Hizbullah hands positions to army after clashes
Lebanon, Politics, 5/13/2008

In recent days, the capital, Beirut, has seen deadly violence on the streets between pro- and anti-government militias. The Lebanese government bid to challenge Hizbullah's license over communications network escalated tension in Lebanon's fragile political spectrum.

The capital, Beirut, and other areas have been rocked by deadly in recent days in what UN Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen has described as Lebanon’s worst crisis since the end in 1990 of the long-running civil war.

Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah blasted the challenge as a declaration of war by Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. The political crisis has paralysed the country and left it without a president since last November.

Nasrallah told a press conference last Thursday that Hizbullah is ready to hold talks with the Lebanese government and that the government is not in position to challenge Hizbullah. "The government should come to terms with a blueprint put forward by Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri," he said.

But after the government attempted to take over Hizbullah's private communications network, Hizbullah took over various parts of West Beirut, and resulted in armed road block and the shutting doiwn of the main airport.

Hizbullah has handed over control of Beirut after the Lebanese army settled tensions between the Shiite group and armed government supporters. The army revoked two key government measures that had led to four days of street fighting between the two sides, leaving at least 37 people dead.

A Hizbullah statement said, "The Lebanese opposition will end all armed presence in Beirut so that the capital will be in the hands of the army." The fighting was sparked by a government move to shut down Hizbullah's telecoms network and the removal of the chief of security at Beirut airport for alleged Hizbullah sympathies.

Those decisions were referred to the army which shelved them, and called on all parties to return to the status quo before the fighting.

ARTICLE 19 organization spoke of the closure of six media outlets in Lebanon and the attack on two others this weekend at the hands of armed men affiliated with Hizbullah and the opposition in Lebanon.

On Friday 9 May, Hizbullah fighters and its allies forced Future TV, Future News (Saad Hariri associated TV) and Radio Orient off the air. Gunmen forced themselves into the headquarters of each of these media outlets and threatened workers. Cables were disconnected and employees were forced out of the facilities. On that same day, the old headquarters of Future TV which houses the TV station's archives was mercilessly burnt. Fire fighters were not allowed to put the flames off and flags of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party were hoisted atop the burnt structures. The offices of the daily Al-Mustakbal faced a similar fate.

Al-Liwaa daily and Al-Shira' magazine were also forced to stop their work.

On Saturday 10 May, the headquarters of the Armenian-speaking Radio Sevan was also burnt in West Beirut. Meanwhile, protestors demonstrating in support of free expression were harassed by gunmen in Beirut. The protest was organized by the Lebanese Press Club.

Meantime, a group that includes foreign ministers and representatives from the European Union and the Arab League, as well as United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, has welcomed an Arab League initiative to send a delegation to Lebanon to promote dialogue in the fractured country.

A statement released yesterday by the “Friends of Lebanon” called for the immediate election of a president without prior conditions and the establishment of a national unity government.

Lebanon is still without a president after 18 failed attempts to hold elections since November last year.

The Friends’ statement added that, “We remain deeply concerned by the situation in Lebanon,” and called for the immediate cessation of violence, the withdrawal of gunmen from the streets, the unblocking of roads and the reopening of Beirut International Airport.

Previous Stories:
  Award-winning Iranian movie banned by Lebanese authorities   (3/31/2008)
  Lebanon parliament delays vote for new president   (2/12/2008)
  Lebanon to elect president on February 11   (1/22/2008)

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