The Lebanese military
positions itself as protector of a nationwide protest movement that has taken
aim at every political party, including Hezbollah
ALISON TAHMIZIAN MEUSE
The leadership of the Lebanese
armed forces was carefully gauging a nationwide protest movement on Tuesday —
as ruling political factions scrambled to contain a massive eruption of
discontent.
A video showing Lebanese
soldiers forcefully stopping dozens of young men on mopeds – purported
supporters of the Shiite party Hezbollah and its ally Amal – from attacking
protesters in central Beirut late Monday night, went viral on social media,
spreading from mobile phones to the airwaves.
Hezbollah quickly refuted any
link to the group, seen waving their party flags and heard shouting expletives
against the uprising in a thuggish display more characteristic of Amal (which
also denied participation).
But the confrontation was
quickly characterized as a critical intervention on behalf of the
overwhelmingly peaceful movement, earning the praise of television presenters,
social media influencers, and even a DJ playing music for the protesters.
The army had earlier pledged
to protect the protesters, who have taken to the streets in the geographic
bastions of every major Lebanese political faction in the country and likely
have topped one million in total – or a quarter of the population of
the country.
“There was always going to be
a key test: what would the [army] do if elements – including Hezbollah –
decided to take provocative street actions,” said Aram Nerguizian, a specialist
on civil-military relations in Arab states at the Carnegie Middle East Center.
The composition of, and
support for the Lebanese army, cuts across sectarian lines, and it is seen as a
clean institution in comparison to the corrupt political class. It also enjoys
the backing of the United States.
“There is little doubt that
the [army] may be called upon to act in favor of civil peace again, and
decisively,” said Nerguizian.
The army is already deeply
involved in managing and monitoring the situation, with “all operational units
currently involved in internal stability operations.”
Beyond Nasrallah
Hezbollah leader Hassan
Nasrallah, whose group represents the most powerful armed force in the country,
on Saturday gave a televised speech expressing empathy with the protesters, but
also arguing early elections would be futile and that the current government
should remain.
“Should we swap some names for
others? At the end of the day it will still be the same political forces behind
them,” he said.
Instead, he called on his
allies to enact swift reforms and respond in a significant way to the protests.
His party, he warned, does not seek to get involved, but will do so if
necessary.
“If we take that decision to
take to the streets, the country will take a different direction,” Nasrallah
said. “We are a big party and our movement is not insignificant.”
“Hopefully this time does not
come,” he said.
The current protests broke out
on Thursday when mostly young and poor Lebanese – angry at new taxes on
gasoline and the free internet calling service Whatsapp, the nation’s default
phone plan – shut down key intersections in and around the capital.
Demonstrators burned tires,
couches, and anything they could find, bringing the country to a standstill by
Friday – and compelling schools, banks and businesses to shut their doors in
the face of a mushrooming movement.
By the weekend, hundreds of
thousands of people of all economic and religious backgrounds had taken to the
streets of Beirut and cities across the country, from Tripoli in the north to
Nabatiyeh in the south, calling for the departure of their ruling political
dynasties and an end to endemic corruption.
The last time Lebanon saw
protests of this scale was in 2005 when hundreds of thousands demanded an end
to Syrian occupation. But that was a highly polarized movement, according
to Karim Makdisi, director of the Pubic Policy and International Affairs
program at American University in Beirut.
“There was no Shiite
representation to speak of, or that mattered … and it was very much centered on
Beirut,” he told Asia Times.
Nasrallah’s words, while read
as a warning by many, may represent an acknowledgment by the powerful leader
that he may not be able to keep his own supporters home indefinitely, Makdisi
said.
“This may get beyond even
Hassan Nasrallah … Or we may be close to this point, and he’s read it well.”
“He’s telling those in power:
‘Look, I may not be able to control my people much longer,’” Makdisi added.
All of them
On Saturday night in Baalbek,
under the gaze of Nasrallah’s image, a small but spirited demonstration of
several hundred people called for the “fall of the regime.”
“My daughter is in a private
school because we have no good public schools. My nephew has special needs and
there is no school for him in Baalbek,” said Diana Felaha, 33, whose husband
held their young daughter on his shoulders.
Asked whether any party was
clear of responsibility for the situation of the country, she told Asia Times
emphatically: “No, no, no.”
“The whole system needs to
change from its roots: the parliamentarians, the ministers, everyone. We don’t
want a sectarian system.”
“All of them means all of
them,” said another demonstrator, Mohammed Arafat, borrowing a protest phrase
referencing political leaders that were previously untouchable.
Arafat, a student at the
Lebanese American University in Beirut said he had returned home to Baalbek to
witness the movement in his home city, the largest in the economically
repressed Beqaa Valley.
“Lots of my friends are here,
and they elect those politicians,” he said, referring to the leaders of Amal
and Hezbollah, the dominant political forces in the city. “They’re fed up …
it’s amazing.”
Still others stayed home.
A resident of a western Bekaa
Valley village loyal to Hezbollah said he believed the protesters, despite
their very real economic grievances, were unwittingly serving as a tool of the
United States, which he put on par with corruption in terms of responsibility
for the current crisis.
Washington has mounted
pressure on Lebanon’s financial system in recent months as part of its economic
campaign against Iran, leading to a rush to change accounts from Lebanese
currency into US dollars or to transfer money out of the country.
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