Category Archives: Politics

Just a Bachir Gemayel Speech from 1979

This is Bachir Gemayel

I recently started reading a book by Rani Geha, which has the speeches late Lebanese president Bashir Gemayel between 1979 and 1982, titled: “Words from Bashir.”

With the little time I have with Med School and all, my advancement with the book has been rather slow. But it’s still an eye-opening experience to see such speeches on paper and how true they reflect on Lebanese society and politics today.

In February 1979 and in a speech in front of a crowd in Jal El Dib, the main points Bachir Gemayel made are as follows:

1) There is a need for a radical change to move the Lebanese state from one that is subservient to Syria and Palestine to one that only answers to its own people.

2) We need a Lebanon where the foreign ministry is the foreign ministry of Lebanon, not a spokesperson for Syria or Palestine or any other nation.

3) The institutions in Lebanon need to be the property of the Lebanese citizen.

4) Lebanon is too small to be divided: one part for the Syrians, one part for the Palestinians and one tiny part for the Lebanese.

5) Those who want to grant the Palestinians a country, let them grant that country from their own share not from Lebanon’s share.

6) Let the West appease the Arabs as long as the Arabs produce oil. The West is losing its values and, as such, we cannot rely on it for support anymore.

7) Syrian entities in Lebanese uniforms, using Lebanese weapons, are not to be accepted as part of the country we want to live in.

8) In 1958, the Arabs had Abdel Nasser. Today (1979) they have Hafez Al Assad. The school of thought shared by these two men can bring nothing but a catastrophe.

9) From 1943 to 1975, we were ruled by a school of thought that never believed Lebanon to have a cause or anything to fight for. We were governed by a school of thought that supposed we should unconditionally align ourselves with whichever Arab nation proved to be the strongest, in a way to keep our heads, while internally we were ruled by apparatuses and typewriters. We were ruled my moral submission.

10) Many Lebanese do not have the faith and self-confidence that they have can change things on the ground, creating a de-facto situation that many nations around the globe take use of.

The fact that these 10 points are still as true today as they were in 1979 is not a reflection on our society but it’s a reflection on our region. The school of thought shared by Abdel Nassar and Assad is still alive and kicking today, actively patroned by their descendants. We even have a statue for one of them on Beirut’s sea promenade. There is constant talk about nationalizing the Palestinians in Lebanon, giving them a piece of a country they are not entitled to. There is constant talk about taking out Syrian intelligence and arms from inside Lebanon.

And it all stays as such… talks. Why? Because at the end of the day, there’s simply so much that a Lebanese can do in going against the current of what the big nations want. But you know what, for what it’s worth, and looking at the circumstances we’re living in, we’re not doing very bad for ourselves. 

Until then, long live the memory of a president whose words resonate true 33 years later.

Just Some Egyptian Salafis in their First Parliament Session

They say a picture is worth a thousand words… I’m sure most will agree this is worth ten times that:

Sure, they’re not the first politicians caught asleep on the job and they sure won’t be the last. Say all you want about how boring parliamentary sessions may be… but at least be awake for the first parliamentary session after a revolution that changed the path of your country.

I guess you can’t expect much from people whose campaign posters were something along this line. Either way, congrats to Egypt their new parliament, one-sided as it may be. I, for one, will take my time in considering visiting now. Voting people like these to power is a a reflection of the population. Do I want to go to a country where the majority considers me an infidel? I don’t think so.

Too bad though, I really wanted to see the pyramids up and close.

The Lebanese Hypocrisy Towards Syria: Three Fishermen Kidnapped by Syrian Navy in North Lebanon

I had blogged a while back about how the Syrian occupation of Lebanon can be considered at least as bad as the Israeli occupation of the South. I still stand by what I said. You can check that post here.

The latest regarding the Lebanese-Syrian relationship is the Syrian navy kidnapping three Lebanese fishermen (Arabic article) from the North after having their boat enter four nautical miles into Lebanon’s marine territory. Perhaps a mile can be considered as a sailing error. But four? Let’s not beat around the bush here. This was an obvious breach of Lebanese sovereignty. One of the fishermen, aged 16, has died. What is our government doing about this? Absolutely nothing.

This is but one part of a series of transgressions that the Syrian army and regime do on a daily basis in Lebanon. And yet we fail to act. Our voices are never heard when we speak against the Syrian breaches. They can kidnap our people, they can enter our land, our sea, terrorize villagers on the borders…. We do nothing. We sit around and watch TV and hope for the best.

Not let’s contrast/compare this with the Israeli scenario.

An Israeli boat enters four miles into Lebanon’s nautical territory, you’d be constantly bombarded about it in the news. An hour later, Lebanon would have had an official complaint filed in the UN. If that same boat had kidnapped three Lebanese fishermen, rockets would have been fired from the South on Israel. A war might have been started (it’s not like the 2006 war had a bigger apparent reason).

