From: rbaroody@cs.mcgill.ca (Ramzi BAROODY)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.lebanon
Subject: Story
Date: 11 Oct 92 19:28:28 GMT
Organization: SOCS - Mcgill University, Montreal, Canada


A work of fiction ... well, almost.



Fighting has errupted once again in the Mid-East country of Lebanon, just
2 years after the civil war was declared at an end.  With us now is XYZ's
own reporter, Jane Doe, who has been in Lebanon for the past few days
to report on the latest developments.  Hi Jane...

Hi John.  I have been here since the tension started rising 4 days ago in
hope that something like this will happen.  Luckily, the war has started
once more and I get to cover these event exclusively.  Isn't that great
John?

Absolutely, Jane!  I would like to take the chance to remind our viewers
that they can always count on XYZ for full coverage of the latest events
worldwide.  Now could you please tell us what's happening over there?

Sure John.  I got the events and interviews right here on tape.  Here we
go...


[Day 1]
The tension is obvious.  The usually crowded streets are empty.  It makes
driving much more enjoyable, but it's also a sign of trouble.  Last night
Christian leader Samir Geagea went live on TV and declared the recent
parliament elections as illegal and called for all the people to go on a
general strike until the current government and the president resigned.
He also declared the Taef agreement, which is considered by many as the
basis of national reconsiliation, as void.  In response, a government
spokesman said this morning that since Mr. Geagea's speech was not cleared
with the censors first, it will not be taken into consideration.  He then
angrily denounced the LBC's (a local TV station) move of cancelling this
week's episode of a popular Mexican soap opera in order to broadcast an 
illegal speech.

Tension further escalated when an army unit consisting of 64 soldiers
reinforced with 4 tanks was sent to the LBC TV station to arrest it's
manager for "illegal activities".  A spokesman for the Lebanese Forces
(who own the TV station) declared this move as a "serious, intentional act
of provocation which could have dire concequences."  He added that "the
LBC's general manager could be easily released with the payment of a few
generous bribes, but this is clearly an offensive move and will not be
forgotten!"

Neither President Elias Hrawi nor Prime Minister were available to make
comments during this rather sensitive time.  Both had left suddenly to
Damascus last night following Mr. Geagea's broadcast for "regular and
usual" meetings with Syrian officials.

By the end of the day, a rumor was starting to circulate that the Lebanese
Forces were attempting to re-arm themselves.  This news prompted other
militias to make quick decisions.  A joint announcement Mr. Nabih Berri
and Mr. Walid Jumblatt stated the intentions of Amal and the Progressive
Socialist Party to "request immediate military assistance from the brotherly
Syrians to face the growing imperialist Zionist influence in Lebanon."  A
spokesman for Hizbollah denounced the re-arming process, arguing that there
will never be peace if more than one militia possesses weapons.  When we
tried to ask Mr. Geagea about his opinion about the arms race that was going
on, he turned pale and rushed to make some phone calls.


[Day 2]
As of this morning, there is a much higher concentration of Syrian troops
visible on the streets of Beirut, mostly in the Christian sectors.  Our car
got stopped by a roadblock manned by Syrian soldiers.  My driver, a
Lebanese, asked me to hand over some sort of identification to the soldier
peeking through my window.  I gave him my passport.  I must confess he was
impressively thorough.  He went through almost every page, studying it
carefully and nodding occasionally and frowning at me occasionally.  After
a few minutes, he asked my driver a question after which he handed us back
out documents and we were allowed to leave.  When I inquired about what he
said, my driver answered that the soldier had asked what my nationality was.

We headed for the headquarters of the Syrian intelligence in Beirut.  Maybe
now we can get some straight answers.  Contrary to what I was expecting, I
was not strip-searched!  I guess the guards are gay.  Eventually, I was
ushered into the office of a Mr. Ghazi Kanaan who greeted me warmly.  I took
advantage of his pleasant mood and asked him about all the serious questions
I could think of at the moment... and I must confess that the three armed
guards standing behind me made me think twice before each question.  The
following is a transcript of the interview with Mr. Kanaan:

"What do you think about the developments that took place yesterday?  And what
 do you think the motive of the Christian leaders is?"
 
"The motives are clear!  Civil disobedience has always been a cheap trick
 employed by fashists to disrupt the process of democracy.  Fortunately, my
 country is willing to help the Lebanese government maintain law and order
 until the Lebanese army is able to do so on it's own."

"So you are willing to help the Lebanese army take control?"

"Yes of course; that's what we're here for."

"What about the rumors that several Lebanese army officers are held in prison
 camps in Syria?"
 
"That is nothing but a vicious rumor spread around by Zionist agents who try
 to divide among the Syrian people and their Lebanese brothers who are in fact
 one people belonging to one nation and who will be united together as one,
 God willing or not!  Besides, those officers are being re-trained by the
 superior Syrian army."

"What do you think of the move taken by the militias to re-arm themselves?"

"Again here we see another attempt to re-ignite the civil war; but we will
 make sure that this will never happen.  We will take every move neccessary
 to put an end to this."

"Mr. Berri and Mr. Jumblatt have requested military assistance from Syria.
 What will your response be?"

"They are our allies.  We will make sure they get what they need."

"What about Hizbollah?  They were not disarmed with the other militias.  Why
 not?  And will there be any move to disarm them in the near future?"

"Hizbollah is the concern of the Lebanese government.  It is not our policy
 to interfere in internal Lebanese matters."
 
And so ended my interview with Mr. Kanaan.  I was escorted out of his office
and back to my car.

