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Technocracy now: The US is working to turn Lebanon’s anti-corruption protests against Hezbollah

While Lebanon’s protests remain focused on the economy and widespread corruption, Washington is increasingly determined to exploit the movement as a geopolitical weapon in the region.

by Rania Khalek

Part 6 - Hijacking the protests

The leaderless, ideologically diffuse nature of Lebanon’s protest movement leaves it vulnerable to hijacking by powerful outside actors. Almost anyone can show up and inject their agenda into the movement, but under another name.

Most participants in downtown Beirut say they hate politics, had no interest in the country’s affairs before the protests, and appear easily moved by anyone with a slick message. They are the perfect audience for groups like Beirut Madinati and other civil society groups that spout empty platitudes and always seem to skirt the issue of Israel. 

A telling moment arrived a week into the protests when an American AUB lecturer, Robert Gallagher, grabbed the microphone at a political discussion in downtown Beirut to call for the creation of a parallel government. Rather than shout Gallagher down, his audience erupted in applause.

Regardless of the intentions of the leftists involved, Hezbollah views the calls for the downfall of the government as an attempt by its adversaries to reverse the party’s democratic victory in the 2018 elections.

The dividing line between protesters and those critical of the demonstrations has become so extreme that friendships have ended. Some Lebanese are no longer invited to gatherings with friends for merely criticizing the Western-backed elements of the protests. And families supportive of Hezbollah have blocked relatives online for attending the demonstrations. 

Despite the in-fighting, the leftist parties are still supportive of Hezbollah’s role as an armed resistance organization. This differentiates them from the liberals and right-wing elements in downtown Beirut who are centering their resentment on Hezbollah to an almost obsessive degree. 

Rania Masri, an official with the leftist party Citizens in a State, has insisted that pro-resistance groups remain in the protest square rather than cede the ground to reactionary conservative groups.

Do we let others who are involved decide the discourse? Or do we try to influence the discourse? We consider ourselves to be responsible therefore we will not be bystanders,” Masri remarked to me. “Foreign intervention is a given. The question becomes how to deal with them and protect the country. We have to be wise. And not leave the political discourse to them.

While leftists attempt to hold the line, pro-US parties and activists affiliated with NGOs and civil society groups have been most successful in crafting the protest demands and occupying the media limelight. These elements have been especially adept at popularizing the call for a technocratic government that would boot Hezbollah out of any future administration.

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