By Dalia Nehme
Beirut - MP Nabil de Freij accused Speaker Nabih Berri of being a “dictator,” saying Parliament’s economic committee had been summoned for a meeting during his absence.

De Freij, in an interview with Naharnet, said Berri ( pictured top right) is “the person most (responsible for) blocking presidential elections in Lebanon.”

“When I was away, Berri summoned the economic committee which I head through (MP) Ali Bazzi,” de Freij said. “And when I asked Bazzi why Berri called for the meeting, he replied by saying: ‘I did not call for the meeting.’”

“They do things that they are ashamed of. Then they lie to cover up their deeds,” he said.

De Freij said Berri’s call for the committee meeting was aimed at directing media attention to “show embassies that he is carrying out his duties in Parliament.”

“Nabih Berri is a dictator. He believes he can cheat the world by using this method, when this is all a lie,” he went on to say.

“Ali Bazzi was the one who signed the paper calling for the committee meetings. This is what I’ve been told,” de Freij said. “Yet, he (Bazzi) denied the matter when I spoke to him.”

De Freij ( pictured right) accused Berri of closing Parliament doors as “part of the scheme aimed at hitting all institutions in Lebanon.”

He said a May 13 parliament session set to elect a president is unlikely to take place because there is no “green light” from Damascus to Lebanon elections.

De Freij believed that the opposition’s main objective was to “amend” the Taef Accord in order to achieve a tripartite distribution of equal shares in a new cabinet that would give the Shiites “more power and influence in return for settling the issue of Hezbollah arms in the future.”

source: Naharnet

Via: Yalibanan

By David Kenner
The war of words between Lebanon’s political leaders has translated
into actual battles on the streets, as Wednesday’s opposition-supported
labor strike quickly devolved into violent clashes and rioting.

With the labor issue apparently pushed off the agenda, unrest has
been stripped down to a contest between the government and Hezbollah,
which the government has accused of trying to stage a coup.

In recent weeks, Hezbollah’s intractability has become the subject
of increased government focus, culminating with the cabinet’s removal
of Hezbollah-linked Brigadier General Wafiq Shqeir from his position as
airport security chief, and the declaration that Hezbollah’s private
communications network is “illegal and unconstitutional,” after a
marathon cabinet session ending early Tuesday.

Hezbollah has given the Siniora government a 48-hour ultimatum to
revoke the decisions. However, the government remains adamant that any
retreat is out of the question.

Today, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will deliver a “historic”
address, at his first press conference in two years. It is possible
Nasrallah will use the podium to attempt a face-saving exit before the
situation fully detonates. However, with so much at stake, it seems far
more likely that Nasrallah’s words will veer in the opposite direction.

Battle of wills

With neither side apparently ready to back down, the situation is
expected to escalate further. In addition to Nasrallah’s press
conference and a continuance of yesterday’s civil disobedience,
opposition workers will reportedly hold protests across the country on
Thursday. One opposition source, speaking on condition of anonymity,
confirmed to NOW Lebanon that, “the protests could possibly continue
for a couple more days.”

This grim assessment was shared by members of the pro-government
coalition. “All indicators at the moment suggest that they are planning
to continue for more than one day,” announced Rami Rayes, a spokesman
for the Progressive Socialist Party, a member of the majority March 14
grouping.

According to Rayes, Wednesday’s protests were part of what he
referred to as Hezbollah’s “mini coup d’etat,” rather than about the
single matter of Brigadier General Shqeir’s removal. “If it was not
Wafiq Shqeir, it [would] have been something else - Hezbollah would
have found a pretext,” he claimed. “They have failed at all political
levels and have now moved on to the next step.”

The Shqeir sacking has put the Party of God in a tricky situation.
Hezbollah has demanded he be reinstated, but if the government stands
firm - as all indications suggest it will - the party could find itself
backed into a corner. Its only option would be yet further escalation,
a move its masters in Iran may be reluctant to allow, especially
without erstwhile allies the Free Patriotic Movement to provide
Hezbollah with pan-sectarian cover.

Indeed, so far, most of the fighting has occurred between Shia
opposition protestors and Sunni government supporters, taking on a
worrying sectarian tone. On Wednesday evening, Grand Mufti of the
Republic Sheikh Mohammad Qabbani appeared on live television denouncing
Hezbollah and its occupation of Beirut. While Qabbani called upon the
opposition to withdraw their gunmen, he also warned that “the Sunnis
are fed up” with Hezbollah practices.

March 8 loses its cover

Lost in the mix has been the opposition’s Christian cover, FPM
leader Michel Aoun and his supporters. While Aoun had previously called
for peaceful demonstrations on Wednesday, the FPM was nearly invisible
on the streets of Beirut. While Hezbollah and Amal supporters protested
in areas where they dominate, supposed Aounist strongholds were quiet.
In areas outside of Beirut, such as Jbeil, Baabda and the Metn region,
schools and businesses were open as usual.

“General Aoun was completely absent from events today,” Lebanese
Forces MP Antoine Zahra told NOW Lebanon. “The people that he counts
on, they choose to support the state and its institutions, while he
supports Hezbollah and Iran.”

