Blogging the democratic revolution
Not anything to get worked up over: BEIRUT, Feb 25 (AFP) – Syria, under intense international pressure to end its tight military and political grip on neighbouring Lebanon, prepared Friday to redeploy its troops toward the border, Lebanese officials said. That news came as Al-Arabiya television said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had demanded that Damascus pull its troops out of Lebanon by April or face “measures” from the Security Council. But Annan’s spokesman denied the report, issuing a clarification. Damascus’ move comes as the Syrian-backed Beirut government was braced for a parliamentary no-confidence vote, which could bring to a…
Not only are people taking to the streets in huge numbers, but now business, banking, and industrial leaders will be totally shutting down on the Monday vote of confidence in the government. BEIRUT, Feb 23 (AFP) – Leaders of Lebanon’s banking, industrial and commercial sectors said they would shut down next Monday to demand the country’s pro-Syrian government resign and that a “neutral” one replace it. The strike would coincide with an expected vote of confidence in parliament, two weeks after the murder of former premier Rafiq Hariri in a bomb blast for which the opposition has pinned blame on…
I must apologize for not being able to feature especially large segments related to Lebanon due to personal time constraints. I hope to be able to do something big and comprehensive for the Kyrgyzstan elections on Sunday. However, Arthur Chrenkoff has done a great job day by day rounding things up on Lebanon, just like he has done for Afghanistan and Iraq. One thing I will point out especially because it is so amazing. Lebanon has a tent city: BEIRUT – A small tent city has popped up on Martyrs’ Square in Beirut as anti-Syrian protesters call for political changes…
Across the Bay has a couple pictures of the protests in Lebanon. No smoke or mirrors — that’s a lot of people.
This is why I hate waking up late. The Lebanese are continuing their rather impressive protests to end the occupation by Syria. And it looks as if the French are working with America on this. BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (AFP) – US President George W. Bush and his French counterpart Jacques Chirac on Monday called for the immediate withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. “The United States and France join with the European Union and the international community in condemning the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, and in their support for a free, independent, and democratic Lebanon,” they…
A sly man by the name of Tony let me know about his blog today, called Across the Bay. This is not a paid advertisement — I could only be so lucky — but this blog is of special note because it is totally about Lebanon. Here is a little bit about the author: Ph.D. candidate in Ancient Near Eastern Studies with focus on Semitic Linguistics, Ancient Levantine history, religion, and ethnicity studies. I think we can take his word for it.
Do I ever say how much I love news roundups? Yes, quite often. Even though I have many posts on Lebanon already, Arthur Chrenkoff offers a fantastic multi-dimensional roundup of his own!
Thomas L. Friedman makes an eye-opening personal account in the Houston Chronicle regarding the rules Syria plays by, namely, none: When Syria’s Baath regime feels its back up against the wall, it always resorts to “Hama Rules.” Hama Rules is a term I coined after the Syrian army leveled ???????? and I mean leveled ???????? a portion of its own city, Hama, to put down a rebellion by Sunni Muslim fundamentalists there in 1982. Some 10,000 to 20,000 Syrians were buried in the rubble. Monday’s murder of Hariri, a self-made billionaire who devoted his money and energy to rebuilding Lebanon…
There are two noteable articles on Lebanonwire that I noticed. The first is that Chirac is being accused of aiding the opposition. BEIRUT, Feb 19 (AFP) – Lebanese Defense Minister Abdel Rahim Mrad accused French President Jacques Chirac Saturday of encouraging the opposition during a visit to pay condolences after the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri. “When President Jacques Chirac came to Lebanon, he ignored completely the government, the president of the republic and everybody,” Mrad told state Tele-Liban television. “Then he came to accuse, help the opposition to escalate and encourage the opposition to escalate,” he said. Chirac…
Sweet: BEIRUT, 19 February 2005 ???????? The opposition parties in Lebanon declared an ???????uprising for independence??????? yesterday and called for the pro-Syrian government to step down so that a new government can be formed to oversee a Syrian military pullout. This escalated a war of words following former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri????????s assassination on Monday. In another significant development, Syrian President Bashar Assad named his brother-in-law, Maj. Gen. Asef Shawkat, as head of military intelligence to replace retiring Maj. Gen. Hassan Khalil. Syrian sources said the change took effect on Monday, Khalil????????s 60th birthday. Meanwhile, Leabanese opposition leader Samir Frangieh…
There are a couple of more reactions to the events on Lebanon that I thought were worth reading. The first comes from Ali at Free Iraqi: It seems that the horrible crime that took place in Beirut won’t go unpunished. Despite the continues allegations of the Syrian and Lebanese government and the crocodile tears their officials are shedding, no one seems to believe them and especially the Lebanese people. All the Syrian government could come up with is accusing Israel of being responsible for the crime. When combined with their and their friends in the Lebanese government prior accusations to…
For background on ex-PM Rafik Hariri, Wikipedia has it, and this post by Kirk H. Sowell is a great primer to Lebanon. I guess moral support really does help: BEIRUT (Reuters) – President Bush (news – web sites) called on Syria on Thursday to withdraw its forces from Lebanon as Lebanese opposition leaders vowed to topple the country’s pro-Syrian leadership. … Voices from across Lebanon’s various ethnic and religious communities, encouraged by the tough anti-Syrian stance of the United States and France, are now telling Damascus and its local allies it is time to go. “The day will come when…
Before I hit the sack, CNN has a picture gallery of the events before and after Hariri’s assassination. It includes pictures of the protest against Syria. I also found a Lebanon news in pictures website, along with a Lebanon news wire.
John Burgess posts an unsigned editorial in Arab news condemning Syria for the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. It may take weeks, if not years, before we know who killed Rafik Hariri. Whoever was behind the dastardly deed clearly wanted to achieve two objectives. The first was to deprive the emerging Lebanese opposition front from a credible leader capable of cutting across sectarian divides in the name of national unity. The second was to create the impression that without Syrian troops on its soil, Lebanon would be plunged into chaos and civil war. It is important that the Lebanese…
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri has been assassinated by a suicide bomber. A Shia terrorist group calling itself “Victory and Jihad” has taken credit, and the Lebanese opposition is blaming Syria, of whom Hariri was a critic. I was just watching a news report on Al-Jazeera covering this, and it is looking like Lebanon, once known as the “Switzerland of the Middle East,” may soon become the Ukraine of the Middle East. The crowds gathering in the streets and the political opposition’s press conference certainly reminded me of recent events in that country. Syria has long maintained control over…