Notes of the Lebanese crisis *2

The political crisis was triggered by the policies of US imperialism, and the role of the present government in it.

The US sees Lebanon's so called Cedar Revolution as its only policy success in the region. With its occupation of Iraq descending into disaster, its failure to overthrown the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip and growing popular discontent in Egypt threatening its key Arab ally, the US are desperate to hold on to its gains in Lebanon.

Part of this strategy was to induce Israel into destroying the resistance, as embodied by Hizbollah, in the summer of 2006. The US was hoping that the Lebanese government would fill the vacuum left by a defeated Hizbollah. Their war failed to achieve any of its objectives. Instead a mass outpouring of popular support carried the resistance to victory.

The question of arms held by the resistance are crucial. The US and France want all oppostion to Israel crushed and are attempting to use the Lebanese government to succeed where the Israelis failed. This strategy relied on the government, and its myriad of “security companies” to de-claw the resistance.

Last Thursday Hizbollah and its supporters routed these private security agencies in under 4 hours.

At every turn the government has created this crisis, now they are losing control over events. It is weak, but very nasty.

Notes of the Lebanese crisis *1

Union demands
The call by the General Labour Confederation for a one day strike over the minimum wage that triggered the crisis came after a massive build up of pressure from below.

Local union bodies and associations had been pressing for strike through a series of mass meetings across the country in recent weeks.

At the head of this strike call were the more radical unions, notably the shoe makers, carpenters, construction workers and farmers associations.

At the heart of their demands is a minimum wage of 960,000 Lebanese liras a month ($630). With rampant inflation, many ordinary people began to fear that price hikes would eat into the nestegg on which most families survive.

The government provoked widespread anger when it announced a rise the minimum wage to only 500,000, and limited to the public sector.

The GLC called for the one day strike on 7 May and were due to march through west Beirut. The government altered the route the night before, then launched their thugs at the protest as it attempted to gather.

Ghassan Ghosn, the head of the GLC, appeared on TV later to condemn the government and restate the demands over the minimum wage. He referred all "pointed questions" from the press to "the issue of hunger".

As the union has close ties with the opposition, the government thought it would be an easy target for intimidation. Ghosn, for all his faults (and he has many) and the union did not resort to violence, they where the victims.

The question of the economy and a living wage is complicated by the standoff between the opposition and the government. Crucially the opposition has accepted as fact the neo-liberal policies outlined by the “Paris agreements”— a series of economic conditions set by the west.

These policies have shifted the wealth from the working poor to the rich. All infrastructure, building and capital is being poured into the glitzy downtown areas that were acquired by Hariri, the rest of the country has been abandoned.

The government's economic policies are based on the direct relations between taxes and the national debt accrued by previous Rafic Hariri governments. As most of this debt is owed to Lebanese and Arab capital, popular taxes are in effect flowing into the pockets of the rich as a form of debt payments.

This has generated deep anger among the vast majority of Lebanon's working poor feeding a widespread malaise.

However as the opposition have accepted these terms they have distanced themselves from the popular mood. This made it easy for the government to accuse the opposition of using the unions.

The call for a minimum wage has been lost in the din of gunfire, but it remains a pressing issue of everyday life.

Beirut—Saturday 10 May

Red dots show the clashes across Lebanon 7-10 May 2008. Click for details. (note: the map colour codes areas where one sect is the majority).

Updated 00:09 Sunday 11 May

We crossed from east Beirut through to Hamra tonight. Army in control over all major road junctions. We were challenged once, but where left to pass as soon as they heard our Beiruti accents.

***

There are reports that this phase of crisis could be drawing to a close. The government said that they left to the army the question of whether to close Hizbollah's communication system and withdraw its security officer from the airport.

The army then announced that they would not move on Hizbollah.

****

The SSNP are reported to be firing rockets or mortars into Future Current areas in Tripoli.

****

Large crowds (the biggest so far) of Future Current supporters have gutted and set fire to the offices of the SSNP in Tripoli.

Jumblat' supporters have kidnapped 3 members of Hizbollah. Two were murdered, their bodies dumped in front of a hospital in Aley. The survivor is being held hostage.

****

Reports are coming in that the army is sweeping up pro-government supporters in west Beirut. They are also rounding up Al-Qaeda sympathisers. There have been confrontations with Future Current supporters in Akkar in the north, Aley in the mountains, and in the south.

