It was in this bus that the right-wing, fascist Phalanges militia men ignited the Lebanese civil war back on April 13th, 1975. Today, the history of the civil war is being re-written before my eyes. I watched some shows and read some reports that commemorated the war. But you know how the Arab media are: loyal to House of Saud which is now--due to Hariri's alliances in Lebanon--in alliance with the very same Phalanges. But that is not contradictory: the House of Saud provided money and arms to the Phalanges back in 1975 because they were killing Lebanese and Palestinian communists. I don't have time to write more on this (check a long post I wrote last year, I think). But the new narrative of the war has twisted and distorted facts to suit the political interests of the right-wing forces in Lebanon (Sunni, Maronite, Shi`ite, and Druzes). Now they say that the civil war was ignited by an assassination attempt on the life of Pierre Gemayyel when he was in the church in `Ayn Ar-Rummanah. Gizelle Khuri (my least favorite human on earth--not only on TV) today rehashed the story. But somebody needed to tell them that Gemayyel was not in the church when the shooting occurred. And the shooting started by Phalanges gunmen outside of the church: they saw a car that "looked suspicious" (i.e. the car engine roared with a Palestinian accent), and shot at it. People in the car shot back, and one Phalanges thug was killed. Today, the TV tributes called him a martyr for Lebanon: this is as obscene and offensive as saying that Hitler was a martyr for Germany. And when that armed thug was killed, the Phalanges ambushed a bus of Palestinian civilians who were attending a rally by PFLP-GC. They massacred civilians in the bus above. Gizelle Khuri invited two Phalangist fighters, and one communist leader (who tried to tell her that he never fought to no avail), and Nasir Al-As`ad. Nasir Al-As`ad for potato's sake. A guy who never fought before taking up the cause of fighting for "the cause of the Hariri family." That is the real cause for Al-As`ad. And former Lebanese Forces commander today on Gizelle Khuri's show falsely claimed that students of the Phalanges used to volunteer in the Palestinian camps of Lebanon before the war. Was he referring to snipers' fires at the refugees? That was the extent of Phalanges' volunteer work. The Palestinians in Lebanon were victims of the war: they were used and abused by Israel, Syria, and all Lebanese factions and gangs, and `Arafat manipulated the Palestinian resistance not for the cause of liberation of Palestine but for the cause of keeping himself at the helm. I remember that day on April 13th, 1975. I was 15-years old, and it was a Sunday. None of us new that the war would drag on as long as it has. But when I look back I am nostalgic to the political spectrum of the times: Right-versus-Left. The secular left was so strong and the Palestinian resistance movement had a chance of launching a campaign for the liberation of Palestine. Arab regimes (Syria and Saudi Arabia notably) made sure to prevent that, and `Arafat made sure to prevent that too. I remember how much the traditional sectarian forces among Muslims were on the defensive; how weak they were. I remember with fondness when Kamil Al-As`ad (an ally of Syria and Bashir Gemayyel) was asked to leave West Beirut by a delegation from the Rejctionist Front. I remember when Kamal Jumblat rightly called for isolating the Phalanges. I still adhere to that slogan. I strongly believe that the Phalanges (on behalf of their own agenda, and then on behalf Israel and the Syrian regime) were the primary responsibly party for igniting the civil war and for prolonging the agony of the Lebanese people. Who would have thought that the Israeli invasion would install two Phalanges presidents? One of them is now hailed by Bush and CNN as a champion of peace in Lebanon. This ally of Jumblat: I remember when I interviewed Amin Gemayyel in the presidential palace in 1987, when I was doing research for my dissertation. (I wrote about this before I think). How Gemayyel told me that Walid Jumblat "does not amount to dust on my shoe"--and you know the significance of shoes in Arab culture. Now Gemayyel and Jumblat are close allies. Jumblat used to call him Somosa of Lebanon. It pains me to see the plight of Palestinians in Lebanon today. I even miss the Palestinian accent on the streets of Lebanon. Many hide it, just as Syrians in Lebanon often hide their accents in that capital of bigotry, sectarianism and fake causes.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
