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Lebanon Diary: On the Edge of Civil War: the Cedar Revolution Goes South

by Counterpunch (reposted)
Two years after the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, America's Cedar Revolution in Lebanon has gone "Citrus". The chic Lebanese divas with maids in tow wagging protest signs on their employer's behalf are absent. Riad El Sohl Square in downtown Beirut is now occupied by a working class tent city with "Citrus" supporters from the Opposition: Religious Shias-Hezbollah (yellow), secular Shias- 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 neighborhood's elite clientel has fled for Europe or points south like Dubai, Qatar or Riyadh.

What's left are the lesser-haves, united against feared austerity measures. The protest encampment, surrounded by churches and mosques, defy traditional alliances. "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 recently doubled, allegedly 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 plan. Among other requirements demanded by the World Bank is 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, a Lebanese celebrity Adel Mawla, 24, said this is typical of how the country's interests are being siphoned to benefit greedy officials and foreign interests. "This government is fiscally corrupt" and even while these same foreign interests bombed Lebanon last summer, the Lebanese government welcomed the invaders "with coffee and tea."

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http://counterpunch.org/schuh01232007.html
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