited on his 134-page curriculum vitae, available online, qualify him for the toughest job in Lebanon. In a section on his website entitled My Vision, he includes inspirational quotes by renowned men of letters, from Confucius to Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose words of wisdom are interspersed with citations from his own speeches. He writes, for example, that what he envisages “is nothing less than changing the world but I realise that the first step is to change oneself” – a laudable, if aspirational, intention and one that Lebanese citizens will no doubt be holding him to account for in the coming weeks.
So far, his profile has yet to convince Lebanese protesters to go home, or that the president has finally found the right person to end endemic corruption and mismanagement of government funds, and reform the country’s political system. Demonstrations continued over the weekend after Mr Diab’s nomination failed to secure Sunni support, even from Mr Mikati and his bloc, under which he had served. The only members of parliament who backed his nomination belong to Hezbollah and its allies Amal and the Free Patriotic Movement – a worrying sign of the group’s attempts to subvert the delicate balance of Lebanese politics. That Mr Diab comes with the backing of the likes of caretaker foreign minister Gebran Bassil – a man whose polarising rhetoric has stigmatised Syrian and Palestinian refugees – is deeply disconcerting. This does not bode well for the future of Lebanon as a Hezbollah-backed prime minister could attract more US sanctions and steer the country further away from the international community and its historic allies in the Arab world, at a time when Beirut needs them most. He has yet to convince Lebanese protesters to go home, or that the president has finally found the right person to end endemic corruption and mismanagement. Mr Diab has denied the claim that he is beholden to Hezbollah and insists he is the technocrat the protesters have been calling for to head a government of experts without political affiliations, one of the key demands of the uprising. He says he will prioritise winning support from US and western allies. Hezbollah and its affiliated groups oppose the idea of a government composed solely of technocrats and have been lobbying for a cabinet that includes sectarian politicians. Whether Mr Diab will manage to nominate a more neutral government and stand up to the very leaders who have made his political career so far remains to be seen. For the sake of Lebanon, one can only hope he will stick to his declaration to make his country – if not the world – a better place.
Titles For The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 22-23/2019
What doesn’t kill Lebanon’s revolution only makes it stronger/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/December 22/2019
Downtown Beirut now feels different/Perla Kantarjian/Annahar 22/2019
Bankrupt and exposed, Hezbollah has no answers for Lebanese/Eli Fawaz/December 22/2019
Naming of prime minister-designate adds to Lebanon unrest/Simon Speakman Cordall/The Arab Weekly/December 22/2019
Hezbollah-backed PM-designate faces backlash from Sunnis/Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/December 22/2019
Beirut Christmas carolling comes with a revolutionary twist/Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/December 22/2019′
The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 22-23/2019
What doesn’t kill Lebanon’s revolution only makes it stronger
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/December 22/2019
Protesters rail at Iranian interference, while foreign donors refuse to bankroll a militant-dominated regime — so the authorities nominate a Hezbollah-favored candidate to be prime minister.
Lebanese warn that their nation is held hostage by violent and unaccountable paramilitaries — so these same paramilitaries prove these claims true by escalating their attacks on peaceful rallies.
People demand abolishment of the corrupt, sectarian system — so the president stubbornly aims to force through a Cabinet apparently chosen to alienate ordinary Lebanese even more than its predecessors did.
In what some commentators are describing as a “counter-revolution” against the protest movement, Sunni politician Hassan Diab has been nominated as prime minister, having been wined and dined by Gebran Bassil at the presidential palace. Given the expected boycott by the main Sunni, Druze and Christian factions, the resulting Cabinet is likely to be a bizarre mixture of nonentities and Hezbollah acolytes. After two months of protests, citizens won’t be placated or deceived by such desperate, self-serving maneuvers.
Despite Hezbollah having murdered his father, Saad Hariri justified participation in previous Hezbollah-sponsored governments as the price to be paid for civil peace. Yet peace for its own sake, while Iran-aligned factions bankrupted the nation — financially, politically and morally — ultimately proved worthless.
