[Imc-beirut] Should Lebanon become a client state of the US

[sensenig]

Dear Mary, Dear Tony, et al., 

This is indeed on way of seeing it and I think we all agree just how horrible the current government is. But this is not a decision between good and evil, but between evil and evil! 

The most corrupt and bloodthirsty war lords in Lebanon seem to have distributed themselves evenly on both sides, however, Berri is indeed No. 1 as far as being "for sale" is concerned. Hizbollah murdered thousands of Amal fighters during the Civil War, along with hundreds of Palestinians. However, the real crime was the almost complete extermination of the leadership of the Lebanese CP. Why aren't they bringing this up now? They can easily do it again!

Today I had a guest from Amman who told me that the Future Youth are carrying out militia exercises in the Jordanian outback. So I guess we're in for some additional ugliness from both sides. 

Finally, lets look at policy, e.g. the May 31 draft election law, which I am attaching for your information, was the product of almost a year of real stakeholder, civil society participation (women, youth, people with disabilities, expats, etc.). The political machines in the South and Beirut (Amal, Hizbollah and Future), along with the Chouf (PSP) are afraid of this law, thus it has been largely ignored since the Summer War. Both sides want to avoid constructive policy discussions and prefer hot air exercises. Just have a look at the TV broadcast media in Lebanon! Just as Fneish was actually going to improve water and power in Lebanon, he resigned. BTW, why does Hizbollah support the privatisation of electricity and water grids? 

Get real, and join us in wishing a plague on both their houses. The 8th of March is a reactionary, oppressive, bigoted response to a equally distasteful and bankrupt governing coalition. Mary, where are your leftist eyes, ears and brain??!?!

There is an increasingly large group in Lebanon calling for a neutrality policy along the lines of CH and Austria. France, USA, Germany, Syria, KSA and Iran, Hands Off Lebanon!

Best and Give Peace a Chance, Eugen Dabbous

Prof. Eugène Sensenig-Dabbous, MA PhD; LibanLink Diversity Centre Beirut Bureau
 office: +961-9-218950-ext: 2322 / sensenig at cyberia.net.lb or sdabbous at ndu.edu.lb
http://www.libanlink.org/index_lilie.htm; www.ndu.edu.lb ; http://www.base-salzburg.at

BTW: There will be conference in Zürich in mid January on Lebanese neutrality. 


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Tadamon! 
  To: lebissues at yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Friday, December 15, 2006 9:56 PM
  Subject: [Lebanese Issues] EI: Montreal Organizations Call for Fair Coverage of Mass Protests In Lebanon



  the Electronic Intifada:
  Montreal Organizations Call for Fair Coverage of Mass Protests In Lebanon
  http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article6237.shtml

  MONTREAL: Several Montreal-based organizations are speaking out in defence of  the popular protests which have overtaken Lebanon's capital for more than a week. The groups are concerned with a prevailing bias in Canadian media 
  coverage of the events in Lebanon. This bias misrepresents the purposes of the 
  protests and the dynamics that underlie them. It also fuels a dangerous 
  sectarianism that threatens Lebanon.

  "Should Lebanon become a client state of the US or does it want a government 
  that represents its citizens and is responsive to the interests of other people 
  in the region? Should the government of Lebanon serve all sectors of its 
  population, regardless of confession and economic status?" asked Mary Foster of Tadamon! Montreal.

  "Whatever your opinion of these issues, these are the questions that are 
  motivating people in the tens and hundreds of thousands to stay out on the 
  streets in Beirut. The real political choices that people face in Lebanon, with 
  far-reaching consequences for the entire region, are obscured when the contest 
  is again and again mis-represented in the Canadian media as the sectarian 
  manoeuvering of one party and its regional allies to take over the country," 
  noted Foster, who returned from a delegation to Lebanon last week.

  "In fact, over ten opposition political parties are participating in the 
  peaceful sit-in, bringing together a very significant portion of the 
  population, from all religious and confessional camps, with diverse ideological 
  orientations," explained Mr. Ziad Najjar of the Council of Lebanese Canadian 
  Organizations (COLCO)-Montreal.

  Many of those present at the sit-in come from social groupings who have been 
  historically excluded from economic opportunity, political representation, 
  access to public institutions and services and are among those who have 
  suffered the most from Israel's attack on the country this summer.

  "The symbol of people from the bombed out villages of the south and from the 
  poor suburbs setting up camp in the richest area of the city, with its Gucci 
  and Armani shops, couldn't be clearer," added Foster.

  The demonstration is a decidedly peaceful and democratic expression of popular will. Far from subverting the democratic process in Lebanon, the non-violent popular expression is working within the country's political framework to address some of the exclusions and disadvantages that are built into the 
  Lebanese political, economic and social structures. Participants are also 
  expressing their opposition to western interference in their country and 
  hegemony in the region.

  "When people came out on the streets to demand that the government stand down after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the movement was dubbed the 'Cedar revolution' and welcomed in the West as a movement for democracy. Now these peaceful mass protests, which are demanding a more representative government, are being characterized as a coup attempt," remarked May Hayder of the Al Hidaya Association.

  "Could this have something to do with the fact that the protestors are 
  demanding independence from the US this time, and not only Syria? There appears to be a double-standard in the way that the North American media portrays different events and political actors in Lebanon," noted Hayder.

  [Tadamon! [Solidarity!, in Arabic] is a Montreal-based collective of 
  social-justice organizers & media activists, working to build relationships of 
  solidarity with grassroots political movements for social and economic justice 
  between Beirut & Montreal.]

  -----------------------


  __._,_.___ 
  Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic 
  Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Database | Polls | Members | Calendar 
  To subscribe to this group, send an e-mail to:
  lebissues-subscribe at yahoogroups.com

  To unsubscribe from this group, send an e-mail to:
  lebissues-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com

  To visit your group on the web, go to:
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lebissues/


   
  Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) 
  Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional 
  Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Visit Your Group 
  Yahoo! News
  Kevin Sites

  Get coverage of

  world crises.

  Yahoo! Mail
  You're invited!

  Try the all-new

  Yahoo! Mail Beta

  Y! GeoCities
  Share Photos

  Put your favorite

  photos online.
  . 
  __,_._,___