There are strong indications that the army has been coordinating with the opposition during the fighting.

It now seems clear that Hariri's Future Current in west Beirut has collapsed like a house of cards.

TV is showing angry funerals in Sunni areas of Beirut. Amal gunmen fired on the procession killing two.

***

Some more on the opposition take-over of west Beirut on Thursday.

Hizbollah elite forces hit Saad Hairiri's private security companies shortly after the speech by Hassan Nasrallah. The security guards surrendered and where handed over to the army. Hizbollah then withdrew while fighters loyal to opposition parties (the pan Syrian SNNP, Communist Party, Nasserites and Amal) took control.

A witness who lives in Hamra said he recognised most of them as local boys.

The operation took less than 4 hours. All opposition fighters have now withdrawn from the area, the army controls the streets. The opposition did not enter Druze or Sunni neighbourhoods.

The pattern that is emerging is of mixed areas falling to the opposition. These are local fighters so it’s a question of appearing on the street, then withdrawing home.

One side effect of this crisis is that there are few cars on the road, so pollution levels in Beirut are very low. There are flocks of birds in the sky and a pleasant sea breeze.

Beirut—Friday 9 May

Map shows concentration of clashes in Beirut.

Last updated 1.35am, Saturday

There is not a sound in the city. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

****

Supporters of the Future Current have gunned down two Druze members of the opposition in Khalde, in the foothills of Beirut. Two were wounded. Reports are also coming in that gunfire was heard in the Druze town of Aley, in the mountains above Beirut. Futher reports are that Jumblat's militia, the PSP (Progressive Socialist Party), has handed strategic positions in the mountains over to the army.

The word on everyones lips is "fitna" — a schism between Sunni and Shia Muslims. At the moment this struggle is political — between the US backed government and opposition, who are supporters of the resistance.

Opposition gunmen, many of them masked, are roaming around the Hamra area of west Beirut, some have flags with pictures of Nasser on them (Al Mourabitoun).

****

Map shows west Beirut streets seized by the opposition (click on image for detail).

****

A friend in Ain el Mreisseh (near to the old hotel district) said that Amal fighters from the opposition took over her neighbourhood "pretty quickly this afternoon".

****

Partisans of the Syrian Social National Party (SSNP) ransacked then set fire to the Future TV building close to the Saudi embassy.

Hariri seems unable to mobilise his supporters, his Beirut home is still surrounded.

Pro-government politicians are on TV condeming Hizbollah for "sending all their forces into west Beirut".

****

Thursday turned into a bad day for the government. The opposition forces overan Future TV and Al-Mustaqbal offices in west Beirut. Both are the media mouthpieces of Saad Hariri. The buildings have been gutted and torched.

It seems that the pro government fighters (private security forces) walked away from the battle.

Rumours that Walid Jumblat, a key government ally, abandoned his house in the upmarket quarter of Clemenceau proved unfounded. But the threat against his residence seems to have triggered clashes just south of the capital.

There are reports of confrontations yesterday in the northern city of Tripoli between the Future Current and opponents of the government.

To add to the drama there was a ferocious storm overnight.

Beirut—update

Last updated Friday 1.34am

Wednesday 7 May—National strike against low wages.
A trade union protest demanding a rise in the minumum wage came under attack by Future Current gangs from the governing coalition.

The demonstration was "re-routed" the night before by the government. The national strike set for the day turned into a mass stay away -- both because of fear and as part of the the protest.

The demo, called by the General Labour Union, was due to gather in the Barbir area of west Beirut, but armed government thugs stopped the workers gathering.

Clashes developed between Future gangs and those from the opposition Amal movement (Shia vs Sunni). Across the country, including the Sunni areas of Saida, in the south, and Tripoli in the north, there were small anti-government protests.

Opposition demonstrators have blocked the airport road, in response pro-government supporters closed the Beirut-Damascus highway in the Bekaa Valley. There were some confrontations. The night was quiet, but it was very difficult to cross the city.

*******

Thursday—lockdown
By the morning a defacto frontline of burning tyres developed between government and opposition areas. Gangs armed with rocks and sticks clashed along the edges of their neighbourhoods. By the afternoon the weapons came out.

These gangs have become quasi militias vying with the army for control over major road junctions.

The army was attempting to keep the sides apart.

We joined in the panic buying of supplies. Bread, pasta and rice are flying off the shelves. Most people are staying in their homes.

