Lebanon's Cedar Revolution goes south

Gone are the rich Lebanese divas with maids in tow wagging protest signs on their employer's behalf. Riad Al Sohl Square in downtown Beirut is now occupied by a working class tent city with Citrus supporters from the Opposition: religious Shias of Hezbollah (yellow), secular Shias of Amal (green), and Christians of the Free Patriotic Movement (orange). But all are united under one banner: "Clean Up the Government!"

In this exclusive part of the city, you'd scarcely notice Israel's recent bombing. The luxury boutiques and designer gourmet shops are open for consumption, and the pastel reproductions of delicate French Mandate buildings have retained their Disneyland feel. But much of the elite clientele has fled for Europe or points south like Dubai, Qatar, or Riyadh.

What's left are the have-nots. The protest encampment, surrounded by several mosques and churches, defies traditional factions.  "This is not a religious jihad" or a sectarian squabble one 28-year-old Christian man told me, "It’s getting Lebanon back from corruption." 

According to one taxi driver, costs of basic items like water, electricity, and food have doubled, mostly due to government mismanagement and sell-outs to international corporations. On Monday, the General Labor Confederation and the Opposition sponsored a sit-in against the Lebanese government's new economic reform. The plan, written by the World Bank, demands the privatization of the national telecommunications industry.

The head of the Telecommunications Ministry, Marwan Hamade, stands to personally benefit from the billion dollar deals. At a Hezbollah rally outside Lebanon's Parliament, the Lebanese celebrity Adel Mawla, 24, said this is typical of how the country's interests are being swindled to benefit greedy officials and foreign interests. 

"This government is fiscally corrupt," Mawla said.

Even while these same foreign interests bombed Lebanon last summer, the Lebanese government welcomed the invaders "with coffee and tea", he added.

As for the natives -- razor wire, armored personnel carriers, and checkpoints have been erected to protect the merchants from them.

MS/HG

END

MNA