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Lebanon: Hijacking the Cedars’ March to Freedom

Anwar Wazen - 10/31/2005

A fallacy has been promoted by Druze chieftain Walid Jumblatt, the Hariri family, their TV station and their other media outlets pretending that the crowds of Lebanese that flocked to Liberty square on March 14 did so because they wanted to know the truth about the crime perpetrated against ex- prime minister Rafik Hariri.

There is no doubt that the anger that motivated one and a half million Lebanese to gather in downtown Beirut was something more than the shocking crime. You didn’t need to be a Lebanese genius to guess who the suspects were in instigating, planning and executing this heinous crime. Judge D. Mehlis and his professional team confirmed what we suspected then - Syria’s Ba'athist regime and its thugs most probably had a hand in the murder of two Presidents of Lebanon, the Mufti and other religious dignitaries, Kamal Jumblatt (who opposed the presence of the Syrian army way back in 1976), the outspoken journalists, polticians and other dissidents in Lebanon and Syria.

The same regime most probably killed Rafik Hariri and 21 of his associates and bodyguards, as well innocent bystanders in a terrorist crime wave reminiscent of the “Godfather” movie.

Rafik Hariri was no saint, even though he was anointed as such by family and friends. The Cedars’ marchers had a message to convey to Hizbollah, the Amal and other pro-Syrian mercenaries who flexed their muscles a week earlier in a demonstration they dubbed “ loyalty and solidarity with Syria”. Few days after the murder of Hariri the father, Hariri the son was given the political mantel to “carry on his father’s project.”

Sa'ad Hariri is a newcomer to Lebanon’s political arena. He needed a political mentor and Walid Jumblatt obliged. Jumblatt is an ex-warlord who never denied that he collaborated and profiteered for years from the same Syrian mafia that assassinated his father Kamal in 1977, and ruled Lebanon in the most brutal and oppressive manner for 29 years. Walid Jumblatt regretted in his eulogy to Syria’s mafia Don Ghazi Kanaan the ”death of a man who did a lot of good for Lebanon” and as usual Jumblatt infatuated many Lebanese by praising his old friend during that infamous press conference.

Sa'ad Hariri controls today's majority of the parliament. He nominated the prime minister of Lebanon, who incidentally was employed by his late father. When he travels, he is received by heads of state, foreign ministers and good old Kofi Annan.

And yet, he recently declared in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia that Hizbolla is his first and foremost strategic ally. It was Hizbollah, the Iranian sponsored party of Allah that organised the March 8th demonstration to show loyalty and solidarity to Syria’s Ba'athist regime that is accused of killing his father.

The statement makes even less sense when we hear that Saad Hariri has committed to the international community the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 sponsored by the US and France, which includes a clause asking to disarm all militias in Lebanon. Hizbollah refuses to disarm and has always rejected UNSCR1559.

Is the young Hariri going to carry on the corruption, graft and bankrupting of the country? Will the free voices that were forced into exile during Syria’s years of hegemony over Lebanon be allowed to come back and contribute in rebuilding a new Lebanon based on respect for human rights, freedom of expression, the right to a free education, healthcare and social welfare or will they find themselves again in a jungle where they will be harassed by the new regime.

These are questions that we are not asking for the sake of embarrassing prime minister, realizing that he is trying his best to walk the tightrope and we must admit that he has been thus far succeeding in his balancing act. We would like to hear from him on the case of our comerades in the Lebanese Kurdish Democratic Party. We hear that the Hariri clan is still pursuing a discriminatory policy vis à vis these brave fellows. Their Leader Abdulkarim Meho cannot return to Lebanon due to a ending court order which completely ignores his right to free expression.

The case was doctored against him by the appointees from Damascus when the country was under Syrian occupation. Mr. Meho was one of the effective loud voices advocating from exile for Lebanon to be free from Syrian hegemony.

And what about the three members of the “The Guardians of the Cedars” party who were imprisoned (they still are) after they held a press conference declaring that Lebanon should withdraw from the Arab League. Is this the type of Democracy and Freedom that we were promised by George W. Bush?

At this critical juncture of our history, Lebanon needs Statesmen and politicians that should be accountable for recklessness, blunders, corruption, greed, nepotism and injustice. Saad Hariri must be vigilant in his promising political career and avoid the pitfalls that his late father did not.