That civil war broke out on April 13, 1975 after Christian militants machine-gunned a bus transporting Palestinians in east Beirut, to revenge the death of a Christian outside a neighboring church few hours earlier
As the date of the rally to commemorate the third anniversary of the assassination of Lebanon’s former prime minister gets closer the political temperature has been rising ..this has led to verbal attacks by both the ruling majority and the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah-led opposition…and the verbal attacks translated into bloody clashes on the streets of Beirut and Aley , a mountain resort east of the capital.
The rally is scheduled for Thursday February 14 at 10: AM in the Martyr Square of downtown Beirut . Over a million is expected at this rally .
Last Saturday parliament majority leader Saad Hariri said during an interview :
We don't want a confrontation. But if we are dragged into one we will not stay hands tight. He continued: We are a silent majority. We have been silent for the past three years despite all what has happened.
On Sunday Hariri challenged the opposition : "If there is a national will, then there is a way to solve Lebanon problems away from foreign interference," in reference to the Syrian influence over the opposition
Similarly Yesterday Democratic gathering leader MP Walid Jumblatt lashed out at Hezbollah-led oppositions
"If the others want war, then March 14 is ready. And if they want peace, March 14 is also ready,"
Jumblatt added: "War does not scare us. We have no problem with war or rockets," Jumblatt said in reference to Hezbollah 's possession of thousands of rockets.
In a speech last October, Nasrallah said his group had 33,000 rockets — up from the 22,000 he said they had on Sept. 22, 2006.
"We will seize the rockets from you because we don't fear martyrdom," Jumblatt vowed.
Today Lebanese forces leader Dr. Samir Geagea and former president Amin Gemayel both of which are leading members of the ruling majority echoed the same sentiment during their press conferences. They both also appeared to have had enough with Hezbollah and its Syrian and Iranian backers. Both wanted a free and sovereign Lebanon that is not influenced by any outside powers .
This prompted General Michel Aoun to hold a press conference Monday afternoon to attack the leading majority
Sunday shots were fired around 9 pm in a quarrel between supporters of the Future Movement and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's security guards in Beirut's Ain el-Tineh district, the security official said.
"A convoy from the Future movement was driving by Berri's residence. Apparently some heated words were exchanged with Berri's security service and shots were fired. No injuries were reported and the security forces are conducting investigation of the incident “ the security official said
In Aley , a summer resort town , 10 miles east of Beirut , two people were wounded in clashes late Sunday between members of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party ( PSP) and rivals from the Lebanese Democratic Party (LDP) headed by the pro-Syrian opposition former MP Talal Arslan, security officials said.
2 people were wounded in the Aley clashes : One girl ( 12) and one man (22) according to the national News Agency
An official from PSP party , which is a leading member of the ruling majority said that the convoy came under fire and several people were injured. Similarly LDP has accused Jumblatt’s party of initiating the shooting on their offices in Aley causing damages to the premises .
The number of violent incidents has escalated since January 27, when seven people were killed, including members of Hezbollah and Amal, south of Beirut when a street protests against powers cuts and living conditions erupted into violence.
"The opposition has for a long time played this game of increasingly powerful rhetoric. Now the majority has decided to adopt the same strategy," political analyst Nabil bou Monsef wrote in the influential daily An-Nahar. In short the majority said “ enough is enough “
Lebanon has been without a president since November 23, 2007 when the pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his controversial term
Parliament Sessions to elect a successor to Lahoud have been postponed 14 times. The new session is set for February 26.
The majority has nominated Army commander general Michel Suleiman as the new president and the opposition has accepted his nomination but the Lebanese politicians are divided over how to share power in a new government following the election of a new president
Arab League chief Amr Moussa has traveled to Lebanon 3 times this year to broker a three point Arab initiative to end the political impasse, but gave up last Saturday after failing to bridge the gap between the rival camps and after discovering that the opposition was confused and was contradicting itself . Moussa found out that General Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri had 2 sets of instructions on how to end the crises. This prompted Hariri to be suspicious of Aoun’s claim that he is authorized to negotiate on behalf of the opposition.
Tensions in Lebanon are expected to be further heightened with demonstrations planned for Thursday to mark the third anniversary of the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
The majority accuses Syria of being behind the Hariri killing. Damascus denies it was involve
The fear is that if this political rhetoric and street clashes continue to escalate they will most probably lead to an armed showdown between the rival political camps .
Hariri and Jumblatt played down the political rhetoric to calm down their supporters .
Hariri issued yesterday an appeal to its supporters urging them to refrain from participating in any peaceful processions and focus instead on participating in the February 14 rally in Martyrs Square .
Similarly Jumblatt told the pro-Syrian daily newspaper al Safir : "March 14 Forces do not want war or a confrontation," His comment was published on Monday .
It is hoped that the opposition leaders starting with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah will do the same . This escalation sof political rhetoric should be stopped and people should be told to calm down.
The Lebanese people are hopeful that the political leaders have learned an important lesson from the civil war that should deter them from repeating the same mistake .
Tags: Aoun, Geagea, Gemayel, Hezbollah, Iran, Jumblatt, Lebanon, Moussa, Syria, War