Later that day, more drastictic events took place.  A spokesman for the
internal security forces announced that the manager of the LBC had passed
away the previous night.  In a private and personal phone conversation that
was broadcasted on TV and some radio stations, Minister Sami Al-Khatib told
his widow that "the Lebanese government regrets to say that he died
peacefully during his sleep due to a heart failure."  A few hours later,
6 delegates of the Lebanese Forces who were sent to retrieve his body were
arrested for tampering with evidence when they tried to argue that the round
scar on his forehead was a bullet wound, not a result of autopsy.  A high-
tone argument between the bodyguards of the delegates and the guards at the
prison quickly escalated to a shootout between the 2 parties that resulted,
according to an official report, in the death of all 13 bodyguards and 4
Syrian soldiers who "happened to be passing by at the time of the incident."

During that turbulant evening, Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, the head of the
Maronite Church in Lebanon, called for an immediate meeting of all key
Christian figures in an attempt to resolve the latest issues before things
got out of hand.  Within an hour, the Patriarch's residence at Bkirki was
the site of tense arguments between the different factions of the Christian
community.  According to one of the Patriarch's spokesmen, the purpose of
the meeting was "to come up with a united Christian front that would be
capable of dealing with any obstacles facing the future of Lebanon."  Thirty
minutes later, the meeting was over since it was dinner time, but it was
agreed that another meeting should take place early next week, preferably
on Thursday, to resume the discussion on urgent matters.  Most refused to
give any statements, and the Patriarch was heard mumbling something about
wishing he had been a Buddhist monk.  "He's just kidding," clarified one of
his embarrassed companions.  "He's such a joker... you should hear his
'The devil, a Protestant, and General Aoun...' joke."


[Day 3]
This day was charactized by heated accusations and arguments between the
different Lebanese factions.  Everyone seemed to be publicly attacking
everyone else and fragile alliances were breaking up at a rapid rate.

Lebanese Forces leader, Samir Geagea made another televised broadcast today
in which he accused, for the first time since the Taef agreement, the Syrians
of plotting to annex Lebanon.  He also accused the Lebanese government of
being completely under the control of the Syrians.  He then proposed a plan
for implementing Federalism in Lebanon.  "We have been researching this idea
for the past 17 years," he added, "and our studies have shown that dividing
the country into 73 self-governed provinces is the best solution.  Of course
this does not mean that we will end up with 73 new countries!  The provinces
will remain bound together by close ties and common characteristics, such
as their common language, Alpha-Leb." 

Head of the Amal movement (which has been sometimes accused of terrorist
activities by the West), Minister of Justice Nabih Berri attacked Mr. 
Geagea's plans as a new trick by the Christian minority to maintain absolute
power in the country.  "It is a classical 'divide and conquer' strategy but
it will never be implemented because we will fight against it to keep Lebanon
as one independant Arab state."  He then called for a union with Syria as a
deterrent to the imminent Israeli invasion of South Lebanon.

The spiritual leader of Hizbollah, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah,
blamed the the whole Lebanese political system for the insecurity in the
country since it is based on political sectarianism.  "Democracy can never
be established in Lebanon as long as the political hierarchy is based on
a religious distribution."  He then suggested replacing the Lebanese
constitution with Islamic law as a solution to the country's problems.

Mr. Farouk Abi-Allamaa, representative of exiled General Michel Aoun
commented on the current situation as exactly what the General had warned
against.  "I hate to say we told you so, but we did!  The Taef was initially
a disaster for Lebanon and what we have now is a concequence of it.  We
should work all of us together as Lebanese to solve the crisis that we now
have."  He then affirmed the General's refusal to deal with the current
government or with any of the political or religious parties.

President Elias Hrawi, Prime Minister Rashid Solh, and Head of Parliament
Hussein Husseini said they will make statements after their meeting with
Syrian vice-president Abdul-Halim Khaddam that evening.

In an attempt to find out what the general public was thinking, we 
attempted to interview a passer-by and asked him about his opinion on the
current events.  "This is a democracy," he replied.  "My opinion does not
count."


[day 4]
The sudden withdrawal of Syrian troops from Beirut and Mount Lebanon last
night took everyone by surprise.  According to Syrian news agencies, this
move was done "in accord with the Taef agreement which calls for the Syrian
Arab army to regroup in it's permanent positions in the Bekaa Valley until
war breaks out again in the Lebanese state after which the army will move
back in to maintain peace and order."

In the confusion that followed the abrupt withdrawal of the Syrian army,
old warlords tried to score as many points as possible.  Armed militiamen
started appearing on the streets.  Shots that were fired in celebration
were mistaken for hostile fire and counter-attacks were made.  And the
death of Minister Walid Jumblatt in his residence in Mukhtara due to a
"stray bullet fired by a Christian militiaman" in Ashrafieh served to
rekindle the old fued between Maronite Christians and Druze.  Within hours,
fighting had errupted in numerous parts of the country.  In Damascus,
the Lebanese president and prime-minister made a joint statement requesting
immediate assistance and intervention from the Syrian army to "put an end to
the unfortunate incidents."  However, the Syrian government was hesitant
in offering immediate aid, preferring to study the matter fully first.


Fighting goes on as each militia displays it's newly acquired arsenal of
weapons.  So far, there has been no attempt to halt the fighting or to
start negotiations.  No one can tell what the future holds for this country,
but if you ask me, I see nothing but darkness.

Jane Doe reporting for XYZ ... Beirut.