Lebanon’s economy is in freefall. Over 10 percent of Lebanese companies went out of business in 2019, a further 22 percent cut staff by over 60 percent, and the collapse of several major corporations is just around the corner. Those lucky enough to retain their jobs have had their salaries slashed.
This is precisely why protesters must not back down now. If they return meekly to their homes, this painful process will simply reignite in the future — over and over again. Protests are about forcing the state to embark on emergency surgery, cutting away decades of accumulated cancerous tissue to save the patient’s life. If Lebanon is simply put to bed with an aspirin and a warm drink, the only possible prognosis is a slow and painful death.
Lebanon’s entrenched political class in its entirety (“kilon yanni kilon,” or “all of them means all of them,” as the protesters chant) has bled Lebanon white. In one decade it plunged from 63rd to 143rd place on the global Corruption Perceptions Index, and is thus among the most corrupt kleptocracies on the planet. One percent of the population hoards an estimated 25 percent of the nation’s wealth, forcing penniless citizens to shoulder a debt-to-GDP ratio of 150 percent, rendering debt-servicing an intolerable burden.
Bassil and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah blame protesters for damaging the economy, but the protests were the straw that broke the camel’s back after their criminal enterprises left the coffers empty. Even before the demonstrations, GDP growth averaged 0-0.3 percent and in recent weeks the currency has lost 30 percent of its value.
Despite Hezbollah having murdered his father, Saad Hariri justified participation in previous Hezbollah-sponsored governments as the price to be paid for civil peace.
The economy has been cannibalized by entities hostile to Lebanon’s existence. The smuggling to Syria of over $1.7 billion in hard currency, and the exploitation of Lebanon’s financial networks to launder funds for Tehran, have crippled the banking system. International sanctions resulting from these abuses, and the reluctance of Gulf investors to risk their wealth in this morass of criminality, have worsened the plight of this erstwhile regional banking hub.
Lebanon’s modest population during peak tourist seasons is habitually dwarfed by the influx of millions of Khaleejis, Westerners, and Lebanon’s own vast diaspora. Yet how can tourism flourish when Beirut’s streets are teeming with theocratic militants noisily jostling for war with Israel? Panicking hotel owners report a collapse in occupancy from approaching 100 percent to below 10 percent. Everything inherently precious has been trampled underfoot by the thugs and terrorists who have labored to turn Lebanon into a pariah state.
A veteran Western diplomat commented to me that one of the best hopes for Lebanon emerging from the current stand-off was if France and its allies assertively intervened. Yet he feared that such multilateral diplomatic action via the EU and UN would be forthcoming only if there were widespread bloodletting perpetrated by Hezbollah against Christian and minority communities.
The endgame may be some distance away, but in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, Iran’s hegemonic project can end only in failure. Recent events have burnt away the last vestiges of support for Tehran’s proxies. In Iraq, Ayatollah Sistani’s call for fresh Iraqi elections (if free and fair) would produce a collapse in support for paramilitary elements who have spent the past two months massacring their own Shiite grassroots constituents. Hezbollah’s Lebanese supporters are either in demoralized denial, or have already begun to re-evaluate their allegiances.
What of Hezbollah’s manufactured outrage over a spurious critical social media post? They went on the rampage in Tripoli, attacked the home of a Sunni cleric, and firebombed a Christmas tree; do they believe such cartoonish gangsterism will endear them to citizens? Of course not. This is Tehran’s “axis of resistance” in its death throes, willing to countenance dragging Lebanon back toward sectarian strife in a final, desperate throw of the dice to cling on to power.
Lebanese genuinely fear a return to civil war, or Hezbollah returning to its favored tactic of political assassinations, particularly following reports that the Quds Force commander Qassim Soleimani threatened to assassinate Iraqi cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr if he continued to back protesters.
