(Updated: Originally published December 8, 2006)
Take a look at the crowd! What is going on here?
This is going on:
"Hezbollah’s Leader Vows to Continue Protests" by NADA BAKRI and MICHAEL SLACKMAN
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec. 7 — Ratcheting up pressure on the besieged American-backed government of Lebanon, the Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah insisted Thursday night that his followers would not leave the streets until their demands for more power were met. He also appeared to accuse government officials of trying to have him killed during the war with Israel.
With fears of a civil war running high in Beirut, Sheik Nasrallah’s speech seemed calculated to bolster thousands of Hezbollah’s supporters who have been camped in tents downtown, while also warning those followers against engaging in sectarian violence that could spread and possibly hurt Hezbollah’s chances of appealing to more than its Shiite base. The speech also asked Arab governments in the region not to take sides in the conflict.
What is so "radical" about Nasrallah?
That he is "warning those followers against engaging in sectarian violence that could spread and possibly hurt Hezbollah?"
And if something happens, CUI BONO?
He asked "Arab governments in the region not to take sides."
The undrlying, undiscussed aspect here is that Nasrallah's "protesters" have been PEACEFUL for a week (nay, year) now.
Who could possibly want to damage this peaceful call for change?
Here is some background:
Lebanon has been caught in a tense standoff over the makeup of its government and the direction of the country ever since the end of Hezbollah’s 34-day war with Israel in the summer. Hezbollah emerged emboldened after having survived the war — and having bloodied Israel. But it also emerged angry with the American-backed government. Hezbollah says its goal is to form a national unity government and to bring all parties into the cabinet, including the Free Patriotic Movement, led by Michel Aoun, a Christian and a former general. But Hezbollah has also insisted that its alliance have veto power over all government decisions — and a large enough bloc in the cabinet to allow it to bring down the government if Hezbollah’s allies were all to resign at once. The governing coalition has offered a compromise formula, which Hezbollah and its allies have so far rejected.
Now Hezbollah is saying that if it does not get its unity government, which would allow the prime minister, Fouad Siniora, to stay in office, it will press for a complete collapse of the government and early elections.
The protests have raised tensions and fears of sectarian violence all over Beirut. On Sunday, a Shiite demonstrator was killed during clashes in a Sunni neighborhood and since then, the army has cautioned that if a political solution is not found, it could lose control of the streets.
Again, CUI BONO?
Truthfully, it would be Israel and the "American-backed government" of Lebanon. And do you catch the biased reporting?
They describe Hezbollah as "emboldened... angry... [and] raised tensions and fears of sectarian violence all over Beirut."
Yet if Hezbollah gets what it wants, Sionara to "stay in office."
WTF?!
Says the Army, "we could lose control of the streets."
Question: Did you ever have control of them?
Where were you, Lebanese Army, while Israel was invading and Hezbollah was defending?
Where are you at rebuilding?
Why are you now protecting Sionara and his collaborative clan behind tanks and razor wire? Why did you fail to protect the Lebanese people?
And the CUI BONO?
The outcome of this political battle will not only influence Lebanon’s domestic politics, but also the balance of power throughout the Middle East. Hezbollah is allied with Iran and Syria, while the governing coalition is aligned with the United States and France. The United States has looked to Lebanon as a bulkhead to thwart growing Iranian influence in the Middle East.
The government has accused Hezbollah of taking this political battle to the streets simply to help Syria try to block the formation of an international tribunal to hear evidence in the assassination of Rafik Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister. A United Nations Security Council investigation has implicated Syrian officials in the killing."
See who would benefit from a provocative call for change?
And on the false Hariri charges, go here to see WHO REALLY KILLED Hariri!
Let's hear from the complete range of interests:
Fouad Sionara, Lebanese Prime Minister, emboldened by international support for his U.S.-backed government, insisted he would not give in to protesters:
"We are standing fast, believing in the justness of our position."
