Blogging the democratic revolution
It looks like some people in Lebanon are suffering post-electoral loss syndrome. That is, the pro-Syria crowd outside of Hizb’allah is going nuts out of office. Perhaps they don’t know what to do with themselves now that they can’t terrorize people’s lives with the government. With this dire impropriety in their lives, it must be…
According to the New York Times (registration required), Syrian Kurds, many of them denied not only equal protection of the law but also citizenship, are increasing pressure on Damascus for change. With democratic revolutions under way to the west in Lebanon and to the east in Iraq, the former being explicitly anti-Syrian and the latter…
This makes political influential number three after Rafik Hariri and Samir Kassir. Former Community Party leader George Hawi was killed in a car-bomb blast in Beirut’s Wata Mosseitbeh middle-class neighborhood at midmorning Tuesday in the latest link of a chain of political assassinations that rocked the nation in connection with Syria’s expulsion from Lebanon. He…
Music to my ears. When Syria withdraw its troops from Lebanon back in April, it was pretty obvious to the world that it left behind a thick residue of intelligence agents. The several bombs that have gone off, and the targetted assassination of an anti-Syria journalist, are part of a general pattern of political intimidation….
Joshua Landis, living in Damascus, has a media roundup from around the world and talks about all of the proposals. The press, for the most part, has seen this as a “great step forward” — Ba’ath words actually — in reform toward democracy in Syria. But if that sounds too good to be true, then…
A columnist for the Lebanese publication An Nahar has been murdered in a car bombing, in which his car was rigged to explode upon ignition. Here is the report from Reporters Without Borders: Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert M????nard, who is currently in Lebanon, voiced dismay at the murder of columnist Samir Kassir of the…
Relations between the United States and Syria are sliding even further of late, though it seems that they may be the only party minding this. All of this revolves around intense pressure on Damascus about the insurgency in Iraq. Many of the terrorists have set up arms and drug smuggling routes along the Syrian border,…
Is it me… or are these becoming more frequent? Hundreds of demonstrators have rallied outside Syria’s feared state security court, chanting for freedom and demanding an end to the 42-year-old state of emergency. “Long live liberty,” the protestors on Sunday chanted in Arabic and Kurdish as the trials of three Kurdish activists got under way….
Hat tip to Stefania for letting me know about this. Tell me everyone, how often do you see this happen? DAMASCUS: Chanting “freedom, freedom,” about 200 Syrians protested on Sunday outside a Damascus state security court where a prominent human rights campaigner accused of opposing the state was on trial. The area was sealed off…
The United Nations flew into Beirut Sunday night to make sure that they’re “really gone.” Let’s see how well they can do that. But UN jabs aside, this is actually really good news, with some corrupt pro-Syria Lebanese security heads resigning as well. SYRIAN troops complete their withdrawal from Lebanon today, ending almost 30 years…
In an unprecedented move, the Human Rights Association of Syria has filed the first ever accusations of torture against Assad’s regime. (Via: Norm) With Syria under international pressure over its presence in Lebanon, and amid a wave of agitation for democratic reforms across the Middle East, Syrian lawyers are now daring to file the first…
As I begin writing this, it is 4:40am, and that makes me feel like starting out with the most ironic item of them day. Lebanon saves Syria from a car bomb. Yes, you heard that right. A truck loaded with 40 kilograms of explosives was seized overnight while on its way toward the Syrian border,…
The Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat is reporting today that Syria’s ruling party, the Baath Party, is planning to amend its charter, ditch the socialist tenets, and perhaps even change its name. The article, The Syrian Baath Plans to Dissolve its National Leadership and Bring Down its Socialist Motto (it is the third article from the…
So much is going on in the world that a large roundup of Lebanon has been hard to do, but there’s been quite a bit of news lately so it’s certainly a good time to do one. News: Over the past week and a half three bombs exploded near Beirut in mainly Christian suburbs. Christians…
I hate this, because I’m having to write this headline every few days now. The second went off on Tuesday and the first a week ago Saturday. This latest one occurred just today, the third in a string of Syrian intimidation. March 26 (Bloomberg) — A car bomb explosion rocked a Christian quarter in east…
Having been so involved with the events in Lebanon, I was hoping to do my own analysis of the UN findings on the Hariri assassination. But due to real life work and school starting back up next week (not to mention I’m preparing to cover the big protests in Taiwan all night…) it’s going to…
Josh Landis has a response to the coup rumors up at his site. It starts off like this: “I spent most of my day trying to deny that a coup had taken place in Syria.” That is how the US military attach????, David Jesmer, accounted for himself yesterday when he came to dinner with a…
The Lebanese Foundation for Peace is reporting that a military coup has swept Assad’s regime because of disputes over the withdrawal from Lebanon. A Coup d’ Etat took place in Damascus late last night. Intelligence reports coming from within the Syrian Military Command indicate the following: A rebellion split The Syrian Army in two factions…
The past month has certainly been amazing. Following the death of Rafiq Hariri, Lebanese broke out in the streets and protested, eventually forcing their government to resign. Syrian loyalists struck back by staging a hoax rally large enough to break the momentum and dishearten even some of freedom’s most ardent supporters. Everyone, however, except the…
UPDATE: Scroll to the end for all latest updates on the protests! Hizb’allah is showing up less and less in the wire — which may or may not be good. But right now, the focus is on the opposition and what moves they will make in face of the pro-Syria protest last week that brought…
Poor girl, she is totally warped. It isn’t her fault though. She honestly isn’t much into politics, so she doesn’t fervently research what she reads. I emailed her right after the assassination of Hariri and asked her what she thinks, and here is her reply: Anyhow, you know that i lived in lebanon for 4yrs…
Despite the reappointment/disappointment of Karami back to the position of prime minister, several fantastic developments have occurred today. Like always, let’s begin with Hizb’allah. First of all, the European Parliament has finally designated them as a terrorist group. Christmas was a few months ago, but better late than never! European legislators on Thursday branded the…
Click here to see what I mean. Well, unless you’re at work. Here is another good picture that is more work safe.
A lot has unfolded since the last roundup. There have been massive demonstrations organized by Hizb’allah, the deposed Prime Minister has just signed back on, Syria is quickening its pullout, and the U.S. is beginning to accept that Hizb’allah can’t be taken out of the picture yet. As I have said over and over, where…
Although Robert will be doing a lengthy Lebanon post later, I thought that the latest maneuver by Emile Lahoud and the Syrian regime warranted an early post. Lebanese President Emile Lahoud is said ready to re-designate outgoing Premier Karami (who resigned in the face of protests) to form a new pro-Syrian government: The re-designation is…