Berri master of thuggery with distinction

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A LEBANESE adage says that as long as hearts are full of hatred, it makes no difference whether you commit a mistake or not.

The Lebanese rejected all forms of thuggery blackmail by the supporters of Nabih Berri’s movement in response to the words of Lebanese Foreign Minister and Chairperson of the National Freedom Movement Jubran Basel which the former deemed offensive.

This populace rejection is a clear manifestation of what is in the hearts of Lebanese across the social spectrum, including Shias, in terms of condemning attitude towards the terrorism duo of ‘Hezbollah’ and ‘Amal’ movement which hijacked the decision of Shias and are striving to arrogate the decision of the entire country.

Therefore, it is obvious that the terrorism duo were waiting for a slip of the tongue to instigate vengeance instincts when they used weapons in the corridors of Beirut in retaliation for words which the political circles in Lebanon are accustomed to.

The same applies to the duo when Beirut’s newspapers quoted Berri’s deputy, the minister of finance, as saying, “We will not allow the existence of duos in our confrontation.” This vengeance tendency aims to light up Lebanon in a new blackmail attempt for the movement (Amal) to continue its political domination.

The reason behind all this can be traced from the series of events witnessed last year in the Lebanese political scene and the regional developments – either the shrinking of Iran’s influence on Iraq, Syria and Yemen or the recent Iranian uprising which targeted the current regime in Iran.

Prior to this, there was the Lebanese populace uprising on the street dubbed as “incubating environment for ‘Hezbollah’ and ‘Amal’ Movement.” This came after the scene of caskets coming from Syria transformed to aggrieve Lebanese Shias who saw their children getting killed in a conflict that they have nothing to gain from.

For the past four decades, Berri has been concealing his militia cloak under the parliamentary speakership cloak as he imposed taxes and exploited establishments for him to build a family financial empire at the expense of the Lebanese; thereby, impoverishing them further.

However, when he realized he is under threat in his own turf and after Iran’s funding dwindled due to the Iranian populace demand to suspend spending of billions outside; he resorted to alternating crises in recent months, up to a point where he declared he does not recognize the Lebanese judicial system saying, “Only the weak resort to the judiciary.”

Taking arms against a political ally and the events on the streets of Beirut like riots and threats would have been anticipated by any analyst of Lebanon’s affairs.

In fact, Berri’s delayed launching of the assault was surprising due to his desperate attempt to preserve status quo in the new formation which has started to crystallize between the Maronite-Sunni coalition, backed by the third force of Shia that rejected Iranian domination.

What happened in the last two days in Beirut was the new episode of emancipating the Lebanese from captivity.

Furthermore, for the foreign minister, who is considered an ally of ‘Hezbollah’ and presumed partner of that group in dominating Shia’s decision, to be described as a ‘thug’ means the fall of redlines in remaining silent over practices which made the world look at Lebanon as a hub of terrorism and corruption.

Hence, when the allies of Berri among MPs and politicians threatened the rest of Lebanese and described the ongoing fracas on the streets as a natural reaction to political talk; they made themselves forget that Berri himself used shameful words to describe the Republic president and he did the same to the prime minister.

However at the time, the matter did not escalate to firing guns and closing of streets. This means the one being called ‘master’ has proven to be the master of thuggery with distinction, and as the adage goes, “A guilty conscience needs no accuser.”

All that is left to be said is whatever transpired in the past four months plus what happened in the last two days, signal the end of the major arrogation operation which Lebanon has never witnessed in the past half century.

Arrogation is manifested in holding captive an entire sect in a cell where the two wardens, ‘Amal’ and ‘Hezb al-sheitan’, do it alternately. This is the start of the emancipation of the country which has been devastated by some gang leaders working for foreign interests. After that, it returns to Arabic identity and sense of belongingness.

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah – Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

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