Syrian strife spills into Lebanon

Given the fairly firm grip Syria still holds over Lebanon, it was only a matter of time before the unrest there found its way across the border. Today a number of Syrians in Beirut took to the streets in support of Bashar Assad's regime; two protests organised somewhat provocatively in strong Sunni areas saw violence - one demonstrator was shot in the stomach in a drive by shooting, at a second protest demonstrators were set upon by onlookers. I caught up with a around 150 protestors who were yelling Assad's praises outside the Syrian embassy. After around an hour they then proceeded to march all the way back to Dora, where they'd come from this morning.

Lebanon's secular movement finds its stride

Exhaustive counting of the protestors who turned out today to mark their displeasure with Lebanon's sectarian malaise numbered roughly between 'rather a lot' and 'bloody loads'.  It's good to see this movement gaining momentum but sadly any viable alternative  to the confessional system of (mis)governance that has been slowly poisoning this country for far too many years seems far from clear.

Marching for secularism in Lebanon

There are lots of things 'wrong' with Lebanon, and almost all of them are what makes it the incredible place that it is. Except Sectarianism. It is a cancer that rots this country, perpetuated by the old warlords of the civil war who went on to become politicians. These zaims, who draw their power from their religious constituents, have created a profoundly entrenched reliance on their patronage – a textbook case of 'divide and rule'.

A few hundred or so Lebanese citizens marched through Beirut today, despite a massive rain storm, to vent some anger over the seemingly unshakable stranglehold the Sectarian system and its leaders have over the country. Sadly, unlike other countries in the neighbourhood who've weeded out their perennial dictators, the situation in Lebanon is so goddam complicated; the day of the protest there wasn't even a government in power to overthrow.