By early afternoon there were a series of explosions, followed by the rattle of machineguns.

Hizbollah and their allies in the Free Patriotic Movement -- a mainly Christian organisation who support the opposition -- have not yet entred the fray.

Hassan Nasrallah addressed the nation in the evening, he threatened to attack those who attack Hizbollah. Earlier, a senior Sunni cleric called on Sunnis to turn against on the government.

Heavy exchange of fire followed Nasralla's broadcast. There are rumours that fighting has spread to Druze areas of west Beirut. We can hear gunfire echo across the city.

Hariri appeared on TV later and mocked Nasrallah's speech.

News is filtering through that the army has sent two groups of officers to broker a truce, and Amal gunmen have captured an office belonging to the Future Current.

Istanbul—May Day

Cem Uzun reports from Istanbul on the May Day protest:

Police used more than 1500 tear gas bombs and attacked marchers with batons and water cannon, arresting and beating hundreds of people to prevent the three main Turkish trade union federations, along with the Turk-IS, DISK and KESK left groups marching to Taksim Square in Istanbul.

Tear gas was fired into the Istanbul headquarters building of DISK and also into the accident and emergency department of a nearby hospital.

Taksim Square has been closed to the trade unions since the massacre of May Day 1977 in which 34 died after police opened fire from rooftops surrounding the square.

The three federations along with some 80 other organisations, had called for the square to be reopened to the May Day demonstration. The response of the governor of Istanbul, backed by the government, was to use extreme force.

The head of the Turkish Medical Association, Gencay Gursoy, issued a statement condemning the tear gassing of the hospital. Police raided his house at 5am the following morning and arrested the 70 year old doctor, allegedly for the contents of an article he wrote in the association's journal four years ago.

An internet petition calling for the resignation of the Governor of Istanbul collected 21,500 signatures in 48 hours.

Palestinians—May Day

The UN news agency reports:

Several hundred Palestinians protested at the edge of Shatila camp in south Beirut on 30 April ahead of the 1 May labour day holiday, traditionally a time for workers’ to air their grievances.

"We are humans, we have the right to live," shouted the protesters. "We are half humans in Lebanon."

With inflation in double digits and the cost of living rising, the government has proposed raising the minimum wage for the first time in a decade, but Palestinians say they continue to be marginalised in the labour market.

The rise in the minimum monthly wage from US$200 to $300 is the first increase in a decade, but local researchers InfoPro estimate that only 10 percent of Lebanon's 650,000 wage earners take home the minimum wage or less.

Half a million Lebanese are self-employed and would not benefit from the wage increase, while Palestinians do not qualify as they are considered refugees, not citizens.

Lebanese salaries average $500, while the actual minimum wage is around $320. Citizens' wages are further supplemented by a de-facto government set of subsidies estimated at $150 a month, through price controls on electricity, gas, fuel and wheat.

Picture: This Palestinian refugee family of 12 live in a house with two rooms only. © Salma Zulfiqar/IRIN

Lebanon—May Day demo

Around 10,000 marched from Habib Abou Chahla Square to Murr Tower in a festive and very red procession. Pictures: Farfahine - Jammoul

May Day—domestic labour

AFP reports:
Lebanese employers, recruitment agencies and authorities must improve the treatment of domestic workers, New York-based Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.

"On the eve of Lebanese Labour Day, we would like to highlight a huge segment of labourers who are not recognized as such. They are domestic workers, almost a 100 percent of whom are foreigners," Human Rights Watch's Beirut-based researcher Nadim Houry told AFP.

The group says the most common complaints from domestic staff, who are mostly women, are unpaid wages, lack of time off, restrictions on movement and verbal or sometimes even physical abuse.

Around 200,000 domestic labourers, mostly from Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Ethiopia, are not protected by Lebanese labour laws, HRW said.

A statement from the organisation cited a 2006 survey of 600 migrant workers by Dr Ray Jureidini which found 56 percent reported they worked more than 12 hours a day and 34 percent had no regular time off.

Some workers have died attempting to escape from their working conditions, the statement said, some of them jumping from balconies.

"The Lebanese authorities have an obligation to ensure that these women are protected by law," Houry said adding that the campaign, named "Put Yourself in Her Shoes," is targeting employers and employment firms.

