Supporters of the Future Movement used to warn their enemies: either us or the extremist Salafis! This weapon is now obsolete and cannot threaten anyone. Events have shown that the first victim is the Future Movement itself. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah)
What is being cooked up for North Lebanon?
In the last 48 hours, Future Movement officials and March 14 leaders have been busy contacting Lebanese and foreign sides so as to deny the existence of any armed group working in the sphere of March 14.
Saad Hariri is sitting comfortably outside the country. He simply needs to tweet once a day, or week, reminding us of the daily mantra: we are the party of words and dialogue and we have nothing to do with weapons.
Hariri could not convince anyone this time. His enemies already know this. But what is new seems to be that the “incubating environment” of the Future Movement is getting tired of this type of politics.
This “environment” is witnessing the most vicious campaign by the Future Movement to incite the people of the North against people from different areas, different sects and anything else that is different.
But in its time of need, it finds itself abandoned. This compels people to constantly seek those who could set things into motion, instead of merely intimidating others.
Salafis active in the North do not recognize Hariri’s worthiness to “lead the people of the Sunna.” They look back to the events of 7 May [2008] and say that “the defeat was due to lack of organization, but more importantly, due to lack of faith.”
They are the ones who occupy the stage in the North today. They work under the title of solidarity with the Syrian opposition or against what they call “the Shia invasion.”
Their voices are scattered but are beginning to intersect at the point of criticism for Hariri and his team. This has even led some MPs and North officials from the leadership of the blue party to emphatically say that they cannot convince the street to follow their lead anymore.
This culminated in the recent events in Tripoli. The Future Movement, supported by the command of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), was unable to speak on behalf of the protesters and the hundreds of armed men deployed in every neighborhood and alleyway.
Supporters of the Future Movement used to warn their enemies: either us or the extremist Salafis! This weapon is now obsolete and cannot threaten anyone. Events have shown that the first victim is the Future Movement itself.
[Those in the streets] made it clear, “If Hariri wants to fight the battle of the Sunnis in Lebanon and Syria, he needs to be responsible today. If he does not want to, others can do the job.”
The extremists among them threaten that “opposing the influence of Hezbollah and its allies requires irrefutable elements of strength. An armed balance must be created to be able to impose political facts on the ground.”
Following March 14’s total entanglement in the Syrian events, it has become difficult to predict the general direction of the incidents in the North. It is now logical for someone to announce the idea of “the Northern Suburbs.”
The aim is to create a status quo in the region starting in Chekka on the southern tip of the Tripoli district and moving north to the Lebanese-Syrian borders among the villages of Akkar and Wadi Khaled.
To the south and east of this “emirate,” Christians will become a buffer between the remainder of the country, more specifically, the “land of Hezbollah” as they like to call it.
This explains a great deal about recent events, including the entanglement in the conflict in Syria. The emirate will become a support base, providing men, weapons and other needs. It is happening today, albeit with some discretion.
Nevertheless, the words accompanying the clashes and sit-ins in Tripoli plainly say that it is the time for clarity. Those who want to understand better can have the “theorists of the emirate” explain it to them:
“The people of the Sunna should institute a new status quo, doing exactly like Hezbollah. They should train and arm all the young men, mobilizing civic and other talents to serve this target. Then they could be strongly dedicated to serve the Syrian revolution, whose victory will be the salvation for Sunnis in Syria, Lebanon and the the whole of al-Sham. This project has its fertile grounds, politically, socially and morally. It only lacks some easily available material means and a little organization.”
Those who hold on to this view, do not care for any other analysis and explanations. They believe that everybody is already involved in the Syrian crisis.
Talk about the clashes in the last 24 hours on the Syrian borders with northern Bekaa is the context for indicating that Hezbollah fighters clashed with the Free Syrian Army and that the residents of Shia villages in Syria are receiving military, security and financial support from Hezbollah to allow them to confront the other side.
Therefore, those who hold on to this view add that it is now inevitable that the Sunnis in Lebanon will fulfill their role. As for the state and its institutions, this side wants it to “act like it does in areas controlled by Hezbollah. It should be able to move but without hindering the movement of others!”
Ibrahim al-Amin is editor-in-chief of Al-Akhbar..
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
Uprooted Palestinian 
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!
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