Asala Nasri And The Banana Republic: Lebanon, Without Sovereignty Of Any Kind, A Hostage To Its Militias
07 October 2014
By Abdulrahman Al-Rashed
Because the Syrian government is angry with Syrian
singer and celebrity Asala Nasri, Lebanese authorities
have detained her, revoked her passport and prevented
her from traveling. These actions, taken on behalf of
the government of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and
to the benefit of Iran, have become commonplace
recently in Lebanon. An Iranian–Ahwazi opposition
figure was previously kidnapped in Lebanon with his
whereabouts still unknown, and Syrian opposition
figures have also disappeared in Lebanon, while others
have been handed over to Syrian authorities. These are
not the only victims of the foreign exploitation of
Lebanon's weaknesses; residents of Lebanese towns
along the borders with Syria have also suffered due to
the Syrian army's violations and attacks. When the
Syrian regime's capabilities were restricted, it
tasked Hezbollah with attacking these towns on its
behalf, just as it is doing in Arsal, and tightening
the grip on Syrian refugees, who are now being killed
in cold blood on the streets of Beirut.
"Lebanese authorities" and "Lebanese army" are empty
expressions which can mean whatever various sub-groups
within these two institutions want them to, or simply
to act as a facade for some groups that run their own
affairs or serve foreign agendas, especially those of
the Iranian and Syrian regimes. Involving the Lebanese
army in skirmishes orchestrated by Hezbollah and the
Syrian regime in Arsal and turning it into a scapegoat
proves there are attempts to turn Lebanon into a
slaughterhouse for brutal forces who don't respect
international agreements and conventions.
The world has run out of patience with terrorist
groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
(ISIS), the Al-Nusra Front and Ahrar Al-Sham, which
have all exploited the chaos in Syria. However, these
are not the only groups which have kidnapped and
slaughtered people and committed crimes against
civilians. Historically speaking, Hezbollah
established the school of violence in the region; its
horrifying record against Arabs and foreigners dates
back to the 1980s. A prominent example is Hezbollah's
abduction and murder of CIA officer William Francis
Buckley in 1984 while he was en route to the American
embassy in Beirut. This was followed by dozens of
other crimes, such as the kidnapping of priests
Lawrence Jenco, Nicolas Kaulitzer and Terry Waite,
British citizen Geoffrey Nash, and British businessman
Alec Collett. Hezbollah also targeted France with
explosions and kidnapped French diplomat Marcel Carton
and his bodyguard in Beirut, demanding a ransom. It
also demanded a halt to the armament of Iraq and to
dealings with the People's Mujahedin of Iran. Isn't
this exactly what ISIS is doing and exactly why the
world has decided to pursue it?
Hezbollah's violations have not stopped; it continues
to kidnap opposition figures, kill intellectual
politicians and intimidate media institutions. The
difference between the Sunni ISIS and the Shi'ite
ISIS—that is, Hezbollah—is that the former widely
diffuses videos of its crimes.
Syria wants Lebanon to remain a banana republic,
without sovereignty of any kind, a hostage to its
militias. It wants the presidential vacuum in Beirut
to continue, and to keep using Lebanon's army and its
security institutions for its own ends. And as we have
seen in the case of Asala, it is a mark of Syria's
deficiencies that it has to resort to using affiliated
Lebanese institutions to detain artists and pursue
media figures.
Al Rashed is
the general manager of Al -Arabiya television. He is
also the former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al- Awsat,
and the leading Arabic weekly magazine, Al Majalla. He
is also a senior Columnist in the daily newspapers of
Al Madina and Al Bilad. He is a US post-graduate
degree in mass communications. He has been a guest on
many TV current affairs programs. He is currently
based in Dubai.
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EsinIslam.Com
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