However, if people remain steadfastly united, determined and focused on their objectives, they can ultimately defeat these malevolent attempts to terrorize, brutalize and humiliate them; whether through threats, violence or political maneuvering, each new attempt to kill off the revolution has only made protesters more determined. This is merely the darkness before the dawn if citizens succeed in taking that final leap of faith; abolishing the last vestiges of a hated and predatory sectarian system that for too long has created only misery, poverty and national isolation.
• Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.
Downtown Beirut now feels different
Perla Kantarjian/Annahar 22/2019
The tone of its streets is no longer strictly plush and exclusive, but inclusive and reflective of the diversity that weaves Lebanon’s copious social fabric.
BEIRUT: For years, the feelings of detachment and disinterest have accompanied my visits to the Beirut Central District. “I am out of place here,” I used to think. “This is where the café society and the country club set people are let loose.” However, that’s not the case anymore.
Ever since Lebanon’s October revolution, Beirut Central District has captured a special spot in my heart. I now intentionally pass through the core of Beirut, whether by foot or car, only to get a whiff of the air of revolution encircling and enveloping Martyrs’ Square, Riad El Solh square, and all the spots that gladly carried the weight of the thousands of protesters, along with their built-up rage and flaming persistence.
When I think of being on the streets of Beirut Central District before October 17, I clearly recall the depthless dialogues I used to overhear that acted as accelerating fuels for my walking speed. I remember how there, the atmosphere was heavily brimmed with the scent of 6$ croissants and dizzying perfumes.
Nonetheless, I also remember how the imagery I used to experience there, despite being displeasing, had always felt like an innate representation of Beirut’s business district. After all, things had been that way since the very first time I set foot there as a little girl.
For the last 64 days, however, the entire terrain of that area has regained the yearning and the admiration of thousands of Lebanese who deemed it “unwelcoming,” including myself.
These days, I enter Beirut Central District having already parked my car miles away to traipse through its now-responsive trails and experience the new rush of emotions that area has been stimulating in me ever since the dawn of the revolution.
The tone of its streets is no longer strictly plush and exclusive, but inclusive and reflective of the diversity that weaves Lebanon’s copious social fabric.
Now, walking around in the central district of Beirut feels venturous.
There, the revolutionaries have found a way to remind everyone of their resolute presence upon those streets. The words “REVOLUTION” and “reLOVEution” are sketched over its walls. Slogans like “TO HELL WITH CORRUPTION” and “ALL OF THEM MEANS ALL OF THEM” are spray-painted on shop fronts and fences. Now, the dialogues I overhear in Downtown Beirut are no longer concerning high-end fashion or first-rate travel destinations, but about how to use the central district of Beirut as a platform to express the Lebanese voice: their demands to overthrow a corrupt regime and bring back a Lebanon in which life doesn’t feel like a fatal struggle.
I look at the structural elements of Downtown Beirut and smile now; it’s where millions of Lebanese have cried, danced, sang, screamed, and revolted together for days and days. It’s where the “revolution fist” rose like a phoenix in a matter of a few hours, despite being burnt down to ashes by people who opposed what it represented.Lebanon’s October revolution took root on October 17 in the sacred grounds of Martyrs’ Square in Downtown Beirut, and like a domino effect, spread around and sprouted up its buds in countless areas in the country, marking this event the largest revolution Lebanon has ever witnessed.May the seed of the revolution grow peacefully and bear its desired fruit.
Bankrupt and exposed, Hezbollah has no answers for Lebanese
Eli Fawaz/December 22/2019
The protests in Lebanon, which erupted in October over a proposal to tax calls on the WhatsApp service, are, in contrast to the so-called Cedar Revolution of 2005, primarily economic in nature. But the economic grievance has channeled the people’s anger at Lebanon’s political system. For the first time, the Lebanese are blaming the sectarian system for the social, financial and economic crises they are experiencing.