The only difference between Israel and Syria? Israel is an enemy state whilst Syria is not. The difference between what Israel and Syria do regarding Lebanon? Absolutely nothing.

“Activists,” as they like to call themselves, shout and protest against anything Israel-related in Lebanon. They have the right to, obviously, freedom of speech and all. I don’t think, however, they have the right to shove their views down everyone’s throats (especially when it comes to irrelevant matters that won’t change anything). I want to see what those “activists” will do regarding this latest Syrian breach. The answer is actually already known. It’s exactly what they have done regarding the previous transgressions: absolutely nothing.

A couple of months ago, in my anatomy lab at med school, one of the doctors told us a story. He told us about when he was in Med School at USJ and one of his professors was the late Dr. Fadi Serhal. They used to discuss politics with him. Amin Gemayel, the president back then, was going to sign the May 17 treaty. So they asked Mr. Serhal, who was an MP back then, about the situation. His reply was as follows:

“Lebanon is bound in the South by Israel. It’s bound everywhere else by Syria. If there was anything happening for the benefit of Lebanon, you should be more than certain that it will be disturbed by one of those two countries: either Israel or Syria or Israel and Syria working together.”

This was about thirty years ago. It still applies today. It’s also high time we see it as such.

Lara Fabian Cancels Lebanon’s Valentine Concerts

Following “requests” to ban Lara Fabian from coming to Lebanon because she sang in Israel, the Belgian-Italian singer has canceled her two concerts, originally scheduled for February 14th and 15th, and issued the following statement:

A vous mes Amis Libanais une lettre d’Amour…

A L’amour …
Seule source de paix et de réconciliation…
A L’amour …
Seule véritable intelligence, profonde et infinie…
A L’amour…
Seule arme contre son ennemie jurée la haine…

A nous qui vivons tous sous le même ciel,
Je nous souhaite l’amour…et toute la guérison qu’il procure…
A nous qui ne faisons qu’un, puisse l’amour nous donner la force d’ETRE TOUS HUMAINS
A nous qui souffrons, souvent battus d’avance par la bêtise et l’absurdité, puisse l’amour éclairer l’unique chemin sur lequel nous voyageons tous ensemble : la Vie.

Seule la musique peut gommer les différences et briser les barrières mentales, religieuses et culturelles…
Ceux qui créent cette différence sont une minorité de gens qui ont peur….
Ils vivent dans la haine,car ils n’ont pas été suffisamment aimés.

Je ne chanterai pas sous les menaces que l’on me fait…
Je ne marche pas avec la haine……
Je marche avec la tolérance, la générosité et la vérité.
Je VIS et J’AIME.

Ceux qui n’ont pas compris ça et qui ne souhaitent pas ma venue dans votre beau pays où j’ai déjà eu la chance de venir chanter ne seront pas inquiétés…
Je ne viendrai pas perturber votre quiétude par ma présence physique,…
Mais sachez que je serai là à ma manière.

Un soir de St-Valentin, quelques chansons d’amour feront du bien au coeur et à l’âme.
Je donnerai un concert unique, crée pour l’occasion, ce sera mon geste pour la paix..
Il sera diffusé le soir où mon concert aurait dû avoir lieu à Beyrouth.

De cette façon Je continuerai sur le chemin qui est le mien, celui de l’être et de la lumière…
Puisse-t-elle éclairer ces consciences jusqu’au bout, afin d’apaiser leur peine et dissoudre leur haine…

En mon âme et conscience je sais que L’amour est immuable.
Et qu’il ne connait pas les restrictions du temps et de l’espace…
Je vous écris cette lettre d’amour, car même contrainte de le faire à distance, je chanterai pour VOUS, mes amis Libanais…

Lara.

I won’t go into the litteral English translation but she goes on, in typical French manner, about the power of love. Most importantly, however, she says she won’t let her physical presence in Lebanon trouble the peace we have and that those who asked for her concerts to be canceled do not understand the message of love she was trying to get across. She will be having a concert, however, which will air on the days her concerts should have taken place.

So after all this brouhaha, I guess we can draw a few conclusions:

1) If Israelis watch a movie, then we CANNOT watch this movie.

2) If Israelis listen to a song, then we CANNOT have this song play on our airways.

3) If Israelis attend a concert, then we CANNOT have the artist who played at that concert come to Lebanon.

Apparently, for many, singing on an Israeli stadium has become equated with the artist in question chanting: “Death to Lebanon.”

Now let me ask the people of BDS to ponder on this. Is Israel the only country that did Lebanon wrong? Or is Israel the only non-Arab country that did Lebanon wrong, therefore, the only one we get angry about their transgressions? (This post might put things in perspective for you). I don’t see “activists” asking for artists (some of whom are Lebanese) who sang for the Assad regime or in Syria get asked not to sing in Lebanon. Or is the blood of the Lebanese who got killed by the Syrian regime much less “precious” than the blood of the most “honorable” of people?

