Thank you Paris
We want a cease-fire now. Stop the killing of the Lebanese state and its civilians.
posted by beirutlive at 8:05 PM
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
We want a cease-fire now. Stop the killing of the Lebanese state and its civilians.
24 Comments:
Yes thank you Paris, Berlin, London... hopefully the list will go on and all of this will stop.
I always did like the French.
we want a cease-fire now. Stop the killing of any civilians on both sides!!
typical of MRTEZ not to publicaly call for stopping the killing on the other side as I think it gived him or her pleasure to see the other side (Israel) suffer.
it makes me sick reading this blog.
one sided all the way.
hate hate hate anger anger anger
your choice, there are pills against it and when you have your shope reopened I suggest you look for some of these happy peace and positive pills.
it will help you MRTEZ.
I call to stop the terrible killing of all civilians on all sides!!! its terrible. Merci Paris.
Scott (your current name, Nicholas?) You don't need to take a pill to stop feeling sick as you read this blog. And, I don't think any number of pills would make you feel happy. But, at least you can feel better by going away. It'll make a lot of other people feel better too.
Merci a Paris.
I agree with Scott, unless the needs of both sides are met don't stop the bombing. The rockets sure haven't stopped falling and these terrorist lovers don't say anything about the Jewish deaths. The fighting needs to stop forever.
The French are weak and push overs, ask all of their enemies......
scott, nicholas...
again i repeat my call > no civilians must die, be it israelis or lebanese...NONE
but this is a demonstration, in paris, organized for an immediate cease-fire to stop the horrendous killings of lebanese. no hate in this call, much the contrary. but we are being massacred here, completely. innocent people in the south are starving, are lacking water, cannot leave their homes, cannot use their cars in fear of being targeted, are lacking medicines, and even aid convoys cannot reach them. and leaflets fell over south lebanon today stating that whoever uses a car in the south will be considered a hizbullah member.
we have no more fuel, no more economy and maybe no future. our hospitals are closing and soon there will be no more electricity. villages are being razed and hundred of thousands of refugees are living packed in schools and gardens. out of all the lebanese people killed, over 1/3 are children.
i am not angry, and i dont hate...i am devestated...
and i hope that one day this cease-fire becomes peace and that you could come visit us for a drink and a real lebanese mezza.
thats if the middle east doesnt become a giant graveyard
Scott..if reading this blog makes you sick..then stop reading it.
My husband and I made a pact last night that if this insane war ever stops and Lebanon rebuilds to it's former glory, we are going to make it a point to visit.
Interesting you say that, rufus.... All I keep thinking about is how I would love to visit the region and not be kidnapped or beheaded for simply being American. Perhaps Beirut sometime in the next decade....I'm not so sure I'll ever get to see Baghdad.
Dear Rick and Rufusmom,
I thank you both for your comments and support. Americans have never, and will never be treated badly in the Middle East. Ask any of them (I spent a whole year just recently in Damascus with American students, and they loved it).
Let's hope Lebanon will regain its former glory so you guys can enjoy its beauties.
peace xx
Thank you, Omar. I sure hope to be able to visit your region - to have the opportunity to see the places where so much of human history has taken place. I truly hope peace comes to the Middle East soon.
Thanks Omar. The more I read about Lebanon the more I want the chance to visit and get to know the area and the people. So much of our history and the creation of civilization lies in the Middle East.
I just want the bombs to stop on all sides and peace to reign.
OK, let's just evaluate one alternative scenario. Israeli soldiers kidnapped, Lebanese PM issues immediate apologies, orders to arrest Nasralla, release of the kidnapped and investigation into the event, and orders the Army of Lebanon into action against Hezbollah. Do you really think a single Israeli bomb would fall in Beirut in that case?
OK, you sure have plenty of reasons why Siniora couldn't do that - weakness of the Army, strong support for Hezbollah, unwillingness of Lebanese intellectuals and middle class to confront Hezbollah etc. Write them down. YOU HAVE THE COMPLETE LIST OF REASONS WHY LEBANON SUFFERS. Leave Israelis out of that, they are merely protecting their lives.
very good and strong arguement terry, thanks for posting this so clearly.
