Ayoon Wa Azan (Errors and crimes in Lebanon)

Day after day, I look around me, I read, and I follow developments on television, and say to myself that the Arab situation cannot possibly get any worse. But each new day proves me wrong. In Lebanon, they destroyed the economy, drove away tourists, and imported the wars of others to their country. So how can it get any worse? Well, they are now killing soldiers. The Lebanese army is synonymous to a free and independent Lebanon. Its soldiers are in their prime, and its officers are perhaps the most cultivated in the region and maybe the world. Most of them are trained abroad, in France, Britain, and the United States, in addition to having university degrees and fluency in three languages, Arabic, English, and French. In Lebanon’s modern history, the best president was ‘General’ Fouad Chehab. He worked sincerely for his country, and cleansed the administration from corruption and profiteers. Today, the best serving Lebanese official is the president, ‘General’ Michel Suleiman. He took office not with Syrian support, but with Syrian consent, and yet, the president seems to be the only Lebanese official who is acting independently from any foreign allegiance. (Speaker Nabih Berri comes next in terms of statesmanship and skill in handling crises). In the darkest days of the civil war, no Lebanese faction ever dared ambush the Lebanese army, murdering 16 of its young soldiers and wounding scores others. I had thought that the Lebanese civil war was the worst possible time for Lebanon, but I lived to see the day extremist terrorist ambush soldiers whose function is to fight a foreign enemy, not some misled, mischievous, and even treasonous citizens. Hezbollah is reaping what it sowed. It was the one that chose to boycott moderate Sunnis, and as a result, Hezbollah “succeeded” in creating an extremist Sunni movement, from Tripoli to Sidon and elsewhere. Hezbollah was once the ally of Rafik Hariri, and a partner in his success in the elections and governance. Now, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah refuses to hand over the four members of his party accused of killing Rafik Hariri to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Is this because they killed him and Hezbollah would be convicted with them if they were convicted? Hezbollah is making mistake after mistake, and each error is bigger than the one before. Nevertheless, errors must never be countered with crimes, because what Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir and his supporters did in Sidon was a heinous crime for which they must receive the maximum penalty, first because they deserve it, and second, in order to deter others. To be sure, the army without its prestige becomes the equivalent of a charity. By virtue of my age, I have known Sidon longer than Nasrallah and Assir have. What I remember from the days of civil peace is that the city had a majority of Sunnis and a Christian neighborhood. Today, there is the Saida neighborhood for Shias, who are newcomers to the capital of the south, and vote outside it. Mrs. Bahia Hariri is the MP for Sidon and the best representative of its people. However, she finds herself facing Hezbollah militants roaming the streets of her city, only to be fought off by militants from extremist militias, and then the army is caught in the crossfire between this and that. In the meantime, Saad Hariri has been ejected from Lebanon. He knows that there are those who want to assassinate him if he returns, so I do not blame him for wanting to stay outside the country. Instead, I blame Hezbollah for losing a moderate ally, only to find itself facing militants undeterred by religion, ethics, or intellect. On the other hand, there is Marwan Charbel, the interior minister and former General at the Internal Security Forces, who is cultivated and a champion of civil peace. I will not compare Michel Suleiman, Marwan Charbel, and the officers of the Lebanese Army and its soldiers to the extremist militants. There is no comparison between good and evil, so I pray that God will protect Lebanon. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.