The protest slogan “all of them means all of them” — a reference to Lebanon’s sectarian political leaders — expresses people’s distrust in and exasperation with the political class. For thirty years, the Lebanese have been deprived of basic services like electricity and clean water, waste management, reliable infrastructure, and a sound economy. Instead they find themselves broke, impoverished and ripped off by a corrupt, predatory political class that was using state funds to enrich itself and solidify its narrow support base.
This cross-sectarian, cross-regional disaffection with the sectarian system sounded the alarm for the most powerful actor in that system: Hezbollah. In fact, following the withdrawal of Syrian forces in 2005, Hezbollah has come to dominate the Lebanese political system. It quickly understood that the protests against the system posed a direct threat to its control.
Hezbollah’s control of Lebanese politics is attributable to certain key factors. First is the group’s military power, which it employs throughout the region, namely in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. It has leveraged this military power in Lebanon as well. On May 7, 2008, for example, Hezbollah fighters captured sections of west Beirut and attacked its domestic rivals in clashes that killed 62 people across the country. The fighting ended with a Qatari-negotiated agreement that gave Hezbollah veto power in a new national-unity government.
Hezbollah’s military supremacy in Lebanon is evident first and foremost in that it alone holds the decision to wage war against Israel. To that end, it has dug several cross-border attack tunnels from southern Lebanon into Israel. It has also allegedly established several facilities to assemble precision-guided missiles with Iranian supervision. In addition, it freely transports heavy equipment and fighters from Lebanon across the border to prosecute its wars in Syria and beyond.
The second factor is economic and financial. US sanctions on Hezbollah’s illicit financial activity have had an impact on Lebanon in that they revealed that the bubble Lebanon enjoyed for some years was largely the result of money laundering by Hezbollah and its business associates. We now know that Hezbollah was laundering up to two hundred million dollars a month through the Lebanese Canadian Bank, which the US Treasury Department sanctioned in 2011. This money laundering scheme spurred the construction boom of luxury residential towers in Beirut, with unjustified square meter prices rivaling those in New York. This scheme helped increase the gains of the banking sector by billions of dollars a year. Even though the result was a dramatic slowdown in growth, this artificial economy based on money laundering activities gave Hezbollah unmatched economic power.
This economic power extended to the micro-level. Because of the protection they enjoyed from the party, Hezbollah business associates were able to bring in to the country products, from home appliances to cellular phones and construction materials, without paying taxes and fees. This allowed them to sell below market price, making it almost impossible to compete with them.
The government and its agencies were not simply unable but also unwilling to stop Hezbollah from conducting these illicit activities. Rather, they were complicit. Everyone was benefiting one way or another from the Hezbollah-controlled status quo.
Today, Hezbollah is at an impasse. US sanctions targeting Hezbollah’s criminal and illicit financial empire from Latin America to Africa, coupled with a maximum pressure campaign on Iran, are taking a heavy toll on the group’s purse. The Lebanese economy has effectively collapsed because it has always counted on the artificial bubble created by Hezbollah’s illegal activities, for which Lebanon serves as a center. The state has no more funds and the world is watching as everything crumbles, demanding serious reforms before considering any financial aid.
According to some local statistics, 160,000 employees have either lost their jobs or are being paid half salary since the start of the crisis. Inflation has risen considerably, and the Lebanese pound has so far lost a third of its value to the dollar. Remittances, a main sources of capital inflow, have dropped significantly due to lack of confidence in the banking sector. The number of protesters is expected to grow in the coming months.
If it has been relatively easy for Hezbollah to control the Lebanese state and political system, it might prove much harder for it to control the street and the protesters. Resorting to violence, although an option, will most likely increase the possibility of civil war, something the party probably wants to avoid, as it will weaken its geopolitical position considerably. Meanwhile, accepting the terms of the protesters in imposing transparency, accountability, an end to corruption and the recovery of funds stolen by politicians would mean an end of the political system as it exists, and which Hezbollah controls.
The future is uncertain for Lebanon. But one thing is certain: the Lebanon that emerges from this tunnel will be different.
