Head of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea endorses founder of the Free Patriotic Movement Michel Aoun for the Presidency of the Lebanese Republic: This isn’t history in the making, as everyone has kept repeating over and over again. This is yet another history of failure and yet another failure of history…
March 14 and the Myth of the Cedar Revolution
If March 14 2005 would happen again, I would be exactly where I was – in the middle of the chanting and exuberant crowds in Martyrs’ Square – when it all happened. It was history and I was part of it, along with thousands of others who gathered there. Continue reading “March 14 and the Myth of the Cedar Revolution”
The Time for Justice has Come…
…or so some would say.
Nine years after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, the court proceedings of the ‘Special Tribunal for Lebanon‘ (STL) have finally begun. Created for the purpose of bringing those responsible for this crime (and many others that followed it) to justice, the tribunal is considered unprecedented on many levels. While it is the first time that an international court will be trying a case based on terrorism charges, it is also the first time in contemporary Lebanese history, if ever at all, that so much effort and resources have been allocated to bringing criminals to justice. Lebanon may have become used to wars and politically motivated crimes, but it has become even more accustomed to never knowing the truth behind those crimes and taking for granted that nobody in Lebanon is ever brought to account. Continue reading “The Time for Justice has Come…”
Lebanon: A Gloomy Look Ahead
Sometimes, I think it would be easier to just re-post my thoughts and frustrations on Lebanon, again and again, in view of the current situation. I am not inclined to write a “Beirut Yet Again and Again” after the latest explosion in Beirut’s southern suburbs on January 2, after having written “Beirut, Yet Again” (بيروت ايضا و ايضا) following the explosion in Downtown Beirut on December 27. The nature of the explosives may have differed and the location slightly shifted, yet nothing else has changed on the ground. Continue reading “Lebanon: A Gloomy Look Ahead”
بيروت , ايضا و ايضا
الانفجار الاخيرالذي وقع في بيروت استهدف وزير المالية السابق محمد شطح, و أودى بحياة مرافقه ، الطالب محمد الشعار, واربعة مواطنين ابرياء لم تحدد هويتهم بعد. انه يوم حزين انهى سنة مضمخة بالدماء. و باستمرار العنف و الانفجارات في طراباس و الضاحية, و الاعتداءات المستمرة على الحدود اللبنانية السورية, فان سنة 2013 كانت سنة مأساوية. اخذا بالواقع اللبناني كان يمكن ان تكون اسوأ. Continue reading “بيروت , ايضا و ايضا”
Beirut, Yet Again
Yesterday’s explosion in Beirut – killing former Finance Minister Mohammad Chatah among around seven others who remain to be identified – is a sad way to end a year already painted blood-red. With the ongoing violence and bombings in Tripoli, Dahiyeh, and the recurrent attacks on Lebanon’s border with Syria, 2013 was a tragic year, but in true Lebanese style, it could have always been much worse… Continue reading “Beirut, Yet Again”
Where is our Voice?
The self-extension of the Lebanese Parliament’s term yesterday did not come as a surprise to anybody. It was yet a further nail in the coffin of Lebanon’s democracy, albeit its own special tailor-made brand of consensual, whatever-you-want-to-call-it democracy, where nobody ever goes home a looser. Continue reading “Where is our Voice?”
March 14 is Coming to Town
Something tells me that I wasn’t the only one that first gasped, was later amazed, laughed and then brushed aside the news that a delegation from March 14 would be going to Gaza. But on November 27, a delegation of journalists and three MPs went indeed, as a show of solidarity with the Palestinian people in view of the latest Israeli assault. Continue reading “March 14 is Coming to Town”
Lebanon: History must not repeat itself
One of the images that always comes to mind while recalling the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war, is that of a group of young and peaceful protesters I once read about who headed to Beirut’s infamous Green Line. Defying snipers and tenuous ceasefires, they held their humble signs and white roses to say no to the conflict that dragged on for too long and no to all those who held on to Lebanon solely as a battlefield for their selfish wars. Continue reading “Lebanon: History must not repeat itself”
Lebanon at the Crossroads: Do We Have the Courage for Change
“Seeing the tears of a wounded child, the fear on the elderly’s face, or the panic of a young adult at the thought of having to go through all this absurdity all over again… Why does it affect me and not the cold-blooded murders that undertake these crimes? We’ve had enough of these targeted assassinations.
But I care more about the innocent citizens that pay the price, the anonymous civilians who will succumb to their wounds, flee the country or live quietly in sadness and despair hereafter. Today, I think about you and pray for you and hope to help you the best way I can. You are priceless. YOU are Lebanon.” Continue reading “Lebanon at the Crossroads: Do We Have the Courage for Change”
Eye on the East 