Or is the fight for freedom in Lebanon become also subjective to where you come from, the country you fight and the cause you die for?

I’m not asking to ban artists who sang in Syria and for Syria to be able to hold concerts in Lebanon. Likewise, you have no right to ask for artists who sang in Israel (they didn’t even sing praise to their government, which is the entity killing Lebanese, Palestinians, etc…) not to hold concerts just because you believe it damages your pride and dignity and nationalism.

You can stand against an artist’s political views. If you don’t like Fabian’s, then simply don’t attend her concerts. If it had been against the law for an artist who sang in Israel to sing in Lebanon, the authorities would have been very clear regarding that. The fact that bands like Placebo and artists like David Guetta, Armin Van Buuren, etc… have already held concerts in Israel and Lebanon is enough testament to that.

But I guess if I speak more about the issue people will start to call me a blinded ignorant who cannot appreciate the struggles of the Lebanese who fought against Israel. Call me ignorant all you want but in my head attending a concert doesn’t lead to me killing Palestinians or Lebanese. The ticket price I would pay isn’t going to buy a warhead to attack the Palestinians or the Lebanese. And at this rate, if every time an artist wants to come to Lebanon, we’ll have so much drama associated with them, they will stop coming altogether.

And you know what, amid all the chaos, no one noticed the fact that the prices for tickets to her concerts were simply outrageous. With a range of $200-$500, most Lebanese wouldn’t have been able to afford such a ticket, making the concert for a very select crowd. I’m just saying.

Lebanese “Activists” Call for Lara Fabian Concert Cancellation

20120117-125805.jpg

Spread around the Lebanese highway are billboards announcing two concerts for Belgian-Italian singer Lara Fabian, on February 14th and 15th at Casino du Liban. This is the third time she has concerts in Lebanon.

All is well, right? Fabian has many fans in Lebanon, mostly of the older generation. Her repertoire includes songs that many fans of older French music know.

But as it is with many so-called “activists,” they are now calling the Lebanese government to cancel Fabian’s concert because Fabian performed at a concert celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel.

For reference, French-Moroccan comedian Gad El Maleh had his sold out comedy show at the Beiteddine International Festival also cancelled because of his ties with Israel. Armin Van Buuren’s most recent NYE-1 concert was also met with resistance because Van Buuren has pro-Israel stance. Steven Spielberg’s name was hidden off his movie poster in Cinemacity because he donated money to Israel… And the list goes on. The latest casualty: the French singer behind Je T’aime and J’y Crois Encore.

I am not an Israel-supporter. If my country is in a state of war with a country, then, regardless of what I personally think about that war, I am supportive of my country’s stances regarding its enemies. But I, as a Lebanese, cannot expect people from other nationalities to also conform with my ideas. I also cannot condemn them if their ideas are different from mine – even if they are about Israel.

Most foreign artists are pro-Israel. It is simply a byproduct of being in the countries they come from, where the existence of the state of Israel has become associated with a redemption for the holocaust and where the Palestinian political leaders are as inept about defending their cause as the media portraying them badly. Those artists, however, are not coming to Lebanon to spread their pro-Israel ideas. They are coming here to sing, act, give you a comedy show. They are coming here to share their talent with you. The fact that some “activists” cannot see beyond their finger and are so adamant about the whole “OMG FIGHT ZIONISIM” mantra is none of my concern as an individual who simply wants to be entertained.

Look at it in a different way as well. How many of those “activists” use laptops & smartphones? How many of those “activists” go to Starbucks on daily basis for their daily “activism” meetings? How many of those “activists” are so drenched in Israeli-related products that their shouts of disdain become meaningless, childish and non-sensical?

You know, perhaps instead of shouting against Israel (which people, for the record, have the right to do) those Lebanese (and other nationalities) “activists” need to look at the injustice going on in their own backyard before lashing out for the causes of neighboring countries that have, like it or not, also caused their country harm. Are those activists as vocal about their support for the fight rape campaign as they are for artist bans? Are those activists as vocal about the eaten rights of their fellow countrymen as they are about the rights of Palestinians? Are they as vocal about the people losing their lives to Lebanon’s rent laws? Are they willing to help those people?

One only needs to look at the state of Christians in Egypt and Iraq, at the situation of women in the region, at the lack of freedom and all the other basic human rights that the region lacks to know that those “activists” are as empty as the shouts and slogans they will chant outside the Casino du Liban when Lara Fabian sings there.

I understand some of those “activists” are not Lebanese. And I always tried to steer away from discussing Palestine-related stuff on my blog. But let me tell those “activists” this: do not bring your fight to your country, especially with things as meaningless as this.

So sing miss Fabian, sing. And don’t you worry. Irrelevant people will remain irrelevant as long as their priorities are not sorted.

 

Update: Fabian has canceled the concerts.