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LEBANON ON THE BRINK
Unreported World comes from Lebanon as the country tries to rebuild in the wake of this summer's devastating Israeli bombardment and as its people are faced with serious new political and sectarian tensions generated by Hezbollah's self-declared victory over Israel.
Friday 17 November 2006 7.35pm
Unreported World comes from Lebanon as the country tries to rebuild in the wake of this summer's devastating Israeli bombardment and as its people are faced with serious new political and sectarian tensions generated by Hezbollah's self-declared victory over Israel.
Friday 17 November 2006 7.35pm
Reporter Kate Seelye and Director Rodrigo Vazquez begin their journey in the ruins of Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs, finding signs of a state within a state. They film Hezbollah guards at gates into what they call their "security zone," and Hezbollah "volunteers" patrolling the neighborhood 24 hours a day on scooters, keeping an eye out for possible spies and infiltrators.
In Lebanon's fragile mix of 18 sects, Hezbollah's power is creating new tensions. The team meets supporters of the Lebanese Forces, a Christian nationalist party, patrolling their neighborhood. They claim that Hezbollah supporters deface Christian shrines and tell Unreported World that they are ready to fight Hezbollah if it doesn't disarm soon. It's not a threat to be taken lightly. The Lebanese Forces carried out some of the country's bloodiest massacres during its 15-year civil war.
Seelye and Vazquez travel to south Lebanon where - against a scarred landscape - the Lebanese government is trying to assert its authority over Hezbollah, which has long dominated the border region. But Hezbollah's presence is everywhere. Its members hand out crisp $100 dollar bills to families who lost their homes and tell the team that war with Israel is always imminent.
Traveling into the Bekaa Valley, Seelye and Vasquez find more signs of growing instability inside Lebanon. A Hezbollah MP rallies farmers to protest against what he calls a corrupt and pro-American government. The MP says this government must go. His followers say it's a government of Israeli and American collaborators.
Back in Beirut, Hezbollah supporters protest the government's shooting of two children during clashes between the security forces and poor Shiites. They accuse the Sunni government of firing on Shiites on purpose and threaten violence if it doesn't respect their rights. Tensions are clearly on the rise between Sunnis and Shiites who find themselves on opposite sides of Lebanon' s political fence.
High in the Chouf mountains former Druze warlord Walid Jumblatt says Iran and Syria are using Hezbollah to stir up sectarian and anti-government tensions in Lebanon. He says Hezbollah has hijacked Lebanon and must be disarmed, and that a free and democratic Lebanon is at stake.
Finally after weeks of trying, Seelye and Vazquez meet a cadre of Hezbollah fighters. Although they claim that their weapons will never be used internally, one supporter tells Seelye that the Shiites of the southern suburbs are all arming and preparing for a fight. The current government of Israeli and American collaborators must go, he says. Hezbollah must use its power to assert its supporters' vision of Lebanon dominated by the pro-Iranian Shia. As the country struggles to rebuild it, its political future seems more uncertain than ever.
In Lebanon's fragile mix of 18 sects, Hezbollah's power is creating new tensions. The team meets supporters of the Lebanese Forces, a Christian nationalist party, patrolling their neighborhood. They claim that Hezbollah supporters deface Christian shrines and tell Unreported World that they are ready to fight Hezbollah if it doesn't disarm soon. It's not a threat to be taken lightly. The Lebanese Forces carried out some of the country's bloodiest massacres during its 15-year civil war.
Seelye and Vazquez travel to south Lebanon where - against a scarred landscape - the Lebanese government is trying to assert its authority over Hezbollah, which has long dominated the border region. But Hezbollah's presence is everywhere. Its members hand out crisp $100 dollar bills to families who lost their homes and tell the team that war with Israel is always imminent.
Traveling into the Bekaa Valley, Seelye and Vasquez find more signs of growing instability inside Lebanon. A Hezbollah MP rallies farmers to protest against what he calls a corrupt and pro-American government. The MP says this government must go. His followers say it's a government of Israeli and American collaborators.
Back in Beirut, Hezbollah supporters protest the government's shooting of two children during clashes between the security forces and poor Shiites. They accuse the Sunni government of firing on Shiites on purpose and threaten violence if it doesn't respect their rights. Tensions are clearly on the rise between Sunnis and Shiites who find themselves on opposite sides of Lebanon' s political fence.
High in the Chouf mountains former Druze warlord Walid Jumblatt says Iran and Syria are using Hezbollah to stir up sectarian and anti-government tensions in Lebanon. He says Hezbollah has hijacked Lebanon and must be disarmed, and that a free and democratic Lebanon is at stake.
Finally after weeks of trying, Seelye and Vazquez meet a cadre of Hezbollah fighters. Although they claim that their weapons will never be used internally, one supporter tells Seelye that the Shiites of the southern suburbs are all arming and preparing for a fight. The current government of Israeli and American collaborators must go, he says. Hezbollah must use its power to assert its supporters' vision of Lebanon dominated by the pro-Iranian Shia. As the country struggles to rebuild it, its political future seems more uncertain than ever.