Naming of prime minister-designate adds to Lebanon unrest
Simon Speakman Cordall/The Arab Weekly/December 22/2019
TUNIS – With unrest continuing across Lebanon, the naming of not widely known former minister Hassan Diab as prime minister-designate could open a new chapter in the fraught relations between the government and the country’s increasingly agitated population.
Anti-government demonstrators poured into central Beirut, protesting Diab being chosen for the post soon after the decision was announced. Across Lebanon, the Daily Star reported, roads were blocked as protesters rejected the former education minister’s selection.
For several weeks, protesters called for replacing Lebanon’s confessional system of government with a technocratic one. This would preclude parties representing the countries’ various sects from government.
While those demands were echoed among many senior politicians, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), the Amal Movement and Iran-backed Hezbollah were insistent that any government include a mix of technocrats and politicians.
Popular anger was initially triggered by a series of small events, including a proposed tax on the WhatsApp messaging service, it “morphed quickly into protesters demanding a drastic overhaul of the country’s political system,” said Emily Hawthorne, a MENA analyst at risk consultancy Stratfor.
“That is much easier said than done in Lebanon, where a complicated confessional system of governance in some ways predates even the modern country’s founding and was reinforced after the civil war’s end in 1990. The entrenched system is trying to defend itself against political reforms that risk eroding their power with sectarian constituencies,” she said.
Diab’s backing by the Shia Hezbollah and Amal, as well as their largest Christian ally, the FPM, could prove problematic. His lack of support from Lebanon’s main Sunni bloc is unlikely to help him form a new government or secure the Western backing that Lebanon desperately needs.
The severity of Lebanon’s financial circumstances is difficult to overstate. The confessional system of government, in which roles and ministries are allocated by sect, has become overwhelmed by corruption and little of the country’s infrastructure is functional.
The Lebanese pound has fallen to one-third of its official rate while banks impose tight capital controls. Across Lebanon, companies are cutting jobs and squeezing salaries.
“A government with a Hezbollah-backed prime minister would be even less likely to secure support from the Gulf countries… and might also potentially reduce the chances of Lebanon getting support from the [International Monetary Fund] if the US raises concerns,” Jason Tuvey, a senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, told Reuters.
The increasingly sectarian nature of the violence in the streets continues, something Diab’s appointment is unlikely to ease.
On December 16, hundreds of men on motorbikes crowded Beirut’s streets, carrying flags of Shia groups as they chanted, “Shia, Shia,” setting tyres on fire, throwing stones at security forces and setting cars ablaze, witnesses said.
The men, reportedly incensed by a video criticising Amal officials, including parliament Speaker Nabih Berry and religious symbols such as Imam Ali, attempted to break through a security cordon around a makeshift campsite erected by anti-government protesters. Security services used tear gas to push them back. The latest violence came after an especially brutal mid-December weekend in which 40 people were injured after police intervened to separate Amal and Hezbollah supporters from attacking protesters in central Beirut. Violence, however, escalated and police resorted to rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons in an attempt to regain control of Beirut’s city centre. “From the start, there has always been a concern that the protests could either turn sectarian, violent or both,” said Mouna Yacoubian, a senior adviser at the United States Institute of Peace.
“Indeed, the fact that the protests have still remained relatively peaceful is remarkable in and of itself given Lebanon’s history of civil war and conflict,” Yacoubian said. “The current unrest is largely the result of sectarian actors instigating greater violence by attempting to inject a sectarian element into the protests and by resorting to more aggressive tactics, e.g. throwing stones, in confrontation with security forces.”Little of the violence appears to be directed by any of the parties’ leadership. While Amal and Hezbollah were initially critical of the anti-government protests, their position has become more accommodating, raising questions about the motivations behind the violence. “What is more concerning is the prospect that some of the violence is being generated from the grass roots and that party and religious leaders have less control over these elements,” Yacoubian said.
