Sunday, March 27, 2005
Freedom's march
Partly inspired by this article questioning what, exactly, prompted the protests in Lebanon, I and the poorly trained monkeys at Blogoland went on something of a hunt to determine whether there was some sort of pent-up need for freedom's sweet kiss, courtesy of the Americans. Following is a sample of articles prior to the Most Important Event In the History of the World, the Iraqi elections:
[LATER UPDATE: Note esp. this line in the "Middle East Review" from 2002: "It looked as if the anti-Syrian activism was actually paying off. Al- Assad ordered a redeployment of Syrian troops in Lebanon, pulling soldiers from Beirut and other highly visible parts of the country, including Christian enclaves. While the redeployment made international news, it did nothing to change the actual power dynamic in the country." Does this sound familiar?]
-- BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 19, 2004 -- Thousands of mainly Christian students demonstrated in Beirut's streets Friday to protest the presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon. The march was organized to mark Independence Day. "Syria out of Lebanon," read one of the banners hoisted by the protesters who shouted anti-Syria slogans such as, "Put an end to Syrian occupation."Muslim leftist parties also staged a sit-in Friday to protest violations of the constitution and public freedoms committed by the pro-Syrian regime of President Emile Lahoud. They were mainly protesting the amendment to the constitution at Syria's behest allowing the extension of Lahoud's mandate by three years. The Syrian army was dispatched to Lebanon in 1976 as part of a pan-Arab deterrence force to end Lebanese civil strife, which continued until 1990.
-- BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 28, 2004 -- Protesters angered by high gasoline prices blocked roads with burning tires in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday, but both sides seemed eager to avoid the bloodshed that claimed six lives a day earlier.Hundreds of demonstrators took over streets in Hay al-Soulom, a low-income suburb, but there was no shooting or stone-throwing Friday and soldiers kept their distance from demonstrators.A day earlier, soldiers had fired on the protesters, killing five and wounding more than 30 people in Lebanon's worst civil unrest in more than a decade. A civil defense firefighter also died after being hit by gunfire.
-- BEIRUT, Lebanon, March 12 (UPI) HEADLINE: Lebanon Christians slam Syria presence --Hundreds of Christian followers of exiled Lebanese Gen. Michel Aoun demonstrated in Beirut Friday against the Syrian military presence in Lebanon.The protesters clashed with riot police in the city's business district as they chanted anti-Syrian slogans and called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon. Police used water hoses and clubs to disperse the protesters who staged their demonstration despite a government ban.Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement issued a statement denouncing police violence against the demonstrators, mostly university students, claiming that many were wounded and arrested.Aoun, former army commander and Syria's staunchest opponent in Lebanon, has been living in exile in Paris since 1991 after he was ousted in a thrust on his headquarters in Christian east Beirut by Syrian-backed leftist and mainly Muslim Lebanese militias.The thrust put an end to the 1975-90 Lebanese civil strife.
--BEIRUT, Lebanon, March 27, 2003 (UPI) -- Thousands demonstrated throughout Lebanon Thursday, with many gathering near the U.S. Embassy to demand Arab countries expel U.S. ambassadors. A large group of anti-war protesters headed to the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy in Beirut's eastern suburbs of Awkar, shouting: "U.S. ambassador: Get out of Lebanon" and "Allah Akbar" (God is Great). The protestors, including followers of the militant Hezbollah group, set a U.S. flag on fire and raised placards that read: "Arab masses: Expel U.S. ambassadors."
-- MIDDLE East Review World of Information, October 2, 2002 -- "...Since 2000, there has been growing opposition to Syria's role in Lebanon, a role which includes the presence of 25,000 troops. This opposition originated in the Maronite community, the country's largest Christian sect. Both the Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir and Gebran Tueni, the publisher of Lebanon's most respected daily paper, An-Nahar, have called on the redeployment of Syrian troops to the Beka'a and eventually out of Lebanon in accordance with the 1989 Taif Accord, the treaty which, after two further years of fighting, ended the civil war.This call also resonated with non-Christians such as Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, whose father Kamal was murdered at Syria's behest in 1977. In May 2001, Jumblatt, along with some other 1,400 other prominent personalities - including Muslims (mostly Shi'ites) - signed a letter urging the end of the occupation. It looked as if the anti-Syrian activism was actually paying off. Al- Assad ordered a redeployment of Syrian troops in Lebanon, pulling soldiers from Beirut and other highly visible parts of the country, including Christian enclaves. While the redeployment made international news, it did nothing to change the actual power dynamic in the country. Thus, when students staged anti-Syrian demonstrations in Beirut in August 2001, the response was swift. President Emile Lahoud, who owes his office to Syria, sanctioned a security crackdown that saw the protesters beaten and hauled off to jail. Al-Assad ordered more tanks and soldiers into Lebanon."
--BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, November 23, 2000 -- On the eve of the 57th anniversary of independence, peaceful sit-ins were staged in a number of locations in Lebanon areas in which several thousands of students and other citizens participated. Most of them raised slogans opposing the Syrian military presence in Lebanon. The biggest sit-in was staged in the Al-Mathaf area at the invitation of [former Lebanese army commander now exiled in France] Michel Awn's faction and some left-wing parties. The sit-in was joined by the students of the Lebanese University, the American University, and the St Joseph University as well as students from dozens of secondary schools. The protesters, who were encircled by army and security forces, raised flags and placards calling for real independence and sovereignty and for the departure of the Syrian army from Lebanon. They stressed that the Lebanese army should be in charge of security. No incidents occurred.