I wonder if the editors will agree?
terry, anonymous,
unfortunately, the morning after the kidnapping, at 6am, israel bombed the international airport of Beirut, which was a direct attack on civilian infrastructure. hours after that bridges, roads and even a power plant were bombed - again, all civilian infrastructure.
what i am trying to say is that israel should have opened discussions with the Lebanese government before attacking all lebanese and imposing a blockade on the country.
the IDF would have been better off to:
1. mobilize its army to the borders
2. impose a blockade
3. give a max. deadline of 1 week to release soldiers
4. found diplomatic solutions
5. and then as last resort attack.
but it seems the IDF unfortunately preferred to follow a course of action which was pre-planned. no army in the world can attack so quickly, on such large scale, without having planned for it at least a month or two before.
and if you didnt realize, just sending the the lebanese army against hezbollah isnt a solution. the only solution is dialogue...
i completely agree with this.
the IDF should have used diplomatic channels before force.
imagine if the USA simply attacked cuba when it found that there were nuclear missiles there. what would have happened?
the IDF simply used too much force and gave no choice to lebanese government to even react to what happened. its stupid tactic
gunter
Terry crane... your scenario is admirable, there's only one flaw in it... CIVIL WAR...
Lebanon recently came out of one, and they're not about to get into another one.
Rick, Rufus and Omar, just to back you up, I live in Lebanon, I am British and my wife is American. My wife and I regularly go to Syria and visit Damascus. We have always been treated with the greatest respect in both countries. The people are amongst the friendliest in the world.
I would be very reluctant to say the same about the Israelis considering what we see happening to Lebanon, and the Israeli rhetoric against Syria.
Terry Crane, interesting scenario, thanks.
Unfortunately however, scenarios in the Middle East cannot afford to be so simple. Why do you think Hezbollah captured the Israeli soldiers? Because the Israel causes following problems for Lebanon, for many years:
1. Israel holds numerous Lebanese civilians in its dungeons & prisons in the worst inhumane conditions without trial.
2. Israel till this day occupies Shabaa Farmlands from southern Lebanon.
3. Israel refuses to share with Lebanon the maps of the landmines that it had previously planted in southern Lebanon. Needless to mention, these landmines are killing/maiming children playing in the fields.
Notice how all the above factors affect civilians in Lebanon, not politicians or military. What Hezbollah did was capture military soldiers (not civilians) in the aim of pressuring Israel to resolve the above issues. Not the friendliest act, admittedly, but considering Israel's long history with Lebanon (occupation, massacres, assasinations), which undermines Lebanon's soverenty, Hezbollah's act was well measured.
Terry, you might now say that Hezbollah is the real entity that undermines Lebanon's soverenty, but remember that Hezbollah is essentially a Lebanese party that is democratically represented in the Lebanese government, through a handful of Members of Parliament.
Terry, you might say that Hezbollah is Iran and Syria's hand in Lebanon, but remember that Israel is also the hand of the American foreign policy in the Middle East as well. Just as Syria supports Hezbollah and Iran arms it, the Pentagon does the same with Israel.
Fair play! Except one minor detail... Israel happens to be the occupier; whilst Lebanon is occupied. Not very fair now, are we?
The bottomline Terry, is: I invite you to read the region's full unbiased history since 1917 during the fall of the Ottoman Empire and you will understand that this current war between Israel and Lebanon is in fact America's war in the region, with Israeli hands. It is nothing more a small part of controlling the region's resources, mainly oil. Such history will explain (but not justify) why we have so many wars here, why many American citizens falsely think that they are unwelcome in the Middle East, why 9/11 took place, with all crazy religious zealousy we see today around the world.
Sad but true. You can chose to ignore the facts that modern history teaches us, or you can chose to observe.
Cheers!
Fawwaz
MRTEZ - dialogue is key to the solution but I hate to say this again you had 6 years after Israel left your beautiful south to sort things out with Syria, HZ and the civilians living in the south. instead you did nothing for these people and allowed IRAN and Syria via Hez to support these people and turn a blind eye to the massive arming of the so called freedom fighters. Israel left you and your country and you didnt do anything for 6 years, maybe you did behind the scenes but on the ground it seem like you allowed the extremeists to take over your sovereignty in the south.
now you are paying the price and its sad and I dont agree with any wars or any killing of civilians and I do agree with you entirely that the only solution is dialogue and it must start now !!
stop the terrible killing now.
Thanks for the post, Saw.
I very much want to see Beirut, Tyre, Damascus, Baghdad, etc. As a closet anthropologist, it would be wonderful to walk in such historical places. I would say the same for Jerusalem, but my distaste of the Israeli government right now really tarnishes my feelings.
I also appreciated Fawwaz' comments. As a history buff, what do you recommend as an "unbiased" piece of reading on the region? It has always been obvious that the borders in the Middle East were borders of convenience for the major powers, not those that made sense for the indigenous people. Please understand, we Americans have a (proud) history of creating borders without regard to indigenous populations. What other nation would promote Custer as a war hero? lol
Anyway, I look forward to your thoughts
- Rick
Rick, I too would love to find some unbiased historical accounts, but I don't think they exist. All history is colored by the person telling it. But I understand what you mean!
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