Beirut's downtown suffers as opposition sit-in goes on

Dec 1, 2007, 19:25 GMT

Beirut - It has been exactly a year since the Hezbollah-led opposition decided to camp in luxurious downtown Beirut to call for the end of the Western-backed government, ignoring the consequences of such a move on the business sector in this area.

This once-vibrant area of Beirut is today a ghost town, because the camp of people sitting in has inflicted great losses on shops, restaurants and pub owners.

'The so-called camp has failed to achieve its purpose, Prime Minister Fouad Seniora is still heading the government ... but we have paid the price,' said local shopowner Mirana Bachaalani, speaking for her colleagues.

The tents of Hezbollah members and their allies were set up on December 1, 2006, covering mainly two main squares in downtown Beirut. Today the tents stand almost empty, full of chairs and garbage.

'If the tents are empty what is the reason behind this sit-in,' said Bachaalani. 'Who will compensate us for the lost business? Hezbollah and their allies, some of the Christian opposition?'

Approximately 168 businesses have closed down due to the sit-in. Seventy cafes and restaurants in the area closed their doors, while 15 now open only on a part-time basis.

Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah group says there is no need to call off the sit-in in downtown Beirut, though today the dozens of tents are home to only a few Hezbollah security men in charge of security in the camp.

'Nothing requires calling off the sit-in in downtown Beirut. Consensus hasn't been achieved to remove the tents,' said Hezbollah politburo chief Mohammed Komatti.

One Hezbollah security man, who said he usually spends his days in the camp reading newspapers and watching television, added: 'We are ready to stay until Seniora leaves and if that takes 10 years so be it.'

However, Ahmed Zein, a waiter in one of the few side-walk cafes still running noted with irony the opposition's lack of progress: 'When the sit-in started Seniora was a premier, now he is the leader (president) of the country.'

As Lebanon's leaders have failed to elect a new president by the November 23 deadline, Seniora's government according to the constitution is to head the country until a new president is elected.

'In this country we move from one crisis to another. The tent protest began long before the presidential crisis arose and many expect that an agreement would be reached to end this sit-in before the presidential crisis started,' said Zein.

Government backers have called the tent city an 'occupation' of downtown Beirut.

'This is a clear revenge from the opposition to anything which was achieved by the late prime minister Rafik Hariri,' Zein said, referring to the former premier assassinated in 2005 who oversaw the rebuilding of downtown Beirut after the 1975-1990 civil war.

Hariri's son, Saad, today heads the ruling majority in the Lebanese parliament and Seniora is their closest ally and his father's long-time friend.

Lebanon has been in a political impasse since six pro-Syrian ministers quit the cabinet last November as a result of a power struggle between the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority and opposition blocs.

Lebanese leaders are engaged this week in talks to try to elect army commander Michel Suleiman as president to end the political crisis, but a constitution amendment is needed to allow a former soldier become president.

A parliament session planned for Friday was put off until December 7 to allow time for such an amendment.

On Saturday, the Beirut camp was busy as Hezbollah and their allies were heading downtown to commemorate the year-long sit-in.

Carrying pictures of Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and his ally Michel Aoun, the crowd insisted that they will stay as long as needed.

But as the opposition crowds passed by to participate in the rally, one restaurant owner said: 'All I can say is that downtown is a hostage today in the hands of the opposition.'