UPDATE: And how could we have missed this article on the recent spate of bombings in Beirut aimed at the Maronite Christians? I'm sure the wingers will insist that everyone give Bush credit for this development, too.
[LATER UPDATE: Note esp. this line in the "Middle East Review" from 2002: "It looked as if the anti-Syrian activism was actually paying off. Al- Assad ordered a redeployment of Syrian troops in Lebanon, pulling soldiers from Beirut and other highly visible parts of the country, including Christian enclaves. While the redeployment made international news, it did nothing to change the actual power dynamic in the country." Does this sound familiar?]
-- BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 19, 2004 -- Thousands of mainly Christian students demonstrated in Beirut's streets Friday to protest the presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon. The march was organized to mark Independence Day. "Syria out of Lebanon," read one of the banners hoisted by the protesters who shouted anti-Syria slogans such as, "Put an end to Syrian occupation."Muslim leftist parties also staged a sit-in Friday to protest violations of the constitution and public freedoms committed by the pro-Syrian regime of President Emile Lahoud. They were mainly protesting the amendment to the constitution at Syria's behest allowing the extension of Lahoud's mandate by three years. The Syrian army was dispatched to Lebanon in 1976 as part of a pan-Arab deterrence force to end Lebanese civil strife, which continued until 1990.
-- BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 28, 2004 -- Protesters angered by high gasoline prices blocked roads with burning tires in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday, but both sides seemed eager to avoid the bloodshed that claimed six lives a day earlier.Hundreds of demonstrators took over streets in Hay al-Soulom, a low-income suburb, but there was no shooting or stone-throwing Friday and soldiers kept their distance from demonstrators.A day earlier, soldiers had fired on the protesters, killing five and wounding more than 30 people in Lebanon's worst civil unrest in more than a decade. A civil defense firefighter also died after being hit by gunfire.
-- BEIRUT, Lebanon, March 12 (UPI) HEADLINE: Lebanon Christians slam Syria presence --Hundreds of Christian followers of exiled Lebanese Gen. Michel Aoun demonstrated in Beirut Friday against the Syrian military presence in Lebanon.The protesters clashed with riot police in the city's business district as they chanted anti-Syrian slogans and called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon. Police used water hoses and clubs to disperse the protesters who staged their demonstration despite a government ban.Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement issued a statement denouncing police violence against the demonstrators, mostly university students, claiming that many were wounded and arrested.Aoun, former army commander and Syria's staunchest opponent in Lebanon, has been living in exile in Paris since 1991 after he was ousted in a thrust on his headquarters in Christian east Beirut by Syrian-backed leftist and mainly Muslim Lebanese militias.The thrust put an end to the 1975-90 Lebanese civil strife.
--BEIRUT, Lebanon, March 27, 2003 (UPI) -- Thousands demonstrated throughout Lebanon Thursday, with many gathering near the U.S. Embassy to demand Arab countries expel U.S. ambassadors. A large group of anti-war protesters headed to the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy in Beirut's eastern suburbs of Awkar, shouting: "U.S. ambassador: Get out of Lebanon" and "Allah Akbar" (God is Great). The protestors, including followers of the militant Hezbollah group, set a U.S. flag on fire and raised placards that read: "Arab masses: Expel U.S. ambassadors."
-- MIDDLE East Review World of Information, October 2, 2002 -- "...Since 2000, there has been growing opposition to Syria's role in Lebanon, a role which includes the presence of 25,000 troops. This opposition originated in the Maronite community, the country's largest Christian sect. Both the Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir and Gebran Tueni, the publisher of Lebanon's most respected daily paper, An-Nahar, have called on the redeployment of Syrian troops to the Beka'a and eventually out of Lebanon in accordance with the 1989 Taif Accord, the treaty which, after two further years of fighting, ended the civil war.This call also resonated with non-Christians such as Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, whose father Kamal was murdered at Syria's behest in 1977. In May 2001, Jumblatt, along with some other 1,400 other prominent personalities - including Muslims (mostly Shi'ites) - signed a letter urging the end of the occupation. It looked as if the anti-Syrian activism was actually paying off. Al- Assad ordered a redeployment of Syrian troops in Lebanon, pulling soldiers from Beirut and other highly visible parts of the country, including Christian enclaves. While the redeployment made international news, it did nothing to change the actual power dynamic in the country. Thus, when students staged anti-Syrian demonstrations in Beirut in August 2001, the response was swift. President Emile Lahoud, who owes his office to Syria, sanctioned a security crackdown that saw the protesters beaten and hauled off to jail. Al-Assad ordered more tanks and soldiers into Lebanon."
--BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, November 23, 2000 -- On the eve of the 57th anniversary of independence, peaceful sit-ins were staged in a number of locations in Lebanon areas in which several thousands of students and other citizens participated. Most of them raised slogans opposing the Syrian military presence in Lebanon. The biggest sit-in was staged in the Al-Mathaf area at the invitation of [former Lebanese army commander now exiled in France] Michel Awn's faction and some left-wing parties. The sit-in was joined by the students of the Lebanese University, the American University, and the St Joseph University as well as students from dozens of secondary schools. The protesters, who were encircled by army and security forces, raised flags and placards calling for real independence and sovereignty and for the departure of the Syrian army from Lebanon. They stressed that the Lebanese army should be in charge of security. No incidents occurred.
UPDATE: And how could we have missed this article on the recent spate of bombings in Beirut aimed at the Maronite Christians? I'm sure the wingers will insist that everyone give Bush credit for this development, too.
Permalink posted by Jonathan : 6:43 AM