It was in this bus that the right-wing, fascist Phalanges militia men ignited the Lebanese civil war back on April 13th, 1975. Today, the history of the civil war is being re-written before my eyes. I watched some shows and read some reports that commemorated the war. But you know how the Arab media are: loyal to House of Saud which is now--due to Hariri's alliances in Lebanon--in alliance with the very same Phalanges. But that is not contradictory: the House of Saud provided money and arms to the Phalanges back in 1975 because they were killing Lebanese and Palestinian communists. I don't have time to write more on this (check a long post I wrote last year, I think). But the new narrative of the war has twisted and distorted facts to suit the political interests of the right-wing forces in Lebanon (Sunni, Maronite, Shi`ite, and Druzes). Now they say that the civil war was ignited by an assassination attempt on the life of Pierre Gemayyel when he was in the church in `Ayn Ar-Rummanah. Gizelle Khuri (my least favorite human on earth--not only on TV) today rehashed the story. But somebody needed to tell them that Gemayyel was not in the church when the shooting occurred. And the shooting started by Phalanges gunmen outside of the church: they saw a car that "looked suspicious" (i.e. the car engine roared with a Palestinian accent), and shot at it. People in the car shot back, and one Phalanges thug was killed. Today, the TV tributes called him a martyr for Lebanon: this is as obscene and offensive as saying that Hitler was a martyr for Germany. And when that armed thug was killed, the Phalanges ambushed a bus of Palestinian civilians who were attending a rally by PFLP-GC. They massacred civilians in the bus above. Gizelle Khuri invited two Phalangist fighters, and one communist leader (who tried to tell her that he never fought to no avail), and Nasir Al-As`ad. Nasir Al-As`ad for potato's sake. A guy who never fought before taking up the cause of fighting for "the cause of the Hariri family." That is the real cause for Al-As`ad. And former Lebanese Forces commander today on Gizelle Khuri's show falsely claimed that students of the Phalanges used to volunteer in the Palestinian camps of Lebanon before the war. Was he referring to snipers' fires at the refugees? That was the extent of Phalanges' volunteer work. The Palestinians in Lebanon were victims of the war: they were used and abused by Israel, Syria, and all Lebanese factions and gangs, and `Arafat manipulated the Palestinian resistance not for the cause of liberation of Palestine but for the cause of keeping himself at the helm. I remember that day on April 13th, 1975. I was 15-years old, and it was a Sunday. None of us new that the war would drag on as long as it has. But when I look back I am nostalgic to the political spectrum of the times: Right-versus-Left. The secular left was so strong and the Palestinian resistance movement had a chance of launching a campaign for the liberation of Palestine. Arab regimes (Syria and Saudi Arabia notably) made sure to prevent that, and `Arafat made sure to prevent that too. I remember how much the traditional sectarian forces among Muslims were on the defensive; how weak they were. I remember with fondness when Kamil Al-As`ad (an ally of Syria and Bashir Gemayyel) was asked to leave West Beirut by a delegation from the Rejctionist Front. I remember when Kamal Jumblat rightly called for isolating the Phalanges. I still adhere to that slogan. I strongly believe that the Phalanges (on behalf of their own agenda, and then on behalf Israel and the Syrian regime) were the primary responsibly party for igniting the civil war and for prolonging the agony of the Lebanese people. Who would have thought that the Israeli invasion would install two Phalanges presidents? One of them is now hailed by Bush and CNN as a champion of peace in Lebanon. This ally of Jumblat: I remember when I interviewed Amin Gemayyel in the presidential palace in 1987, when I was doing research for my dissertation. (I wrote about this before I think). How Gemayyel told me that Walid Jumblat "does not amount to dust on my shoe"--and you know the significance of shoes in Arab culture. Now Gemayyel and Jumblat are close allies. Jumblat used to call him Somosa of Lebanon. It pains me to see the plight of Palestinians in Lebanon today. I even miss the Palestinian accent on the streets of Lebanon. Many hide it, just as Syrians in Lebanon often hide their accents in that capital of bigotry, sectarianism and fake causes.
