A statement by Tadamon! Montreal

Destruction in Homs, Syria, April 2012

Brief context

The people’s struggle in Syria for liberation from the brutal, dictatorial rule of the Assad regime has arrived at a critical juncture. Central neighborhoods of Syria’s largest cities, Damascus and Aleppo, have become the sites of direct armed confrontation between the forces of opposition to the regime – especially the Free Syrian Army (FSA) – and the state’s military and security forces. The battles have been especially intense and protracted in Aleppo with devastating consequences for residents of the city. The state has used heavy artillery, aerial bombardments and shelling and has deployed troops, snipers and security operatives in a wide range of city quarters in pursuit of its strategy of dealing with the revolutionary movement by sheer repression and force. The result has been heavy civilian casualties, destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure, mass displacements of population and, in some areas, dire humanitarian conditions (e.g. lack of food, no electricity, water shortages, no essential municipal services). State military attacks on civilian areas amount to “war crimes” according to some human rights organizations (e.g. Human Rights Watch). Meanwhile, the actions of some elements of the opposition (broadly understood) have also been qualified as human rights violations (e.g. summary executions of captured regime fighters). Armed confrontations between opposition and regime forces, in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria, and the increased violence that has resulted are the outcome of the Assad regime’s strategy of using repression, terror and brute force to deal with oppositional activism, protest and popular calls for freedom, dignity and the end of absolutist rule. In the face of regime brutality and terror tactics, the popular uprising which began in March 2011 took armed form, increasingly, in late 2011 and became decidedly “militarized” in early 2012. With the turn to armed struggle and the advent of fighting in Damascus and Aleppo the revolution has arrived at a crucial and important juncture.

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Yet more haunting images of blindfolded, stripped down Palestinian men being contemptuously dragged by soldiers in uniform from one place to another. Yet more footage of bloodied men lying on hospital beds describing their ordeals to television reporters who have heard this story all too often. Yet more news of Palestinian infighting, tit-for-tat arrests, obscene language and embarrassing behaviour from those who have elected themselves — or were elected — to represent the Palestinian people.

Once again, the important story that ought to matter the most — that of a continually imposing and violent Israeli occupation — is lost in favour of Palestinian-infused distractions, deliberate or not.

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Photo essay from Carole Kerbage.

Beirut May 10th 2008: Barbour district Beirut witnessed harsh armed battles.

As Lebanon’s political crisis moves to a temporary negotiated solution, tensions remain high after intense street level clashes in recent weeks between pro-government forces and the Hezbollah-backed opposition. Street barricades struck across Lebanon’s capital city have now been removed, as Lebanese political leaders return to Beirut after arriving at an agreement in Doha, Qatar.

This photo essay documents recent events in Beirut’s, featuring images captured at street level within recent weeks. Lebanon’s current political struggle extends back to an intense national political history, in a nation still recovering from a 2006 Israeli bombardment that left over 1000 Lebanese civilians dead and major elements to the countries national infrastructure destroyed. Lebanese photographer Carole Kerbage has documented Beirut’s streets in the past week and now features photographs from Beirut on Tadamon!

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Graffiti for Future Movement, founded by the assassinated Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

In May 2008 the streets in Beirut and throughout Lebanon witnessed military clashes between armed forces backing the Lebanese opposition lead by Hezbollah and the former Lebanese government supported by Saudi Arabia and the U.S. In May the walls on the streets of Beirut expressed the level of political split of Lebanon.

Street level graffiti is now common throughout Lebanon’s capital as rival political forces take their political struggle to the city walls in Beirut. This photo essay from Farah Kobaissy documents the writing on Beirut’s walls, featuring images captured at street level within recent weeks.

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A Tadamon! interview project aiming to highlight progressive voices from the ground in Lebanon on the ongoing conflict, voices independent from major political parties…

As negotiations in Doha, Qatar continue between national political leaders in an effort to reach a settlement to the contemporary internal conflict in Lebanon, Tadamon!’s Ola Hajar spoke with veteran journalist Anthony Shadid. This interview focuses on the impacts of U.S.-driven policies in the Middle East within the context of the ‘war on terror’ and their specific impacts on Lebanon, also this interview focuses the U.S. position towards Hezbollah’s role in Lebanese politics.

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A Tadamon! interview project aiming to highlight progressive voices from the ground in Lebanon on the ongoing conflict, voices independent from major political parties…

Conflict in Lebanon has spread this past week beyond Beirut, to mountain areas above the capital city, to Tripoli in Northern Lebanon. Throughout Lebanon a tense political stand-off remains between the U.S.-backed government lead-by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and a political opposition fronted by the armed Lebanese political party Hezbollah.

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Hezbollah and its allies may have achieved a swift military victory in Beirut and the Druze mountains, but the political battle for Lebanon will be tougher and the consequences long-term, say analysts.

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Lebanon is currently facing a major political crisis, as armed battles have erupted in multiple districts in Beirut, battles between pro-government forces and the political opposition backed by the Lebanese movement Hezbollah. Currently the Lebanese capital is divided, as opposition forces maintain a hold in West Beirut, having handed control in certain districts to the Lebanese Army, while the western-backed Lebanese government remains in lock down within government buildings.

Today Lebanon’s government has maintained a contested hold on official state power in Lebanon without representation from Hezbollah or other opposition parties for over one year. This week the government announced that Hezbollah’s independent communications network or telephone system operating in Lebanon as illegal, sparking the current crisis. Hezbollah’s independent telephone or communications system is considered to be a critical element to the success of the Lebanese resistance to Israel in successfully halting Israel’s 2006 attack on Lebanon.

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As Lebanese politicians hold last-gasp meetings to agree on a consensus presidential nominee who can then be voted into power, people remain fearful that the two main political blocs will fail to reach a compromise.

While the March 14 majority bloc wants to be able to vote on its preferred candidate, some members of that bloc feel they are being forced into accepting a nominee favorable to the Hezbollah-led opposition, known as March 8.

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Photo: A l’entrée du camp de Chatila, 1982.

SAMEDI, 22 SEPTEMBRE, 13H
Librairie Indigo
Coin Sainte-Catherine et McGill College
métro McGill
Montréal, Canada

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