Echos of the Sunni Street

[LebanesePride]

Well obviously when something like this happens, you cant expect sunnis to take an objective look.

An objective look would be to look at the behavior of the Future Movement and how it ruled the country, and then understand why this happened.

But again, no group in lebanon is willing to take such a perspective on their parties.

So i would say sunnis are feeling humiliated and vulnerable, kind of like what the FM has been making people feel for the past 20 years.
But thats irrelevant on the popular level, i must sympathise with the individuals, its no use to tell them the offices were handed over to the army, theyre gonna feel victimized.

[taifoon]

Dryce, i predict the begining of the collapse of the Hariri dynasty.. Not tomorrow, not next month, but maybe within a year or two. Unless Hariri and FM are ready to raise their sectarian biddings and rhetorics, in which case they will have to see internal unrests and the collapse of their allying fronts with some of the christians.. The sunni in general will be looking for extremers to follow, sadly so.. This is what i was talking about in the other thread, the trap prepared for all of us..

After the late events, Hariris maffia, which basically feeds on money + moderate sectarian agitation, is now pushed back on two fronts: Political wise, where it has completely lost whatever was left of political momentum it had, and sectarian wise where it can not any longer keep it's disguised moderate sectarian leadership and still pretend to be consistent with its popular base.. Even more extrem sunni elements than Hariri will have to step in, and Hariri will either have to engage in a fanatic competition with those elements, or flee the fields. The late military humilation of the sunnis is not OK, even though many would tell you that was not a SECTARIAN defeat. The only way to mend the wounds and save the day for tomorrow is for Hariri and FM itself now, and quickly before it is too late, to revise its lebanese political conducts and readjust moderatly to the leb reality which states that: No one power is able to rule alone. Lebanon, until further notification, is about consensual sharing and nothing else.

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

First, let it be clear that this is about the Sunni street in Beirut and Lebanon in general. In the sectarian composition of Lebanon, there are of course those who support Omar Karami or Usama Saad, similarly to those Shiites/Christians/Druzes that support other than the principally recognized representatives of their sects (Hezbollah/FPM/PSP).

The Sunni street is generally represented by the Future Movement. That movement was dealt a severe blow through military force in Beirut and other regions and it is time to realize the repercussions on the community that principally feels represented by that political group.

• What is the current state of mind of the Sunnis in Beirut and Lebanon?
  
  Are they feeling somewhat of a "defeat"?
  
  Are they perceiving Hezbollah/Amal's military display as a victory for Shiites?
  
  What kind of reaction can one expect from them next?
  
  What will be their perception of Hezbollah/Amal in the future and how hard will it be to fix what has happened over the past few days?

Additional questions and related feedback much appreciated..

Regards

Dry Ice
It is true that what hapened in the streets, no matter under which banner it is been transmitted, is perceived by many as an attack on the sunni street.
One can't generalise here, but from what I've been talking to people in Beirut, they consider it as a defeat to the sunnis. Those people who were independant lost whatever trust they have in HA.
Badly enough revenge, rather than a compromise seems to be the common denominator. It will be feared that people overwhelmed by sense of defeat and humiliation will adopt a more extreme alternative, which unfortunately isn't far from the sunni backyard.
Unfortunately, people are very high on emotions now, and the main feeder of that has turned into sectarian hate.
How is this gonna translate in the future is hard to predict, and it will depend on many factors including how things will develop in the streets, and not by reassuring words from either side.
One would hope that when the dust settles, and emotions calm, rational people might learn from mistakes of both sides to avoid a more violoent future.
Regards

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by spiderboy

U made my day, as your comparaison is quite real and it reflects what has truly happened and is happening these days, as YES Hezb is acting as if Israel was occupying Beirut.

spiderboy, the example that I provided was just indicative IMO of the trauma that citizens are incurring and not to compare Hezbollah to Israel per se or whatever.. let's not go into that road as I believe that this particular aspect has been discussed in other spaces...

chukran

[Jorje]

The answer seems kinda obvious: the need to develop a militia that can protect them.

That's sad but it's true. They have seen their neighbourhoods stormed by Hezbollah with the army standing by.

The only solution is the army imo. They should develop the capacity, at any cost, to face those who turn their weapons against their fellow citizens. Whoever they are.

[Bazek]

from my observation I have felt the followings:

- the trust of Jumblat have dropped dramatically, the majority blame him for playing Saad.

- the support for Saad dropped also big time, they blame him for not protecting them as he promised to do.

- the support for extremist is rising, they feel that this is the way to get revenge

- the support for the LA and mainly GMS dropped to almost zero, they feel they are bias to the other side

- the feeling for revenge made some call for Israel support

- the support for SG is mixed, some think he can still help them and some not

- sectarian hatred is very high

[BEAST]

in a nutshell? they're calling for al qaeda to intervene!! and some are even calling for Fatah el Islam...7elo!!

[ozzie]

Originally Posted by taifoon

The late military humilation of the sunnis is not OK, even though many would tell you that was not a SECTARIAN defeat. The only way to mend the wounds and save the day for tomorrow is for Hariri and FM itself now to revise its lebanese political conducts and readjust moderatly to the leb reality which states that: No one power is able to rule alone. Lebanon, until further notification, is about consensual sharing and nothing else.

I agree with your first point, but it seems to conflict with the final sentence. The last few days have proved that Lebanon is not about consensual power sharing.

Consensual power sharing was used very cynically by HA and some of its allies when the international tribunal was being discussed. Their version of consensual power sharing was do what we want or we walk out and then we'll accuse you of monopolizing power. They've done the same thing now. 'Do what we want, or else...'

The humiliation of the Sunnis is in direct conflict with another Lebanese slogan: 'No victor, no vanquished.' Aoun's attempt to say this was a 'victory for Lebanon' was hollow indeed.

I think the leaders may try to sound conciliatory and compromising to some extent (such as handing the decisions over to the army), but many people are angry.

[taifoon]

Originally Posted by Bazek

[size="2"]from my observation I have felt the followings:

- the trust of Jumblat have dropped dramatically, the majority blame him for playing Saad.

Ironically, in the worst bads, one may allways find something "good". May the sunnis keep this in mind: Joumblat is a snake who, for own calculations, is prepared to fight anyone, through anyone.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by BEAST

in a nutshell? they're calling for al qaeda to intervene!! and some are even calling for Fatah el Islam...7elo!!

Doesn't show the state (or perception) of concern/despair/fear/insert adjective that some (or many) of them have reached... Should one stand there and point it by the finger or try to fix it ASAP..?!