Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Hezbollah has taken control of the media in Lebanon, and their propaganda campaign has already begun. They are currently presenting themselves as liberators of Lebanon, and allies of the Lebanese Army against a corrupt government supported by pro-government snipers and brigrands.

Hezbollah’s militant takeover of Beirut and its systematic destruction of the authority of the state and freedom of the press suggests a sophisticated and planned campaign to take power. There is no hiding the violence Hezbollah used to seize Beirut and cut it off from the rest of the country. But as their media campaign is already showing, Hezbollah is employing subtle and sophisticated mechanisms to take over the rest of Lebanon. All news which could be construed as negative behaviors, such as the blatant destruction and corruption of Lebanese institutions, is hidden beneath a Hezbollah-dominated media blackout.

No one knows if Hezbollah is currently occupying government building, re-routing the telecommunications networks, placing weapons in areas they could not gain access to before, and more. If Hezbollah wins this battle, this information will never be made public.

Attacking the pro-Government Press

Future Television and Future News, both owned by parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri, have been shut down. According to Future CEO Nadim al Munla, Hezbollah militiamen said they would dynamite the multimillion dollar Future buildings, including the brand new and state of the art Future News building and studios, if they continue to broadcast. Al Mustaqbal newsaper, the newspaper paper of the Future Movement, was burned down, and Future radio has gone off the air.

Journalists cannot gain access to the myriad areas of Beirut in which fighting is taking place. Al-Manar television claimed earlier today that Hamra is peaceful and calm, and yet opposition militiamen are positioned on my street corner regularly firing their weapons. They fired off an RPG a few hours ago. Those who try to walk out on the streets are prevented from doing so. This is peace only according to the authoritarian definition of the word.

The Lebanese Broadcasting Channel (LBC), a Christian station based in the northern Christian region of Jounieh (Adma), is not even trying to cover the specifics on the ground, and most likely cannot gain access.

Al Jadid, Arabic for New TV, was granted the interview with Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, has some of the best footage of this conflict. The station is normally pro-Hezbollah and supports the opposition, but seems to be leaning a bit in favor of the government (or at least the Sunni community), now.

Hezbollah’s Media Campaign

Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV is reporting on events in Lebanon, but much of the information, as I noted about the situation in Hamra, is skewed to make it appear like Hezbollah has liberated Beirut. The station is claiming that the opposition militants who are terrorizing the religiously diverse neighborhoods of Beirut are turning over the territory they have captured to the Lebanese Army. Hezbollah also claims that its forces have arrested the “bad,” local militants and snipers and turned them over to the Lebanese Army.

From what I can see out my window, that does not appear to be the case. Hezbollah and Amal militiamen are on my streets firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. According to a friend a few buildings over, Hezbollah and Amal have a sniper positioned on her roof. The Lebanese Army is nowhere in site.

Targeting the Lebanese Christians

Hezbollah seems to be making a concerted effort to placate the Christian population. Ashrafieh was not attacked, and life is relatively normal in the Christian suburbs north of Beirut.

Al Jazeera is claiming that Hezbollah has made a “concession” by opening the airport road. As was told to me by a veteran Lebanese reporter, all of the journalists and news agencies reporting right now have been vetted by Hezbollah. Even if the news is true, it is written to present Hezbollah’s actions as gracious.

Michel Aoun just gave an interview claiming that the crisis will be over soon. He even noted that the illegal occupation of Beirut’s downtown by opposition militants will end soon. Many who watched his interview are happy to hear this news, despite it coming from a politician who appears to be Hezbollah’s Christian spokesman. Once again, this sounds like propaganda that no other Lebanese faction is in a position to challenge.

My Christian friends are all happy to hear the news about the airport road, and are glad to hear the good news from Michel Aoun. The opposition is making themselves appear to be the saviors of the nation, solving all problems at once. The airport road which they closed and Beirut’s downtown which they occupied will no longer be points of contention. The government which they froze and whose institutions they actively subverted will now be released from their stranglehold grip. We will now be told that we should be happy that they control everything and that freedom can now reign over this sovereign land that is no longer occupied by the evils of democracy.

Most likely, a president will be elected. Given his recent performances in support of Hezbollah, that president will most likely be Michel Aoun. Another deadlock will be broken. We will be told that this is the will of the people, which the evil and corrupt former government and their scheming American, French, Saudian Arabian allies prevented from occuring.

Depressing Conclusion

At the moment, it feels a bit like fall 2004 when the Syrians bullied all Lebanese factions into voting for a three year extension of Emile Lahoud’s term in office. Rafiq al-Hariri resigned from office, and Lebanese parliamentarians and democratic activists kept their mouths shut while Syria appointed a government made up of its Lebanese cronies. When Lebanese politicians began to stir a bit, Druze parliamentarian Marwan Hamade was targetted for assassination, and barely survived.

According to NOW Lebanon online newspaper, pro-government websites are being attacked. So, we’ll see what happens to this blog. The government’s telecommunications company has probably been fully overrun by Hezbollah, and all of our calls and internet traffic could be monitored. A source in the pro-Hezbollah Syrian Social Nationalist Party claims that everything is being monitored right now. Good luck getting reliable news from Lebanon.

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