Electronic Lebanon

Rights group calls for law banning sectarian incitement



BEIRUT, 20 May (IRIN) - Lebanon needs a new law banning sectarian prejudice and incitement, to help heal rifts that widened after last week’s fighting between opposition and pro-government forces, the Beirut-based Khiam Rehabilitation Centre said. The Khiam Centre’s call for such a law was made against a backdrop of fears among citizens that, unless checked, sectarian incitement might unleash another wave of killings as in the 1975-1990 civil war which had serious humanitarian consequences. 

In the wake of the Doha truce



With the army deployed throughout key areas, Lebanese citizens once again resumed their everyday activities under the more familiar conditions of a devastated environment, massive traffic jams, unregulated construction and urban planning, electricity and water shortages, state-sponsored theft or abuse of public lands and resources, rising poverty, inflation and unemployment, and one of the worst budget deficits per capita in the world. The illusion of normalcy has returned for the time being but the real question is: for how long? Karim Makdisi comments from Beirut. 

Army "under tremendous pressure" but still united



BEIRUT, 13 May (IRIN) - The army’s pledge to use force if necessary to impose law and order puts the only fully functioning national institution into the centre of Lebanon’s violent crisis. But although strained, analysts say the military remains united. “There is no civil authority in the country now, so the army is under tremendous pressure,” said Timor Goksell, a security expert and former spokesman of UN peacekeeping forces who coordinate with the military in south Lebanon. 

Washington rallies behind embattled Lebanese government



WASHINGTON, 12 May (IPS) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pledged her administration’s support for the Lebanese government Friday in the aftermath of Hizballah’s takeover of West Beirut, accusing the Iranian-backed group of “killing innocent civilians” in a bid to “protect their state-within-a-state.” Three days of intense clashes between government and opposition supporters last week left at least 18 people dead and 38 wounded 

Lebanon violence moves outside of Beirut



BEIRUT, 12 May (IRIN) - Sporadic clashes between pro- and anti-government forces continued on 12 May in areas around the northern port city of Tripoli and the eastern Bekaa Valley as the Arab League announced mediators would arrive in Beirut on 14 May. A security official reported Shia Hizballah gunmen had clashed with supporters of the government around Masnaa, the main border crossing into Syria in the Bekaa valley. 

Bush tour diminished by Hizballah show of force



WASHINGTON, 12 May (IPS) - While this week’s trip by US President George W. Bush to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt was never conceived as a triumphant “victory lap” around the region, the swift rout of US-backed forces by Lebanon’s Hizballah Friday has provided yet another vivid illustration of the rapid decline in Washington’s influence in the Middle East during his tenure. 

The time zones of Lebanon



This is what I have to say about the latest series of political speeches in Lebanon: Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah speaks as if there is no future, but March 14 government coalition leaders Walid Jumblat, Saad Hariri and Fouad Siniora speak as if there is no past. For Nasrallah, the past performance and actions of the Loyalists is the only reference point. Rami Zurayk writes from Beirut. 

Hizballah, in opposition, takes charge



BEIRUT, 10 May (IPS) - At least 11 people are dead and 30 injured during ferocious gun battles pitting opposition Shia Amal and Hizballah fighters against members of the Sunni Future Movement, which is part of the majority March 14 alliance in government. As the opposition’s militia men clamped down on government headquarters, the balance of power seems to have been shifted permanently in the Land of the Cedars. 

Lebanon in crisis: an interview with editor Samah Idriss



Lebanon is currently facing a major political crisis, as armed battles have erupted in multiple districts of Beirut between pro-government and opposition forces forces led the Lebanese resistance movement Hizballah. Hizballah-led opposition forces took control of West Beirut, and handed certain areas over to the Lebanese army as the political standoff in the country continues. Stefan Christoff speaks with editor Samah Idriss in Beirut about the tense situation in Lebanon. 

Battle for Beirut



BEIRUT, 9 May (IRIN) - Everyone kept insisting it was not a civil war, but jumping for cover as a rocket-propelled grenade slammed into the apartment block beside us, and masked gunmen fired deafening salvos across the road dividing Sunni and Shia neighborhoods of Beirut, it certainly felt like it. “It is impossible for Shia to shoot on Sunnis,” insisted a military commander of Shia opposition group Amal, allied with Shia resistance group Hizballah.