After the longest ministerial meeting in Lebanese history, the cabinet concluded its May 5 session just before dawn on Tuesday morning, with a bold statement revealing a new attitude from the government and the March 14 coalition. At last, the government seems ready to confront the real issue at the core of Lebanon’s crisis: Hezbollah’s state within a state, thriving at the expense of the Lebanese state while hiding behind the supposed sacredness of the Islamic Resistance in its struggle against Israel.

To name but three examples, in recent weeks, Hezbollah has defended its detention, separately, of both a French tourist and an ISF officer, and its installation of an autonomous telecommunications network stretching throughout the country. In the name of the “divine” resistance, almost anything has become permissible.

But with both the majority and the opposition apparently moving towards bolder positions, the potential for strife is high – especially with all of this taking place just ahead of today’s strike, called by the pro-Hezbollah General Federation of Labor Unions (GFLU). Despite the cabinet’s Monday decision to raise the minimum wage, the GFLU has announced it will carry ahead with the strike as planned. Although pro-government unions, banks and schools will not observe the strike, widespread calls from opposition leaders for their supporters to participate en masse have raised fears that this strike could turn into a repeat of “Black Tuesday,” January 23, 2007, when three people were killed during a violent general strike called by the opposition.

MP Samir Franjieh told the Voice of Lebanon radio station that Wednesday’s strike is aimed at diverting attention away from the issue of Hezbollah’s network of private landlines and its alleged surveillance of the international airport. “This time, the Lebanese army and security services will not allow civil unrest similar to what happened in January 2007,” Franjieh said.

But regardless of whether or not today’s events culminate in major confrontation, it is clear that both sides are taking off the gloves. The presidential vacuum and the myriad obstacles to its resolution are being exposed as mere symptoms of the real crisis at hand, the existential battle between Hezbollah and the state. And although Hezbollah has threatened to “viciously” resist those who dare to jeopardize its “sacred” rights, the government appears determined to take the risk.

A holy war of words

On Monday, An-Nahar quoted ministerial sources saying that officials had received "direct threats" from forces within the Hezbollah-led opposition warning them not to touch the party’s communication network or Brigadier General Wafiq Shqeir's position as airport security chief.
In a parallel move, Hezbollah's deputy chief Sheik Naim Qassem declared that "Hezbollah will deal with those who interfere with the network as if they were Israeli spies" and warned that "they will face a ferocious resistance."

Nonetheless, the cabinet’s statement at dawn the following day announced its decision to transfer Shqeir to the army, removing him amid concerns over his relationship to Hezbollah. The cabinet also labeled Hezbollah’s communications network "illegal and unconstitutional.”

An opposition official speaking on condition of anonymity told NOW Lebanon that the network is not a new story.  He accused those who have brought the issue back to the fore of seeking to provoke an explosion on the domestic political scene. “This is not a coincidence, as it comes [at the same time as] UN Resolution 1559 will be discussed at the Security Council,” he speculated, adding that, “This also reveals a clear intention to internationalize the crisis.”

According to the opposition source, MP Walid Jumblatt timed his accusations last week in order to take the spotlight away from Israeli media reports about the failure of a planned Israeli assault on Lebanon, adding that Israel’s media had also exposed the involvement of Lebanese parties in the February 2008 assassination of Imad Mugniyah.
 
“The network is identical to Hezbollah’s arms and [is] part of its security, and it’s obvious that this effort is part of an American agenda to internationalize the country and its security,” he stated. “As for the cameras, they are located on private Hezbollah property.”

From truce to warfare

With diplomatic efforts to resolve Lebanon’s crisis at a standstill, the accompanying “truce” observed between Lebanese majority and opposition forces in recent months appears to have been called off. The truce was based on a political agreement between the two blocs that the opposition would accept the Siniora government, pending the resolution of the presidential crisis, as long as the government only acted in a caretaker capacity and avoided taking any major decisions – such as those taken on Monday.

Meanwhile, the government shows no signs of backing down.  Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh told NOW Lebanon that, despite Hezbollah’s attempts to paint its domestic opponents as “Zionists,” those who challenge and attack the state are the ones helping Israel destroy the country. “There is a state in Lebanon, and it has decided to put an end to the continuous violations of its sovereignty,” he added.

Hamadeh also stated that the Lebanese government has established “red lines” of its own, to counter attempts to destroy and eliminate it. As for Hezbollah’s communications network, Hamadeh confirmed that the cabinet labeling it as illegal is only a first step, and that additional measures will be taken to deal with the network.

Indeed, further daring, concrete steps will certainly be required if the government is serious about getting serious with the opposition, and returning the security dossier to the state’s hands. Speaking to NOW Lebanon, MP Mustapha Allouch stressed that, while removing the head of the airport security is significant, more must be done.

“Hezbollah is nearby the airport and they control most of the roads leading to it. Unless there is a complete change in the military situation in Lebanon, including the disarmament of Hezbollah and other armed factions, the government will not be able to be in command of the security in Lebanon,” he noted.

So what has spurred the government’s decision to take such a firm stance now, after years of backing down and trying to play nice? Allouch explained that tensions have recently reached a boiling point, and that the government simply had to act – a theory echoed by other March 14 sources.

The coming days and weeks will likely determine whether we have truly entered a new era, or rather are simply in the middle of a fleeting moment of fortitude. However, it is long past time that both sides drop the charade that the present crisis is about the president, cabinet, electoral law, or the standard of minimum wages. The Lebanese may long have mastered the art of leaving things for tomorrow, but no progress can really be achieved until leaders and laypeople alike start focusing on the actual problem: Hezbollah’s rapidly emerging state within a state.