Hezbollah-backed PM-designate faces backlash from Sunnis
Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/December 22/2019
BEIRUT – The nomination of Hezbollah-backed Hassan Diab as prime minister-designate to form Lebanon’s so-called “salvation government” will unlikely help the debt-ridden country to overcome its worst socio-economic and financial crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
Diab’s designation, which came after caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri pulled out of the race, was endorsed by a weak majority in parliament comprising Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies, Shia Amal Movement and President Michel Aoun’s Christian Free Patriotic Movement.
Hariri’s Future Movement bloc did not nominate a candidate in the much-delayed consultations with the president. Other blocs nominated former Ambassador to the United Nations Nawaf Salam.
Analysts said Diab’s failure to secure a consensus, especially from his Sunni community at exceptionally difficult times, makes it more complicated for him to form an inclusive government.
“Today we have a mobilisation of the Sunni community,” said political analyst Johnny Mounayar. “Whether they like Saad Hariri or not, the Sunnis feel that they have been humiliated and marginalised by Diab’s appointment. The mood is very tense and might be a prelude to Sunni-Shia friction.”Under Lebanon’s sectarian-based political system the prime minister should come from the Sunni community and is usually backed by the community’s main leaders.
“Diab has been stamped in the Western media as Hezbollah’s candidate and his government, regardless of how many ‘technocrats’ it will include, will be regarded as a Hezbollah-dominated administration,” Mounayar said. “A government dominated by Hezbollah, which has been targeted by increasingly biting US sanctions, is unlikely to secure billions of dollars in frozen aid for which Lebanon is in bad need.”
“We are obviously heading towards a polarised government which will not gain any international support because the US-Iran talks have not matured yet and Lebanon will be part of any US-Iran deal. The West wants to make Iran pay a price in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria,” Mounayar added.
Diab, a 60-year-old professor at American University of Beirut largely unknown to the public, served as minister of education from 2011-14 in a government formed after Hezbollah brought down a previous Hariri cabinet.
Following Diab’s appointment, protesters gathered in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square, the epicentre of the protests, and cut off roads. They rejected Diab and cast him as part of the old class of politicians they are revolting against.
“I see the country is going to waste. With this kind of government, no one will deal with it, no Arab, no Europe and no US,” Saeb Hujrat, a protester in the square, told the Associated Press.
In his first public address, Diab, who described himself as an “independent,” said he would work quickly to form a government in consultations with all political parties and representatives of the protest movement.
He said he is committed to a reform plan and described the current situation as “critical and sensitive” requiring exceptional efforts and collaboration.
A daunting task awaits Diab and his efforts to form a government will almost certainly hit snags in the deeply divided country, even if Hezbollah and its allies sought to facilitate his mission, journalist Amin Kammourieh said.
“His (Diab’s) appointment could be a test,” Kammourieh said. “If (economic and political) pressures at home and from the international community exacerbated, Hezbollah and its allies might reconsider Diab’s eligibility or they would go for a unilateral government and take all the challenges that come with it.”
Visiting US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale encouraged Lebanese politicians to commit to the necessary reforms that can lead to a stable, prosperous and secure country.
“It’s time to put aside partisan interests and act in the national interest,” Hale said, adding the 2-month-old anti-government protests reflected the Lebanese people’s “longstanding and legitimate demands for economic and institutional reform, better governance and an end to endemic corruption.”
Demonstrators of all sectarian backgrounds have been in the streets every day since October 17 to demand the removal of the entire political leadership, seen as corrupt and incompetent.
Pierre Issa, secretary-general of the National Bloc party, which is participating in the protest movement, said protesters are mostly unhappy with Diab’s appointment and would continue demonstrating.
“We fear Diab might form a cosmetic cabinet of experts who are effectively controlled by political parties and this won’t solve the crisis,” Issa said.