Israeli overflights

Insider Israel reports:

Israeli warplanes entered Lebanese airspace on Monday, flying at will over Beirut and elsewhere in the country, the Lebanese army said. An army statement said that "12 enemy Israeli warplanes" violated Lebanese airspace before noon, four flying over the Mediterranean off the coastal city of Byblos in the north and then headed toward the eastern province of Hermel.

Prison riots

Iraqi prisoners in Bulgaria, Lebanese prisoners in east Beirut and detainees in Syria have mutinied in the last few days:

Bulgaria
Bulgaria's news agency reports:
A riot broke up in the Bulgarian prison for temporary detention of illegally staying foreign citizens near Busmanci.

Around 13 o'clock six Iraqi citizens and a few other prisoners barricaded themselves in one of the building's corridors. Shortly after that the police arrived at the scene.

The prisoners set a mattress afire during the riot, but the smoke in the closed hall made them come out and surrender to the police.

The rioters are six Iraqi citizens, who were to be extradited tomorrow through Hungary, then to Syria, and from there to Iraq. The Hungarian authorities denied issuing them transit visas, so the whole journey was pushed back to April 30th.

Apparently the delay is the reason for the unrest. The six Iraquis were caught trying to cross Bulgaria's borders more than a month ago.

Lebanon
The Associated Press reports:
Calm returned to Lebanon's largest prison a day after scores of inmates set their clothes on fire and took guards hostage to demand better conditions and reduced sentences.

Seven policemen who were taken hostage were released early Friday after nine hours of negotiations between senior police officers and representatives of the rioting inmates at Roumieh prison, according to a police statement.

The prisoners returned to their cells amid tight security to prevent additional rioting.

Thursday's riots began when prisoners attacked their guards and took some of them hostage, the officials said. Some of the 200 rioting prisoners set their clothes on fire and black smoke was seen billowing from the building for some time.

The Roumieh prison was built 40 years ago to hold 1,000 inmates, but more than 3,000 are currently held there.


Lebanon's LBc runs interview with a priest and the relatives of prisoners on the reasons behid the protest.

Syria
From the Institute for War & Peace Reporting:
Reports of unrest and a fire at the Saidnaya military prison underscore the need for more transparency about the conditions in Syrian prisons, human rights activists and family members of prisoners say.

Numerous reports surfaced this week of disturbances at the jail, northeast of Damascus, where many political prisoners are held, but few details have been confirmed.

The government has not commented on or released any information about the reports of unrest.

The prison, which opened in 1987, holds an estimated 1,000 prisoners, according to rights groups, including Kurds, Islamists and democratic activists.

Dumb social democrat—number 232

Hezbollah held French socialist, reports the BBC.

Apparently the foolish man was snapping away in Hizbollah areas without permission:

Mr Pakzad, who was representing the French Socialist Party at the two-day Socialist International conference in Beirut, said he had been taking pictures of a mosque with a friend when he was approached by armed men.

He said he was blindfolded and taken to an unidentified location where he was held in isolation and his cell phone, wallet and medicine were taken away.

Hezbollah said Mr Pakzad's photographic activities had "aroused suspicion" and that the two men were treated with "respect".
"Once we were sure that the Frenchman and his companion were not Israelis we had no problems" with them, the group said in a statement.

Syria—food prices

Syrians are concerned that sharp price increases in basic foods like bread will have a major impact on an economy that is already in poor shape.

The economics ministry recently announced that 15 million Syrians—or about three-quarters of the population—have been affected by rising food prices.

Bread has reached 40 lira [80 US cents] for a kilogram sold on the open market, compared with 25 lira at the end of last year. The government also offers subsidised bread, of poorer quality.

The rising prices have been widely covered in the media, and many Syrians see the cost of bread in particular as the latest and most serious example of rising inflation. While the government has downplayed the issue, many people say they fear hungry days lie ahead.

"We have two choices left to us—either to fast, or to wait for the days of hunger,” said one civil servant. “Our incomes barely cover a quarter of our basic needs, and they ask us why we accept bribes."

Syria— cuts in fuel subsidies

The Institute for War & Peace Reporting reports on fuel cuts in Syria:

The Syrian government is introducing rationing for the heating oil it makes available at subsidised prices. The move has been met by some criticism, but comes in the face of the rising cost of oil imports, and smuggling which is siphoning off much of the cut-price kerosene to other countries.

The scheme represents the first stage of a plan by the ministry of economy and trade to phase out subsidies for all petroleum products in the next five years.

