Reflecting on Recent Outbreak of Violence

The recent outbreaks of violence reflect a large part of unresolved issues left over from the civil war.

The points of contentions and the political posturing reveal tensions which are completely Lebanese and not foreign. One supporter of Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement referred to unresolved issues from the civil war to reinforce his description of deficiencies among various pro-government factions.

Based on his line of argument, Lebanon's decision to avoid national reconciliation talks after the civil war appears to have been a mistake.

However, as of today, it looks like there will be a lull period of two weeks, during which political heads will meet and attempt compromise.

Yet, one should not hold one's breath.

After listening to Rice's remarks at the Paris III conference, it seem the US will only back Siniora's government. The US does not seem keen in reaching compromise with the opposition which could empower the Hezbollah. As Rice explained she thought Siniora would best promote American ideals.

Because of this position, it would seem difficult for pro-government and anti-government forces to reach compromise. The inability to reach compromise on a political level could take a negative turn, as tensions are high and need an outlet to release pressure.

On the street level, things are very tense. Tuesday and Thursday's protests spiralled into the type of violence leaders could not contain.

On Thursday, a mudslinging match between two student at the Beirut Arab Universtiy flared up. "Reinforcements" from different political factions were called in. To stop the escalated situation which turned violent, phone lines were cut on Thursday.

But the protective measure occured too late as "reinforcements" arrived outside the university, armed with sticks, knives for the most part.

However photographs in the local papers the next day revealed that civilians were carrying handguns and semi-automatic machine guns.

As the army shot in the air to keep protesters apart, nerdowells took advantage of the noise to shoot off their weapons.

Local press reported that snipers on roof tops were spotted.

After six hours of strife, things began to calm on their own as the evening set in.

As things cooled, most of Beiurt was in shock. By then Hariri and Nasrallah appealed for calm via phone calls aired on the competing TV channels. A curfew was set in place.

During Thursday's violence which broke out at the university, youths in different parts of the city set up unofficial road blocks asking all drivers for ID papers.

One driver I spoke to the following day was livid. He felt that his religion was being targeted. He explained that when he was asked for his papers, he told the youth he was Lebanese like the youth. By the time he described what had happened he seemed irate, excitedly exclaiming: "We are all Lebanese!"

Unofficial road blocks in general are both provocative and oppressive for those who have lived through the civil war.

The taxi driver who lived through the civil war ws furious that boys who do not remember the civil war would do such a thing.

A second source of frustration to most people on the street, is that the army and police simply can not stop these road blocks from happening.

The army is not equiped to deal with civil disobedience. It neither has rubber bullets, nor water cannons. If they were to use the equipment they had on the streets, it would lead to massive blood shed.

And where there is less army such as outside Beirut, squirmishes have taken place as well. But this time, some have been between competing factions within the Christian community.

The question in front of us, is not only a rivalry between sunnis and shias, but the tensions are also between pro and anti-government movements.

Anti-government movements want a greater share of political representation such as Hezbollah and the popularly led Free Patriotic Movement by Aoun. However, their agenda and approach threatens the status quo.

And in the meantime, a source at the Hariri backed Moustaqbal Youth movement (pro-government) alluded to fueling tensions so as to get international attention. The source explained "we want to media to say Hezbollah led protest" because we want the world to focus on Hezbollah.

So as usual the situation is complicated, and no one is innocent. But civilians who want peace feel threatened.

Because of the recent squirmishes, people in the neighborhood of Tariq Jadideh (pro-government/ Moustaqbal supporter) are complaining about not having weapons, and accusing Hariri of abandoning them by not arming them.

When asked how does a gun help the piece, the answer always points to the need for protection from all of those who do have guns.

When asked why not rely on the army? The answer is what army? How could they stop anyone, they are also members of the society.

Based on the recent events, the general feeling is that the government need to work hard for the next two weeks to decide on compromise which could help de-escalate the crisis and deflect the tension.