Ayoon wa Azan (The Solution Will Not Fall from the Sky )
Jihad el Khazen Al Hayat - 09/05/08//
Yesterday, 2000 miles away in London, I saw and heard on TV what was happening in Beirut. I beheld developments reminiscent of the 1975 period.
I do not want to put myself in a position where I would be forced to choose between the government, the Lebanese legitimacy, and Hezbollah, the resistance. If I had to choose, I would stand by the legitimacy and the resistance alike. However, I feel that the Lebanese citizen's choices are limited, if not non-existent.
I was a supporter of the resistance against Israel. I still am today, and will be tomorrow, period! However, I have something to complain about.
I am writing this article prior to Hassan Nassrallah's scheduled press conference. If I were to give him an advice or ask him for a favor, I would urge him to reassure the Lebanese about their future, to assert that Hezbollah was not a State within a State, that it did not want that role in the first place, and that the conflict was of political nature not a prelude to another civil war or a war between Sunnis and Shiites in particular.
The recent explosion was not instantaneous: The mutual stubbornness must have convinced the opposition that it would not achieve its demands through sit-ins, hence the escalation. However, in my opinion, the escalation will not do any good, because it will be mutual. Lebanon's modern history has but one lesson to offer: The intestinal wars in Lebanon cannot end with a winner and a loser.
After the sit-in in downtown Beirut, Nassrallah promised his supporters a second (divine) victory, as I recall. General Michael Aoun also warned the ministers that they would not have time to collect their papers before leaving their offices. Yet, this did not happen. Hezbollah must look for a solution, because the destruction of the country, after the destruction of the commercial souks, is not in his or anyone's interest.
We all make mistakes. But most importantly, we must not stubbornly stick to them. Yesterday's demonstrators and rioters and the protesters before them must have realized, from the start, that their challenge, which took the form of a confrontation with the Serail, was perceived as a confrontation between a Shiite-led opposition and a Sunni-led government. I heard Sunni leaders complain in private meetings that Shiites were trying to rob them of what they had gained in the Taef Accord.
Yesterday, Tariq el Jdideh, Basta and Msaitbeh were the scene of shooting and friction. Is this how the street translates the political competition between the two Muslim confessions? Who guarantees that an unintentional spark will not ignite another war?
Ever since Emile Lahoud left the presidential palace at the end of his term, we lost a middle point in the confrontation between the two parties to the conflict. General Aoun could have filled that gap and built bridges between the two parties. However, he favored extremism. As a result, the language of dialogue faltered amidst accusations of treason and attempts to dictate solutions. At a time when bones of contention piled up, the original discussion was about the resistance, its weapons and the international tribunal. Now, we are talking about the president (and tomorrow about the Army Commander if the situation persists as it is till fall), a national unity government, an election law and the airport's highway even.
Undoubtedly, Hassan Nassrallah is one of the smartest leaders. I know that he cannot and does not want to exit his coalition with Iran through Syria. However, he can ease the hardships of many Lebanese who are harmed by the sit-in for no wrongdoing committed on their part. I know that Fouad Siniora is one of the most patient Lebanese persons, but patience is a virtue and not a solution. Perhaps the government failed to reach mutually agreed upon common denominators with Hezbollah. Perhaps the superior authoritative language adopted by some Hezbollah officials scared away the government and its supporters (I did an Arabic test for Amro Moussa and he passed with flying colors. Perhaps the MP who advised him to learn Arabic made a mistake and wanted him to learn Persian).
I do not know the solutions, but I know how they are aborted. The rupture between the two parties to the conflict is the height of negativity, only if we assume that solutions are possible in the first place! There has been a time when Nassrallah was in constant contact with Rafic Hariri, exchanging ideas and solving problems. Today, all dialogue channels are closed between Nassrallah and Saad Hariri. The meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri is itself in need of a dialogue, before reaching the other dialogue.
In other words, if one side in Lebanon thinks he can impose his stance on the other, then this will not only be bad politics but suicidal politics or madness, whose price will be borne by the party that risks the future of his country, along with the whole country.
Once again, I will always support Hezbollah (and Syria too) against Israel. However, I find that Hezbollah is more skilled in resistance than in politics. I also warn the government that patience alone does not mean a thing: The solution will not fall from the sky or come from any country on Earth. It starts among the Lebanese, and then the others will help make it work.
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