Syrians are now lining up to collect the vouchers that will entitle each family to 1,000 litres of subsidised kerosene for the year. The government plans to distribute vouchers to 5.1 million families by April 26.

The government says 1,000 litres of heating oil should be enough to get people through even a cold winter. Oil minister Sufian al-Alaw said in a statement that 77 percent of families use less than that amount in the course of a year.

A litre of kerosene currently costs about 7.20 lira, about 14 US cents. The government has not yet announced what the fuel will cost under the new scheme.

Male heads of household, widows with children, and the oldest sons in orphaned families are allowed to claim vouchers, and there has been a storm of criticism from women’s rights activists who questioned why divorced, unmarried or widowed women living alone should be excluded.

“That is blatantly discriminatory against women, and it’s an irresponsible decision," said one women’s activist.

University students, too, are complaining that they are not entitled to any subsidised fuel even if they live far from the family home.

In the rural Al-Tal area outside Damascus, one resident said people there needed more heating oil than the average.

“The weather is very cold,” he said. “We definitely use more kerosene than people who live in the city of Damascus."

Zahle—killings

Middle East Times reports:

The shooting deaths of two activists from a pro-government Lebanese Christian party on Sunday have underscored the level of political disarray over this small country.

The town of Zahle [in the Bekaa valley] was in mourning on Monday, a day after gunmen opened fire at members of the Phalangist Party during an inauguration of a new party office, killing two and wounding three others.

Police have launched a manhunt for the suspects, whom security sources said were Christian supporters of Zahle MP Elie Skaff, who is allied with the Hezbollah-led opposition.

Lebanese commentators say the attack not only highlights the growing division among the Maronite Christian community, but signals a dangerous level the political crisis has reached, particularly amid credible reports that some of the parties are arming and training militias.

Trouble at the Oasis

Egyptian police used tear gas on 5000 residents of a desert oasis on Saturday protesting a government decision to redraw provincial boundaries, reports the AFP.

Lebanon—School teachers sit-in

Primary school teachers contracted by government schools in Akkar and the North will be holding a sit-in on Friday 18 April in front of the education department in north Lebanon at 9:30 am.

They are demanding a reappraisal of their salaries, transportation expenses, health care, and receiving paychecks in a "timely manner".

Mahalla—Turkish students

The newly founded Student Union of Turkey, Genc-Sen, National Executive meeting held on 12 April 2008 resolved to support the Mahalla workers and all those facing repression at the hands of the Mubarak regime.

Emrak ARIKUSU (NEC)
Dilek DEMIREL (NEC)
Ozan ERSAN (NEC)
Ufuk GOLLU (NEC)
Simin GURDAL (NEC)
Zeliha KABATAS (NEC)
Deniz KANTAR (NEC)
Ozan KAYA (NEC)
Umut KOCAGOZ (NEC)
Gozde MUTLUCAN (NEC)
Dilek SAHAN (NEC)

Further;
The undersigned branch representatives of 39 universities from across the country wish to extent their solidarity in their personal capacity.

Selin ÇALISKAN
Erdal TUNC
Bora KORKMAZ
Onur YILDIRMAZ
Iþýn MORDENIZ
Hasan DURKAL
Kývanç KIZILDEMIR
Cem SIMSEK
Burak GUNAYDIN
Fatma ASLAN
Yücel Caðlar OZAN
Aysun POLAT
Mustafa VARLI
Esin YILDIZ
Özge KAHRAMAN
Ali Asker TATAR
Özlem GITMEZ
Ahmet KOK
Nuray KOC
Arzu AKMAN
Uður ARSLAN
Önder SUCUK
Selami AKDEMIR
Olcay KEYSEN
Mert KURKER
Ali KARACAN
Volkan ALBAYRAK
Ezgi Ceren ALTAS
Gül Sena EERDOGDU
Eylem Ezgi TOTOS
Çaðdaþ KUCUKBATTAL
Burcu SINER
Gökhan KESKIN
Duygu ATAS
Özden OZGUNEL
Cem CINAR
Cem AYNALI
Yaþar MUTLU
Burçin KUZ
Ulaþ TASYEKIN
Deniz DOGRUEL
Cebrail DOGAN
Köksal DOGAN
Ekin KEMENT
Burcugul CUBUK
Kadir Can ALKIR
Emrah DEMIR
Berk OZDEMIR
Erdem CEVIK