Squandered Opportunity

The more things change, the more they stay the same. This is especially true in Lebanon. In the time immediately after the death of the former Prime Minister Rafic Al Hariri, the Opposition and the citizens of Lebanon were all united in their desire to see real and tangible change in Lebanon. They were united in wanting Lebanon to be free of Syrian oppression. It seemed as though Lebanon was finally going to be free, finally going to realize its potential as a free and sovereign nation.

That was then, this unfortunately is now. With the anniversary of the assassination in less than two weeks (at this writing), the Opposition has splintered leaving the citizens who believed in them twisting in the wind. Not a single politician stuck to the promises they made during their many long winded speeches. Words are empty without action and once again the old guard in Lebanon has proven why they desperately need to be replaced.

Instead of a unified government working for the good of the whole country, we have politicians with the same mentality they have always had (the one that says ME FIRST), we have heroes turned traitors, we have people without leaders, we have violence breaking out between factions. In other words, we have a mess that will quickly turn into a catastrophe if not nipped in the bud.

Gebran Tueni’s death was the latest in a long line of tragic murders to hit Lebanon. After his death, it seemed like perhaps the Opposition was going to get it together again and begin to be cohesive. Unfortunately, that only lasted long enough for the press to get a good sound bite for the news. Once media attention waned, so did the co-operation of the Opposition members.

Making matters worse is the fact that the problems between the Politicians are spilling over into their supporters. Just last week supporters of Aoun and supporters of Geagea clashed in Jbeil with a clash between supporters of Hariri and the Amal Movement following soon after at the Lebanese University. Luckily, no one was seriously injured in these clashes but the point is they should never have happened. The Politicians should be loudly condemning any and all clashes between their supporters but instead, they are all strangely quiet.

Lebanon is at a great cross roads in it’s history right now. We are being presented with the opportunity to truly run our own country. We are being presented with the opportunity to live freely and in peace. Let’s not squander the opportunity and let’s not allow our politicians to squander it.

New Comment Method

Hi All,

Blogger's comment screen was having some problems so I have moved to using Haloscan. Unfortunately, the move has erased all of the comments I had so be assured that any new commentary is welcome.

Thanks

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Need a Renter?

Good Evening Lovely Readers:

Does anyone have a couch I can rent until our next election?

VOTE VOTE VOTE

To all my Canadian readers:

VOTE. This election is crucial. It is going to be the difference between living with a right wing government with a majority (i.e. hell) and living with a right wing minority who will not be able to roll back the clock 500 years or so with their "morality" and their version of correct living.

At this stage, we have no hope of a Liberal majority (not that they deserve one) and the NDP are not main players.

Voting is a duty and a hard earned right. People died so we could vote freely and fairly.

On January 23rd, please go out and cast your vote.

"The declarations of Mr Welch are a new attempt aimed at increasing the morale of anti-Syrian forces who are opposed to the stability of Lebanon," said a Syrian official, quoted by the state news agency Sana.

The only people opposed to the stability of Lebanon are the Syrians and their left-over lapdogs in Lebanon. This statement is a load of bullshit.

From Heroism to Infamy

What can one say about Hizballah’s heroism that has not yet been said? How does one then explain their rapid-fire fall from grace? How does one explain that Lebanon’s heroes have become a thorn in our side and worse: traitors. How are we as Lebanese to reconcile the images that we are seeing of the 5 MP’s walking out of parliament and stopping the governing of the country with the images of the men who saved part of it?
Hizballah’s fall from grace started on February 14, 2005 with the murder of Rafiq Al Hariri. When Lebanese of all stripes took to the street, Hizballah stayed strangely silent. They did however break that silence once demonstrations started to demand an end to the Syrian presence in Lebanon. Not only did they break the silence, they called on all of their supporters to take to the streets in support of Syria. That’s right. In support of a country that has occupied us, arrested our men, stolen our resources and a good percentage of our GDP and generally abused us. One of the first things that was said at the rally was: "We are here to thank Syria which has stayed by our side for many years….”. What exactly are they thanking them for? Choosing our governing officials? Stealing from the country? Arbitrary arrests of anyone who said a word in opposition?
For those of us who have always believed in Hizballah, this comes as a mortal blow. These are our heroes. They liberated the 25-mile zone and now they are betraying us in the worst way. It is understandable that Hizballah is not a fan of UN resolution 1559 but this is not the right way to express their displeasure with aspects of it. Apologists for Hizballah point to their Iranian connection and Iran’s stand with Syria. Hizballah’s first allegiance should be to Lebanon not Syria. If they cannot do this then perhaps they need to rethink their geographical location.
For the five members of Parliament (duly elected to serve the citizenry of Lebanon) to walk out because of a motion to ask for international aid to investigate the series of bombings plaguing Lebanon and robbing us of our leaders is absolutely unacceptable. We all know Syria is behind the bombings, we just need to prove it and an international investigation is the only way we can hope to do that. There is no way an investigation could be carried out in Lebanon without attempted Syrian interference and/or intimidation. Hizballah is feeling the heat. Hassan Nasrallah has done interviews that appear to be defending Hizballah’s position on the issue of Syria. Hizballah need to make a decision. They need to decide if they are with us or against us. If they are against us, they need to leave. NOW.