But even without the ground support of Michel Aoun, Hezbollah shows
no signs of giving up. The party has announced that its supporters will
continue to block the airport road, erecting another “tent city” on the
highway to house them overnight. As a result, many visitors recently
deposited at the airport by arriving flights - including legendary
Lebanese singer Fairuz - were stranded, forced to choose between
waiting indefinitely at the airport terminal or continuing to Beirut on
foot.

“Hezbollah has taken a very big step to take control of the state,
by saying that the airport road - Lebanon’s link with the whole world -
is under their control,” Zahra explained. “This is a big confrontation
between the idea of the Lebanese state, and Hezbollah’s mini-state.”

The security situation is near to its breaking point, and Lebanon
can do little but brace for even more conflict in the coming days. Both
sides are apparently unwilling to back down, and many Lebanese are
asking if this is indeed the end game they have both wished for and
feared in equal

Source: Yalibnan

By Omar Raad,
Special to Ya Libnan
Beirut - Masked gunmen exchanging fire across neighborhood streets, rocket propelled grenades destroying buildings, mothers protecting their children from snipers on rooftops.

These horrific scenes are sadly not a look back at Lebanon 20 years ago, but the reality on the ground today. Wednesday was Hezbollah’s latest attempt to hide behind the cause of the underdog, in this case the labor union, to stage an unprecedented attack on Lebanese civilians.

Hezbollah-led Demonstrators started their protest by burning tires in their strongholds, including blocking access to the Beirut International Airport. The closure of the airport led to cancellation of 32 incoming and outgoing flights.

The icing on the cake has to be the new tents set up by Hezbollah along the airport road, perhaps the start of a similar tent city to the one the militia has used to effectively destroy the economy of downtown Beirut. Eighteen months later, the crippled government has yet to evict Hezbollah from their occupation of downtown Beirut.

A similar masked coup was staged in January 2007, when tires were set ablaze, the airport forced shut, and citizens terrorized in what Hezbollah called an “intifada”.

At the start of the July-August war in 2006, Israel’s Prime Minister vowed to send Lebanon back 20 years. Hezbollah joins Israel in its ability to shut down Beirut’s airport, and effectively Lebanon’s desperately needed summer tourism. Hezbollah is doing a fine job executing the vision of Ehud Olmert.

Hezbollah proved to the Lebanese again today that they present an even worse threat to Lebanon than Israel. The Lebanese people can not continue to allow Hezbollah to take the country hostage.

A medic attends to photographer Wadih Shlink after he was beaten by Hezbollah supporters

Hezbollah supporters flash victory signs after inflicting chaos

A family takes cover during gun battles in Beirut

Civil defense personnel put out fires from burning cars

An Hezbollah supporter holds a gasoline bottle as he stands near a burning car

Hezbollah used dump trucks to create roadblocks, as the Army looks on

Stranded passengers wait in Beirut international airport as Hezbollah blocked streets forcing its closure

The Hezbollah-led protesters continued with their apparent coup
d’etat, by blocking the road to the Rafik Hariri International airport.

Reports have also emerged that the Masnaa road which connects
Lebanon by land to Syria has been blocked. This virtually isolates
Lebanon completely from the rest of the world.

Pro-government activists have reportedly blocked the the Masnaa road
in retaliation for the blocking of the airport road by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, is expected to hold a
news conference via video link later in the day in response to the
measures the government took against his group

In a cabinet meeting on Monday that lasted till early Tuesday, the
government declared the Hezbollah communications network as illegal and
called for its elimination. The cabinet also fired the Lebanese
security chief General Shuccair at the airport for collaborating with
the Shiite Hezbollah movement in the case of the spying at the Beirut
airport. Shuccair, who is also a Shiite, refused to abide by the
government decision and returned to work at the airport.

Hezbollah protesters continued to burn tires to block the main
roads. They also used the garbage containers to block the roads by
setting them on fire.

The violence started early morning Wednesday ahead of the planned
protest by the labor union for higher wages. According to eyewitnesses
Hezbollah used the occasion to try and bring down the government.

Six people were reported wounded in the Beqaa region
(Saadnayel-Taalbaya), near the eastern town of Chtaura as the protest
escalated into shootouts between government and opposition supporters.
One of the wounded died later at the hospital

Hezbollah Roadblocks

• Dahr el-Baidar road is closed
• Mdoukha-Kefraya road in Western Beqaa is closed
• Lebanese
  army troops closed all roads between Shiyah and Ein el-Rummaneh, the
  former demarcation line between Christian and Muslim areas and where
  the 1975-90 civil war began.
• Beqaa and Deir Zanoun road in Baalbek remains closed
• All roads blocked by Hezbollah protesters on Wednesday remain closed
• Hezbollah protestors blocked Salim Salam bridge with cement barricades

The army and riot police manned checkpoints throughout the city and
blocked several roads while many schools and businesses in the capital
remained shut for the second straight day.

Armed Hezbollah and Amal supporters, many hooded or masked, were seen in several areas of Beirut.

Lebanon’s national airline MEA has announced that all outgoing
flights had been cancelled until at least 4:00 Beirut time, but it was
unclear whether normal traffic would resume after that.

One flight to London reportedly left Beirut early on Thursday.