Right after the round of the "Cedar Guardian" detentions, a group of Lebanese met in Akkar to salute and vindicate Shartooni and Alam for assassinating the late President Bashir Gemayyel. I recall that LBC in its coverage of that event questioned whether justice will be extended to those who vindicate the assassination of a President, and not just only those who call for killing others (the Cedar Guardians and the Palestinians). I asked myself the same question. Something inside me was telling me that of course back in Lebanon it is always unjust.
I was so glad that yes those who called themselves "the Friends of Shartooni" were detained and questioned. Perhaps for the first time I felt that justice was being done; that the days of the Syrian tutelage were over and gone; for the first time, such shady people are not covered by the "invisible hand" and allowed to roam the streets with their deeds of hate.
...So that was a move forward in my view.
On another note, after the word was out that after this preliminary donor meeting held today in New York, the main one would be held in Washington next November, Seniora suggested that the meeting should be held in Beirut. So, after all, the meeting might just be called Beirut I. Frankly, I would like it to be Beirut I, as Seniora would free himself of the criticisms (especially those of Hizbullah's and Amal's) that the main donor meeting which marks our independence was held on our territories (free of any "manipulation" and "tutelage"....).
The problem in my view is, though, that it might just be difficult to market Beirut as a same place to meet for all those world leaders...
"Nobody knows how many rebellions, besides political rebellions, ferment in the masses of life which people earth."
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Saaduldînne Hariri’s main election campaign manager in Tripoli and ‘Aakkar was a sinister character named Dr Salim Diab.
Dr Diab is a notorious member of the Lebanese branch of the ultra-fundamentalist “Muslim Brotherhood” cult, and he holds Saudi + Lebanese dual citizenships.
In May-June of this year, Salim Diab repeatedly called for Hariri sympathizers in North Lebanon to vote against “dirty Christian and ‘Alawite kuffar pigs”
The Hariri mafia clan and their power hungry friends are clearly a bunch of dangerously racist Wahhabi stooges: but unlike inoffensive Christian lunatics such as the “Cedar Guardians”, Hariri’s Saudi-trained thugs are never bothered by the Lebanese “darak” when spreading racist and sectarian propaganda materials...
This overtly anti-Christian double standard is utterly unacceptable.
Earlier this month, bloodthirsty war criminal Waleed Jumblatt said the following on Future TV:
“Our beloved friend martyr sheikh Rafik Al-Hariri, may Allah have mercy upon him, single-handedly defeated the 1982 Israeli-Lebanese treaty that president Reagan and evil Christian collaborators such as Basheer Gemayyel tried to impose on our Ummah...” [sic/sick]
In fact Rafeeq Al-Hariri was only 32 when the treaty in question was signed- he was living in Jeddah and wasn’t even remotely involved in Lebanese politics at the time...
Talk about anti-Lebanese historic revisionism on a MASSIVE scale!
Very frightening stuff anyway: at least Lebanon’s Christians and all authentic patriots are now officially warned about the Saudi-Druze lobby’s sinister intentions.
Doha,
Beirut I sounds great initially, but on further thought, I don't think it's a good idea.
Donor countries should not feel pressured to donate or make demands on Lebanon. If we are asking them for favors, they have the right to ask something in return.
No doubt, the US will say something about Hezbollah. How comfortable would Americans be saying this? While Condi Rice is supposed to be negotiating money transfers, Hezbollah will try and make itself the issue. They would probably try to hold a protest with a few hundred thousand people that would garner most of the attention.
A counter protest by Aoun would probably also occur with Mustaqbal tacitly endorsing it.
That's a great way to ruin a conference.
Also, most aid is coordinated out of Washington - where the World Bank and IMF are headquartered. The US gives the smallest portion of its GDP to foreign aid of all OECD countries, but it gives the largest sum of actual dollars, once again meaning that most money emanates from Washington.
I also believe that the US is one of the largest donors to Lebanon. At least $90 million a year is given to Lebanon. That number, I believe, has gone up, and I don't know if that includes military aid.
I really condemn the rhetoric of the "Friends of Shartouni" group, but one could argue that amnesty for Shartouni and Alam may prove to be a positive step in the national reconciliation process.
This is an opinion I formed after the release of Geagea. Keep in mind that the opinion of the family of Rachid Karami was inconsequential in the Geagea affair, as was the opinion of many people who paraded against it. There was a huge public demand for it and a parliamentary vote that made it a reality.
What I am sure of is that both Shartouni and Alam have been, more or less like Aoun, in “exile” for a long time. They couldn’t abuse the Syrian influence to stay in Lebanon and have an amnesty for their doing like the war criminals.
In essence, and supposing that Shartouni’s doings were as grave, the only factor distinguishing Shartouni from someone like Jumblatt is that the latter had enough power to have his name officially cleared at the end of the war. Shartouni had nothing.
Hassan, how many people do you want to give amnesty to with the goal of national reconciliation?
We have already gone through two main rounds of amnesty - true, justice would only be served if either all parties are acquitted, or all imprisonned. But how many more should we go through? Shouldn't there be another way to achieve this form of forgiveness? Put in another way, how far back are we willing to forigive? 1990? 1982? What's next?
Lazarus,
I think an amnesty for those two guys is less insulting to our intelligence than the amnesty for Dinniyeh guys. At least this is related to the war, which we still need closure from. However, this is not a good reason in itself. I think the major thing here is that the practices of the ruling class are reminiscent of those practiced by Syria’s group in the early 1990’s. This way of vendettas, discrimination, and selective amnesty is not the right way for unity. It has too many double standards.
I think a person should adopt a consistent mindset when dealing with these issues. I don’t believe in double logic. We cannot condemn the uneven practices of the last fifteen years then endorse their repetition.
Hariri's friend Salim Dyab sounds like a real racist asshole
I think the double standards directed at Christians only are a move in the wrong direction
Maroun Kh.
Hassan,
True.
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