Hazem al-Amin

“Lebanon supports the Syrian regime and is against the Syrian uprising.” This is our country’s image abroad. When you hear it and try to repel or change it, you quickly revert to agreeing with your Arab or non-Arab interlocutor on this truth. This interlocutor is so malicious that he leaves you no room for maneuver and has enough evidence to thwart any article you write about your being biased in the Syrian people’s favor and against its overpowering regime.

The Lebanese cabinet stands by the Syrian regime’s side and so does the majority – albeit by a slight margin – in parliament. The same holds true for the three main religious leaders and the leaders of communities of medium-to-little influence. Audiovisual and written media outlets in Lebanon stand by the regime, as four out of six local TV stations are biased in its favor. At least three out of five key newspapers are with the Syrian regime, whereas the fourth one is hesitating between its owners’ political stance against the Syrian regime and its Syrian editors’ pro-regime stance, which leads to discrepant news from one day to another.

This opinion harbored by non-Lebanese observers may be arbitrary, but it remains nonetheless true. Rather, it is a self-evident act we disregarded and ruled out as unlikely as we were engrossed with the events in Syria. This goes without mentioning the various forms of solidarity displayed by the Lebanese toward the Syrian uprising, many of which denote a misunderstanding this uprising. For instance, the slogan of the latest action on the Samir Kassir Square in downtown Beirut was: “Lebanon’s interest lies in supporting the Syrian uprising.” This genuinely ambiguous slogan implies that being biased toward the victim occurs only when one has an interest in doing so. The phenomenon of Lebanese thugs who are rising up against the modest manifestations of solidarity with the Syrian people is also an extension of Lebanon’s image in the Arab and Western world since the capacity to mobilize thugs has so far been greater than that of mobilizing people who express their solidarity. This was yet another observation made by this malicious – albeit accurate – non-Lebanese observer.

What is even more important and dangerous is the fact that several foreign circles now know that Lebanon is putting displaced Syrian nationals under arrest and that Lebanese security apparatuses have handed many Syrian activists back to the Syrian regime’s apparatuses. This rumor is persistent outside Lebanon and has led to a bleak image not only of our cabinet and security services, but also of “an environment that lacks solidarity with victims who are exposed to the most brutal kinds of killing.” Some people abroad even call for documenting reports about Lebanese actions denoting a lack of solidarity with the Syrian people on YouTube and spreading them along with the violations committed by Syrian thugs.

Indeed, the latest chapter of Lebanon’s bias toward the Baath regime in Syria is the culmination of Lebanon’s bleak status. As far as the Arab and world public opinion is concerned, such actions are tantamount to direct involvement in the killing machine at work in Syrian cities. This threatens in the most blatant manner a reputation long cultivated by Lebanon with regard to supporting the right of displaced people to protection.

What is under threat here is not a political regime or a cabinet affiliated to the Syrian regime. It is not Lebanese security and military services, and not even media outlets whose inclinations are well known. Rather, what is at stake is the image of Lebanon, all of Lebanon. Whoever does not rise up against the cabinet and security services for handing a Syrian activist back to his executioners is directly involved in killing this activist should he be killed by those to whom he has been sent back.
This is what our malicious observer said, and he is probably right.

This article is a translation of the original, which appeared on the NOW Arabic site on Friday September 16, 2011