The doom of free speech in Lebanon

Today, 9 June 2013, members of INTIMAA, a group of Lebanese Shia opposed to Hezbollah policies arrived to the Iranian embassy to hold a sit to protest against Hezbollah armed intervention in Syria. The organizers of the event had applied for and got an official authorization from the Security Forces who were informed of the time and place of the demonstration. Before getting out of the car, a group of Hezbollah members dressed in black shirt Iranian Batheej style, forbade the media photographers from approaching the scene and attacked the group hitting them with sticks. Then they started shooting killing one person. The security forces did not interfere to protect the civilians, and by 8 PM the Security Forces had not sent investigators to the hospital where the wounded were treated. The army issued a statement declaring that there were clashed between two groups without any clarification.

Lebanon guarantees free speech to Shias to protest in front of the Turkish embassy and close the airport road, and gives the right to various civil society groups to protest in freedom square. But it is forbidden for any Shia person or group to take any position against Hezbollah or Iran and the governmental institution will not protect the freedom of Shias to speak against Iran.

It is permitted for religious fascism to control the Shia community, it is an internal story and no governmental or political institutions will support the dissidents.

The so called West takes clear position against Sunni fundamentalism and calls them terrorists while Shia fundamentalism is acceptable and tolerated as deals under the table are under way with Iran.

This morning, I heard a journalist and analyst I respect equating the responsibility between all Lebanese factions. This might be true as to political strategies, but if we do not point the finger at armed factions outside the control of the government as the primary source of destruction of the rule of law we are dooming the country.

The Lebanese Christian communities lived a situation close to the actual Shia experience during the early eighties when the status quo armed forces forbade dissent within the regions they controlled forcing those who did not agree to be banned from the country.

I am dreading the time when Sunni fundamentalism resort to institutional armed actions, wins over moderation, and takes control of the Sunni Lebanese community by force, shutting down voices of reason.