Hanin Ghaddar

Bravo Lebanon. Now we can officially say that Syria has two governments, the one in Damascus and the one in Beirut. Lebanon to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is just another province.

Bravo President Michel Sleiman. Bravo PM Najib Mikati. Now you are internationally regarded as puppets of the Syrian regime. You did not even try to explain to the Lebanese why Lebanon voted against the Arab League’s decision to suspend Syria’s membership for the regime’s bloody eight-month crackdown on the protest movement. We could have just abstained, as we did when the Security Council voted to condemn Syria. Is the Arab League a scene where can just be ourselves?

And bravo to the Lebanese people. Now you have been declared pathetic and cowardly. We think that if we just keep everything on hold, do nothing too risky or forward, then the Syrian people will topple the regime by themselves and our lives would be better. But maybe we should start thinking ahead. Maybe the Arab League’s decision on Saturday will have long-term consequences for both Lebanon and Syria. If the Assad regime lives on a bit longer, Lebanon could become as isolated as Syria.

The only difference is that the Syrian opposition will recuperate and bring their country back to life, while the Lebanese will have to suffer the consequences of its support for a criminal dictator.

Of course, the Lebanese are divided between those who sincerely support the Syrian regime and consider the movement against it a Western conspiracy, and those who are just worried about the violence spilling from Syria into Lebanon, including the "Islamist threat," as if Lebanon is a safe haven with a normal political life.

If the international community isolates Lebanon along with Syria, we would have only ourselves to blame. Lebanon was the only country besides Syria and Yemen, two dictatorships on the verge of falling, that voted in the Assad regime's favour. Our government preferred to protect a dictator rather than protect itself.

Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters demonstrated against the Arab League's decision last night in the party’s stronghold of southern Beirut. These people want the Syrian regime to survive the "conspiracy" but at the same time cannot live without the international community.

They hate the US but love what it can offer them. If they had the chance, they wouldn't hesitate to do business or work with any company in Europe or America. They cannot live without Western commodities or inventions. They would love to send their children to study at American universities. Iranian or Syrian universities are certainly not an option.

These people, Hezbollah supporters and other fans of Syria and Iran in Lebanon, would do anything to get a European or an American passport. They would leave everything if they got a job in the West. They would never go to work and live in Syria or Iran. Yet they chant “death to America.”

These people would suffer from international isolation or economic sanctions on Lebanon as much as everyone else.
Now let’s see. Lebanon got a little warning last week from the US when Assistant Treasury Secretary for Terrorist Financing Daniel Glaser visited Beirut and met with top officials just as the Financial Times reported that “between three and five billion dollars” flowed to Lebanon from Syria since mid-March.

During his meeting with Prime Minister Najib Mikati and members of the banking community, Glaser stressed “the need for authorities to protect the Lebanese financial sector from potential Syrian attempts to evade US and EU financial sanctions,” according to a press release.

With the country stalling on the issue of funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and its stance at the Arab League, Lebanon might get more warnings and could eventually face sanctions, if not real political and economic isolation.
Lebanon cannot afford that. We are already on the verge of crisis, and any small economic or political shakeup might jeopardize our fragile stability. Are we seriously ready to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of the Syrian regime? Are we ready to commit suicide just because Hezbollah wants us to?

Lebanon’s stance at the Arab League does not represent most of the Lebanese. This is shameful, appalling and inexcusable. It was not a surprise for anyone here, but it was certainly a harsh reality check that should push the Lebanese to say “No.”

No to staying behind the Arab Spring. No to supporting a dictator. No to turning our backs on the miserable situation of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon. No to the continuous abduction and arrest of Syrian activists in Lebanon. No to the Syrian Social Nationalist Party thugs in Hamra. And finally, a big no to the presence of the Syrian ambassador in Lebanon, whose job is supervising all of the above.

Hanin Ghaddar is the managing editor of NOW Lebanon