Even Mr. Hoss Says: Stop Harassing the Beirutis
Ex Prime Minister Salim El Hoss is a gentleman.
I met him one time along with a schoolteacher friend who was appealing to him her tenure case. He was Minister of Education at the time.
What I recall about him is that he is a good listener, and a polite man. He listened to her patiently and promised to see what he can do about it.
However, as a politician representing the Sunnis in the government, many see him as a disappointment. In the last election he was unable to win a seat for himself or for any other member of his electoral list.
The reasons are many.
One of them is his gentle demeanor, perceived in the jungle of Lebanese politics as passivity.
When the Amal Movement militia in the 1980s was attacking the Beirutis, a group of Beirutis went to meet him to complain and ask for guidance. His response was the Shia and Sunnis are brothers. Let us be the brother that is being killed and not the brother doing the killing. This story was relayed to me by a number of people including the affable Hassan Jaber, the publisher of the Dearborn Arab American publication Al Sabeel.
Of course, most Beirutis were not too happy with this attitude and when they had the chance they communicated their unhappiness by soundly voting him out of any political office. [ Occasionally during the past months, a number of Beirutis stop by his house to hurl epithets].
Today- Mr. Hoss fancies himself as representing a third way between the pro government and Opposition forces. In reality, his record shows he is solidly pro-opposition.
Regardless.
Today Mr. Hoss had an appeal reported by Elaph and translated by me into English. His appeal echoes MP’s Saad Hariri’s to a certain extent:
“Mr. Hoss explained in his press release that a number of young men [supporters of Shia militias who put their weapons home] are gathering in some areas and stopping [the Sunni residents] pedestrians [and asking for their IDs]. This practice [meant to harass and humiliate Beirutis] should not be continued. He also urged the removal of partisan flags, pictures and slogans meant to challenge and antagonize the [Beiruti] residents. "
How these hate- and- resentment producing transgressions against Beirut are supposed to serve the cause of "the resistance" only God and Ahmadinijad know.
Below is the Arabic excerpt:
واوضح الحص في تصريح صحفي قائلا ان بعض الشبان يتجمعون في بعض الاحياء ويعترضون سبيل المارة وهذا لا يجوز استمراره داعيا الى ازالة بعض معالم الاستفزاز من مخلفات يوم الاشتباكات وبينها الاعلام الحزبية وبعض الشعارات والصور.ا
http://65.17.227.80/ElaphWeb/Politics/2008/5/330156.htm
I met him one time along with a schoolteacher friend who was appealing to him her tenure case. He was Minister of Education at the time.
What I recall about him is that he is a good listener, and a polite man. He listened to her patiently and promised to see what he can do about it.
However, as a politician representing the Sunnis in the government, many see him as a disappointment. In the last election he was unable to win a seat for himself or for any other member of his electoral list.
The reasons are many.
One of them is his gentle demeanor, perceived in the jungle of Lebanese politics as passivity.
When the Amal Movement militia in the 1980s was attacking the Beirutis, a group of Beirutis went to meet him to complain and ask for guidance. His response was the Shia and Sunnis are brothers. Let us be the brother that is being killed and not the brother doing the killing. This story was relayed to me by a number of people including the affable Hassan Jaber, the publisher of the Dearborn Arab American publication Al Sabeel.
Of course, most Beirutis were not too happy with this attitude and when they had the chance they communicated their unhappiness by soundly voting him out of any political office. [ Occasionally during the past months, a number of Beirutis stop by his house to hurl epithets].
Today- Mr. Hoss fancies himself as representing a third way between the pro government and Opposition forces. In reality, his record shows he is solidly pro-opposition.
Regardless.
Today Mr. Hoss had an appeal reported by Elaph and translated by me into English. His appeal echoes MP’s Saad Hariri’s to a certain extent:
“Mr. Hoss explained in his press release that a number of young men [supporters of Shia militias who put their weapons home] are gathering in some areas and stopping [the Sunni residents] pedestrians [and asking for their IDs]. This practice [meant to harass and humiliate Beirutis] should not be continued. He also urged the removal of partisan flags, pictures and slogans meant to challenge and antagonize the [Beiruti] residents. "
How these hate- and- resentment producing transgressions against Beirut are supposed to serve the cause of "the resistance" only God and Ahmadinijad know.
Below is the Arabic excerpt:
واوضح الحص في تصريح صحفي قائلا ان بعض الشبان يتجمعون في بعض الاحياء ويعترضون سبيل المارة وهذا لا يجوز استمراره داعيا الى ازالة بعض معالم الاستفزاز من مخلفات يوم الاشتباكات وبينها الاعلام الحزبية وبعض الشعارات والصور.ا
http://65.17.227.80/ElaphWeb/Politics/2008/5/330156.htm
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