The London-based magazine al-Watan al-Arabi reported that the Lebanese Army is in the process of absorbing 5,000 Syrian soldiers into its ranks and that a secret deal has been worked out to facilitate ultimate Syrian annexation of Lebanon. The newspaper also suggested that Lebanese President Rafik Hariri was considering resignation over extensive Syrian interference in Lebanese governance.
In response, the Lebanese Daily Star newspaper reports, Chief Beirut Public Prosecutor Joseph Maamari has pressed charges against the owner of al-Watan al-Arabi and against the author of the article for ?disgracing the reputation of the Lebanese and Syrian armies.? The Daily Star points out that al-Watan al-Arabi has been accused in the past of unwittingly spreading Israeli disinformation, serving the interests of Israel?s psychological warfare in the Arab world.
As the Lebanese government prepares to sue a UK newspaper for reporting on Syrian involvement in Lebanon, events there bespeak the emptiness of the government?s case. At a peaceful demonstration, against the ongoing detention of local leaders opposed to the Syrian presence, about 150 plainclothesmen said to be Syrian intelligence operatives infiltrated the crowd and started beating up demonstrators, according to first person interviews obtained by Naharnet.com. More than 30 people sustained injuries from the anonymous attackers, who were dressed in black shirts, jeans and military boots.
"It was incredible. Those men were beating us up and the army and police
stood watching. They could not do anything to stop them," one of the protestors told Naharnet. ?They started beating us up. When the army and the police tried to stop them, they were also beaten,? said another. All eyewitnesses spoke on condition of anonymity, in order to preserve their well-being. The only thing the Lebanese army did, said another protestor, was to tell demonstrators to gather together and not leave the area so that it could provide them with cover to escape their attackers.
In response, the Lebanese Daily Star newspaper reports, Chief Beirut Public Prosecutor Joseph Maamari has pressed charges against the owner of al-Watan al-Arabi and against the author of the article for ?disgracing the reputation of the Lebanese and Syrian armies.? The Daily Star points out that al-Watan al-Arabi has been accused in the past of unwittingly spreading Israeli disinformation, serving the interests of Israel?s psychological warfare in the Arab world.
As the Lebanese government prepares to sue a UK newspaper for reporting on Syrian involvement in Lebanon, events there bespeak the emptiness of the government?s case. At a peaceful demonstration, against the ongoing detention of local leaders opposed to the Syrian presence, about 150 plainclothesmen said to be Syrian intelligence operatives infiltrated the crowd and started beating up demonstrators, according to first person interviews obtained by Naharnet.com. More than 30 people sustained injuries from the anonymous attackers, who were dressed in black shirts, jeans and military boots.
"It was incredible. Those men were beating us up and the army and police
stood watching. They could not do anything to stop them," one of the protestors told Naharnet. ?They started beating us up. When the army and the police tried to stop them, they were also beaten,? said another. All eyewitnesses spoke on condition of anonymity, in order to preserve their well-being. The only thing the Lebanese army did, said another protestor, was to tell demonstrators to gather together and not leave the area so that it could provide them with cover to escape their attackers.