Beirut Christmas carolling comes with a revolutionary twist
Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/December 22/2019
BEIRUT – While the drums of the popular anti-government rebellion were beating in Beirut’s streets during violent clashes in recent days, Christmas carols and Muslim Sufi hymns were sung in churches for the annual Beirut Chants Festival. The pre-Christmas event, with 28 free concerts over December 1-23, offered the public a much-needed break from the pressures of the political and socio-economic crisis gripping Lebanon as attendees indulged in peaceful and spiritual, yet revolutionary, musical performances. “We believe that music should be free for all, as we believe in tolerance and coexistence among different cultures and religions because we believe in unity,” said Micheline Abi Samra, founder of Beirut Chants Festival. “Definitely the intercultural Islamic-Christian aspect is always present in the festival, and every year it is more pronounced and more sophisticated. Quranic chants are being chanted in churches at the same time as Christmas carols to encourage tolerance and mutual acceptance and understanding and to get to know each other better,” Abi Samra said.
Since the festival was founded 12 years ago, Lebanon has united each December for concerts in that very spirit, using culture and music to spread a message of hope for the country. This year it is even more pronounced with the anti-government rebellion that united protesters across Lebanon’s religions and regions.
The concerts draw thousands of people to churches around Beirut every night for one or two hours of music — some classical, some religious and some unexpected, such as the revolutionary and nationalistic songs that marked some of this year’s concerts.
“This year, it is a miracle that we are still going on. I myself cannot believe it when I look at the churches and I see that every single night crowds are more numerous with different ages, different backgrounds and yet they are one when they listen to beautiful music,” Abi Samra said.
Beirut Chants is not just about bringing culture to the masses and bonding over beautiful music; it is also about voicing a powerful message.
One of the most acclaimed concerts was a religious event that combined Quranic singing by Muslim cleric Sheikh Ahmad Hawili and soprano Ghada Shbeir at the Saint Joseph Church in downtown Beirut.
Sheikh Hawili, a Lebanese Sufi singer, and Shbeir, who has a doctorate in Syriac chants, the oldest form of Christian singing, enchanted the audience. “I found it unique and mesmerising,” said audience member Randa Imad. “The fact that there are a cleric and a vocalist singing lyrics from the Quran and the Bible, sometimes as a duo or alternately, was fascinating. The church was packed. The atmosphere was great. They even placed seats in the alleys to accommodate the crowd.”
Beirut Chants began in 2007 when Abi Samra said she wanted to make use of the beautifully renovated churches in Beirut and thought to bring life to those spaces to “feel that the community is participating and living the Christmas spirit in a beautiful way.”
The revolutionary mood prevailing in Lebanon affected this year’s festival, intertwining with the Christmas spirit.
Members of the rebellious young generation seeking change while expressing their attachment to Lebanon were well-served by Lebanese musician, composer and pianist Guy Manoukian, accompanying al Fayha choir, a group of 100 singers from all denominations. National and patriotic songs inflamed the Assembly Hall at the American University of Beirut (AUB), where the concert took place. “What I lived in that particular concert I haven’t lived for 12 years since Beirut Chants started. The national mood and the ambiance were already there… Emotions were high. People sang along and cried,” Abi Samra said. The performance by an ensemble from the Balamand University Choir and soprano Reem Deeb at the Assembly Hall was another highlight of the festival. Deeb presented a surprise song that sounded as a perfect contribution to the revolutionary situation. Some of the lyrics translate as follows: “In times of pain and poverty, Beirut cries for people’s hunger and people’s eyes weep for people’s thirst, yet, the Christmas spirit gives people back their dignity and faith.”
An AUB student who attended the performance said the surprise anthem was “a beautiful addition to the festival, especially in times of hopelessness.”
The people who gave standing ovations at the concerts understood the message of love and tolerance and the big hope that the differences in the Lebanese society are its strengths, Abi Samra said.
“We should work on more projects that make us all one nation,” she added. Lebanon has been rocked by unprecedented popular protests over official mismanagement and corruption since October 17.
