Political parties and forces denounce and demand that the perpetrators be exposed and brought to justice
The Christmas day was disturbed by the people of the town of Brih in the Chouf region (Mount Lebanon). Drawings and pictures of skulls were placed by unknown persons on homes belonging to Christians in the town. These images, transmitted by activists on social media, sparked a wave of political and popular resentment, and the positions of parties and political forces intersected in rejecting them. And calling on the security services to expose their perpetrators, so that they do not invest in sectarianism and lead to tension in the atmosphere in the mountain, which has turned the page on the war.
The municipality of Brih rushed to try to contain what happened. And she indicated in a statement, “Since 2014, the date of the return to the town of Brih and the national reconciliation that took place in its regard, and our town has enjoyed stability and coexistence among all its people.” And the municipality confirmed that this issue is “under close follow-up with the rest of the security forces in order to clarify the truth, whether what happened was an individual or with the aim of stirring up strife and holding the perpetrator accountable, whoever he was and to whatever party he belonged to.”
As for the official of the Progressive Socialist Party in Brih and its vicinity, Suhail Abu Saleh, he saw that the incident “re-established the model of coexistence in this town, with evidence that the people put the incident behind them.” He pointed out to Asharq Al-Awsat that the people “are confident that whoever is behind these cartoons is trying to harm the Christian and Druze people of Brih, who have not and will not be affected by what happened, but they demand that justice take its course and punish the perpetrator, whoever it is.” “The atmosphere in the town was and still is calm, and everyone is enjoying the joy of Christmas and New Year’s with celebrations and an atmosphere that was and still is uniting the people of Brih for good and bad,” he said.
The political parties, with an active political presence in the mountain, sensed the seriousness and dimensions of this message, and unanimously agreed to put the matter in the hands of the judiciary and security, and a member of the “Lebanese Forces” bloc, Representative Pierre Bou Asi, called on the security services to “expedite the detection and arrest of the perpetrators.” In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said, “This act is intended to sabotage, create tension, and create an atmosphere of strife from which the mountain has left and will not return to.” Bu Assi stressed that “the operation will not lead to tensions, and people in Brih interact positively with each other, but at the same time we insist that the law take its course because what happened is a direct threat to the security of Brih and the mountain.” The mixed Christian and Druze town of Brih is located in the Chouf region, and it is the only town to which the Christian return was delayed until May 17, 2014, through reconciliation between the townspeople, sponsored by the Maronite Patriarch Beshara Boutros Al-Rahi and the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt.
The Secretary-General of the Progressive Socialist Party, Zafer Nasser, confirmed that the party “asked all security services to move quickly, and not to tolerate this condemned act.” He indicated, in a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, that “communication took place between the party’s official in the mountain, Omar Ghannam, with a member of the “Strong Republic” bloc, Representative George Adwan, and a member of the “Strong Lebanon” bloc (loyal to former President Michel Aoun), Representative Ghassan Atallah, to surround what It happened and did not give it partisan or sectarian dimensions that would undermine the reconciliation of the mountain.
This process comes in the wake of the existing political differences between the Socialist Party on the one hand and Aoun’s movement, especially with regard to the file of the presidential elections, and Dhafer Nasser called for “taking all these possibilities into account because those lurking in the security of the mountain are many, whether they want to strike reconciliation or strike stability in the mountain or Playing on the contradictions between the parties. And while he preferred not to pre-empt the investigation, he considered that “the basis is to protect the essence of the reconciliation of the mountain with all political parties, and not to allow anyone to strike this strategic option.”
A member of the “Strong Lebanon” bloc, Representative Farid Al-Bustani, preferred not to release positions and conclusions before the end of the investigation. He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “This action is unacceptable, and whoever does it endangers civil peace in the mountain and in the country,” pointing out that “no one has a desire or interest to stir up strife and harm coexistence; Therefore, the security services must quickly identify the perpetrators and those behind them.
For his part, a member of the “Democratic Meeting” (Socialist) Bloc, Representative Bilal Abdullah, confirmed, in a tweet on his Twitter account, that “true reconciliation in the mountain and coexistence in it will not be disturbed by childish practices, and the evocation of slogans alien to our environment.”
As for the deputy head of the “Lebanese Forces” party, Representative George Adwan, he considered that “what happened in Brih does not reflect the general atmosphere prevailing in the mountain, where security, stability and tranquility prevail.” And he stressed that “the incident came from outside the general context, and it is fabricated by malicious people who will not be able to disturb the peace of life in Brih and the mountain.”