What about the Palestinians? When Lebanese commemorate the anniversary of the Lebanese civil war--with drums, horns, dances, and...Hummus as they have done today in Beirut according to a choreography by the Hariri political apparatus, they seem to forget that the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have also been victims of the war, and that they have been scapegoated at certain points of the civil war--just as the Syrian people are now being blamed for all of Lebanon's ills--and they are abundant believe me--and that thousands of Palestinians have been killed and injured in the war. When it was convenient, the Palestinians were used to support the Muslim/Leftist side, and when it was convenient the Palestinians were left to live in sub-human conditions, and be told to sit and be polite when speaking to Lebanese. Worse, the Lebanese love to praise Lebanon for its contributions to the Palestinian cause. What contributions? Lebanon never went to war like Syria, Egypt, and even Hashemite Jordan on behalf (at least in theory) of the Palestinians. Lebanon always insulated itself from the Arab-Israeli issues, and left the Palestinians to live in miserable conditions in squalid refugee camps. This is not to forget the racism (institutionalized legally and juridically in the Lebanese political and legal systems) against the Palestinians in Lebanon. Now, Walid Jumblat and Gen. `Awn (sectarian warlords of different sects) talk about giving Palestinians "human rights" in return for disarming them. Disarming them? To leave them vulnerable to the various vicious attackers who killed and massacred Palestinians in Lebanon (and that includes right-wing forces, Amal militia, and the Syrian troops in Lebanon and of course the Israelis and their brutal militias in South Lebanon)? This is like the assurances given to the Palestinians just weeks, WEEKS, before the massacres of Sabra and Shatila in 1982. Lebanon is a country where Palestinians have to hide their accents, and Syrian have to hide their accents. Many Syrians and Palestinians conceded that to me. As long as Israel permits itself to kill Palestinians at will wherever they can find them, it is imperative that the Palestinians reserve the right to self-defense in Lebanon, and elsewhere. And who is not armed in Lebanon afterall? And the most vulnerable should be the only unarmed group? (Do you believe it when they say that the "opposition" (or the other side) is not armed)? And I could not believe that the pro-Syrian Ba`th party insisted on being represented in the government that was not formed in Lebanon. This is probably the most insignificant political force in Lebanon that could not stand on its own feet without direct Syrian support. Syria has insisted on very disproportionate representation of the Ba`th party--a very thuggish organization with a lousy record in the civil war--throughout their years of domination in Lebanon. This insistence may be behind the decision of prime minister-designate `Umar Karami to tender his resignation today. And Gen. `Awn will be returning to Lebanon in May. He will guarantee that things will get crazier in Lebanon. The man (judging by his past record while in Lebanon) is quite kooky and expect his Napoleonic complex to get aggravated. And to annoy me further, an opposition leader in Beirut today read a letter to the Hummus Revolution sent by Vaclav Havel. Havel? Havel's record while president as far as the human rights of the Roma people was atrocious. He stood by while they were being persecuted, and made threats and gave ultimata that he himself later ignored. But then again: he was capable of sprinking his speeches with the name of Hegel, and that really impressed American journalists and politicians.