The Lebanese Army, overstretched with keeping Beirut's streets clear of blockades and clashing with protesters, called for calm for the second time in four days and said in a circular to soldiers that also addressed the politicians:
"Offering sacrifices for the sake of the nation is not a duty of soldiers only, but it is a duty of all the nation's sons, specifically their political and spiritual leaders."
Ahmed Fatfat, who was acting interior minister during the war, told AP Televisiuon News the charges would strengthen the government's resolve, and dismissed Nasrallah's accusations as "false stories about the war."
For more on Fatfat, read this: Memory Hole: The Lies of Lebanon
Wael Bou Faour, a member of the March 14 coalition and a member of Parliament, which is struggling to maintain its control over the government, said Nasrallah's remarks were so filled personal attacks that it appeared that what he was after was to "crush" the government:
“It was a very dangerous speech and very dangerous accusations which will have negative consequences.”
Yeah, I'll bet there will be negative consequences, especially if a guy like Fatfat is unleashed again!
And note the terminology: Nasrallah's "remarks... so filled personal attacks... to "crush" the government."
Hussein Harfoush, 23, one of several demonstrators, said the main message they took away from Sheik Nasrallah's speech was to avoid clashes:
"If he didn't speak today, maybe things would have deteriorated and we would have started fighting against each other. I think everyone would have got involved in fights because the people are very tense."
All those people and they could find ONLY ONE demonstrator to talk to? So what did the good Sheik say?
In an impassioned speech broadcast live on two large screens in downtown Beirut and throughout the region on satellite channels. It was the second time Nasrallah addressed a mass rally since the August cease-fire. For security reasons, he did not appear but spoke via video link.
Sheik Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, on a range of topics, said protests would continue until Hezbollah's demads are met.
He told the government and its supporters that they were dreaming if they thought his alliance would end its protest before it won a larger share of government power, and he called on all his supporters to hold another mass demonstration downtown on Sunday, raising the prospect of hundreds of thousands of demonstrators once again pouring into central Beirut, as they did last week.
Sheik Nasrallah, to chants of “We will follow you, Nasrallah.”:
“Tell them today, from the square of the strike, tell them tomorrow during the Friday Prayer, tell them every night, tell them on Sunday during the great gathering, tell them after Sunday, that you who bet on our surrender are deluded, deluded, deluded.”
Sheik Nasrallah said the government had effectively colluded with Israel in the hope that its bombing campaign would destroy Hezbollah’s militia, saying that a government agency tried to find out where he was staying during the war and that the government worked to block the resupply of Hezbollah during the battle.... said Saniora ordered the Lebanese Army to confiscate Hezbollah's supply of weapons, and... added that government officials had asked American envoys to persuade Israel to destroy Hezbollah.
“Those who sat with the Americans and requested from them that Israel launch a war against us, they know themselves, and I know them, and I hope that the day will not come when I would say their names. Didn't the prime minister of Lebanon work to cut off the supply lines? Those are the ones responsible for the war, not the resistance."
Sheik Nasrallah also said Hezbollah rejected civil war between Lebanon’s ethnic or political groups, that Hezbollah and its allies were open to dialogue to resolve the crisis, and that the Shi'ite guerillas would use arms only against Israelis.
Sheik Nasrallah, to roars from the crowd:
“We reject any armed clash in the street, and we also reject any kind of confrontation in the street. Tell the Lebanese and all nations in the region, whoever pushes matters in the direction of civil war, in civil war, everyone is a loser. We are a peoiple that will not be defeated in the battle of wills. We will not leave the streets before achieving the goal that saves Lebanon.”
Sheik Nasrallah addressed warnings from politicians and the army commander that the mass protests could drag Lebanon back to the sectarian civil war of 1975-1990:
"We will not lift our weapons in the face of anyone. We will defeat you with our voices."
Now you can make up your own mind about the Sheik!
And as far as I know, one year later, the protesters are still there!
Talk about patience!
The Shi'ites must be the most patient people on the planet!
(Segments of this report were augmented by an Associated Press report carried by the Boston Globe)
