By Rania Masri
and Lee Sustar
".....Rania Masri is a Lebanese-American writer and antiwar activist currently living in Beirut. She spoke to Lee Sustar on the crisis in Lebanon today.
THE FIGHTING in Lebanon was portrayed in the Western media as an attempted coup by Hezbollah. What's the reality?......
WHAT WERE the demands of the May 7 strike?......
IS THE situation for workers the same across the country's sectarian divides?......
WHAT IS Hezbollah's economic program?
THE PROBLEM is that Hezbollah is aligned in the opposition with the Free Patriotic Movement, a Christian party under the leadership of Gen. Michel Aoun. His economic program is to the right of the government's. He believes in neoliberalism, in privatization. His only positive claim is that he is against corruption.
When I asked Hezbollah members about their economic platform, they told me that they have been working on it for months, but aren't ready to disclose it.
Hezbollah doesn't have a pro-union history. But it does have a history of support for the poor, based on what it has done institutionally in the South. It has been able to build a very effective social network.
But Hezbollah doesn't support building institutions that can replace it. Once you build up a strong labor union, you are building up a democratic force that could serve to fight against you politically, or replace your decision-making role.
So Hezbollah is not pro-union. But they are pro-poor people. They are not in favor of the privatization of electricity or water, for example. But they have not come out with an economic program, out of fear that it would cause a division with their allies.
The only ones in the country who have an economic platform are the Lebanese Communist Party--and other smaller left-wing parties, all of whom have aligned themselves quite strongly with the opposition.
So, unfortunately, the economy is put on the back burner. The argument is, "let's solve the political crisis first, then we can discuss the economy."
THE U.S. complains about Syria's and Iran's support of Hezbollah. Is this accurate?.....
WHAT KIND of activism is the secular left involved in?..... "
and Lee Sustar
".....Rania Masri is a Lebanese-American writer and antiwar activist currently living in Beirut. She spoke to Lee Sustar on the crisis in Lebanon today.
THE FIGHTING in Lebanon was portrayed in the Western media as an attempted coup by Hezbollah. What's the reality?......
WHAT WERE the demands of the May 7 strike?......
IS THE situation for workers the same across the country's sectarian divides?......
WHAT IS Hezbollah's economic program?
THE PROBLEM is that Hezbollah is aligned in the opposition with the Free Patriotic Movement, a Christian party under the leadership of Gen. Michel Aoun. His economic program is to the right of the government's. He believes in neoliberalism, in privatization. His only positive claim is that he is against corruption.
When I asked Hezbollah members about their economic platform, they told me that they have been working on it for months, but aren't ready to disclose it.
Hezbollah doesn't have a pro-union history. But it does have a history of support for the poor, based on what it has done institutionally in the South. It has been able to build a very effective social network.
But Hezbollah doesn't support building institutions that can replace it. Once you build up a strong labor union, you are building up a democratic force that could serve to fight against you politically, or replace your decision-making role.
So Hezbollah is not pro-union. But they are pro-poor people. They are not in favor of the privatization of electricity or water, for example. But they have not come out with an economic program, out of fear that it would cause a division with their allies.
The only ones in the country who have an economic platform are the Lebanese Communist Party--and other smaller left-wing parties, all of whom have aligned themselves quite strongly with the opposition.
So, unfortunately, the economy is put on the back burner. The argument is, "let's solve the political crisis first, then we can discuss the economy."
THE U.S. complains about Syria's and Iran's support of Hezbollah. Is this accurate?.....
WHAT KIND of activism is the secular left involved in?..... "
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