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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Lebanese Sunnis bitter after Hezbollah triumph |
| 2008-05-19 |
| Sunni Muslims are bitter and fearful after Shiite Hezbollah's triumph in Beirut, watching their backs on the streets and some even moving to safer spots. It is an ominous sign of how Lebanon's latest political crisis has sharply worsened sectarian tensions in a country still traumatized by its 1975-1990 civil war. "They entered and they carried out the plan. But who did they liberate Beirut from?" Mohammed Zaghloul, a 41-year-old Sunni, asked bitterly of Hezbollah, as he sat on a street corner in the Tarik Jadideh neighborhood, once controlled by Sunni groups. The rise in sectarian feeling could be highly damaging to Lebanon's future and have implications across the wider Middle East, already struggling with Shiite-Sunni tensions sparked by the Iraq war and Iran's rising influence. Until the recent fighting, Lebanon's long crisis had been largely political, as all sides worked to keep the country's ever-present sectarian issues from surfacing. But last week's fighting roiled up sectarian anger. Unchecked, the tensions could stoke another full-fledged civil war. For now, Hezbollah's dominance is still evident on traditionally Sunni streets, raising hard feelings, even though its fighters have largely pulled back. Hezbollah flags flutter and some images of late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a Sunni icon, have been spray-painted over. "It is strife already," said Sunni leader Saad Hariri, Rafik Hariri's son and the parliament's majority leader. "How are we going to heal the wounds?" Sunni and Shiite factions and Christians allied with both sides were in Qatar on Sunday trying to resolve the 18-month political stalemate that sparked the violence. But the talks foundered on Hezbollah's insistence it would not discuss giving up its arms. At least 67 people were killed in the clashes that saw Hezbollah and allied Shiite Amal fighters overrun positions of Saad Hariri's Future Movement and seize large swaths of Sunni areas of Beirut as the army largely stood by. Other Sunni neighborhoods gave up the fight and sought army protection to escape a Shiite onslaught. New York-based Human Rights Watch said Sunday that it had documented reports of violations of international law, including attacks on civilians and civilian property, committed by both opposition and pro-government militias during the fighting. HRW said it spoke to several wounded civilians who said that gunmen fired on them even though they were unarmed during the clashes. An initial investigation showed that at least 12 of the Lebanese killed in the violence were not involved in the fighting in any way. HRW also cited recent videos posted on youtube.com of the fighting in the northern town of Halba between armed men supporting the government and members of the opposition Syrian Social National Party. The videos show wounded men, apparently belonging to the SSNP, lying on the ground and being clubbed by gunmen. In Sunni-dominated regions including the central part of the eastern Bekaa Valley and the northern port city of Tripoli and adjacent regions where fundamentalists have a foothold, Sunnis revolted and seized territory, attacking fellow Sunnis allied to the Hezbollah-led opposition. They also fought the Alawite community, an offshoot Shiite sect. The former Sunni stronghold of Tarik Jadideh in Beirut, now guarded by the Lebanese army, is a stark reflection of the passions. But the fear of Hezbollah is so strong that many refused to talk to a reporter or be named. Mohammed Kamel, who runs a tiny used book store, said the Sunnis were no match for the armed Shiites during the fighting. "The weapons they had were much stronger," he said. "They had rockets. A Kalashnikov cannot face the big guns." After the fighting eased, Shiites on about a dozen scooters entered the area one recent day from a nearby Shiite neighborhood, said one resident, who asked not to be named because he feared retribution. A fist fight ensued, and two motorcycles were set ablaze. Another resident, also asking not to be named, recounted how he was picked up in Noueiri, a Shiite district across from an army checkpoint, and beaten up simply because he was from Tarik Jadideh. Some men have left the neighborhood since the fighting, moving to Sunni areas in the north. Others worry that Hezbollah is keeping a close eye on the neighborhood, possibly developing lists of who is who for future retribution. At a funeral last week of a Sunni lawyer slain with his mother in a Hezbollah rocket attack, a colleague of the dead man expressed the fierce anger many here say they feel. "Those who stormed the area are aggressors," said the dead man's colleague, Omar Tarabey. During the civil war, Christians first fought Palestinian guerrillas and other Muslims. But as the war progressed, the fighting spread so that Christians fought Christians, and one Muslim sect was pitted against another. After the conflict, most militias voluntarily disarmed as part of a power-sharing political settlement. But Hezbollah was allowed to keep its weapons by the government and Syria, which controlled Lebanon until 2005, to fight Israel. Sunnis are believed to be Lebanon's second-largest sect, numbering slightly less than the 1.2 million Shiites. Largely city dwellers, they are an educated and merchant class that since the end of the civil war has shared political power with the other communities. After Syria's 2005 withdrawal, Sunnis backed by Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia dominated the country's politics, while Christian numbers dwindled and Shiite influence waned. But in November 2006, five Shiite ministers bolted from the government, saying it was marginalizing them. The Sunni-led majority in turn accused the Shiite groups of toeing the line of allies Syria and Iran. Not all of Tarik Jadideh's residents share the same sectarian feelings. Sitting outside their clothing shore playing backgammon, Mohammed Jawhari, a Sunni, and Ali Sabra, a Shiite, say they get along just fine by staying away from heated political topics. The latest turmoil in Lebanon was a "pity," Jawhari said. "I hope things will be over quickly," said Sabra, his business partner. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 maybe a tiny violin or a sympathy meter reading is in order |
| Posted by: mhw 2008-05-19 09:34 |