Hezbollah Threatens Coup in Lebanon

On Monday, the U.N. tribunal investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri provided pre-trial Judge Daniel Fransen with a draft indictment, which is said to implicate Hezbollah and Iran in the murder. Yesterday morning, Hezbollah responded by wreaking havoc in Beirut, when it sent its membership, dressed in black throughout Lebanon's capital. As reported by Lebanon's The Daily Star:

"Groups of Hizbullah members, clad in black uniforms, fanned out in several neighborhoods in West Beirut early Tuesday, creating panic among the residents and leading parents to pick up their children from schools, security sources and witnesses said. The unarmed men, carrying wireless sets and handy phones, were seen in areas from the southern suburb of Hadath to Beirut’s Downtown district.

The men appeared to be well-organized and trained for fighting, the sources said. The groups, which began fanning out at 3.00 a.m. Tuesday, disbanded at 7.00 a.m. after troops and security forces deployed in the areas, the sources said. No trouble was reported during the street gatherings which were apparently linked to mounting tension over the S.T.L.’s indictment.

Hizbullah has made no comment on Tuesday’s incident or on Monday’s indictment handover to Fransen. But a source close to Hizbullah described Tuesday’s public gatherings as 'a small message to say that the time for talk is over.'”

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=123855#axzz1BSoVDHrt

Following his op-ed in yesterday's New York Times entitled "The Arab Gdansk" (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/opinion/18iht-edcohen18.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss), I recommend that Roger Cohen inform Hezbollah that "Islamist parties must commit to democracy rather than exploit democracy for despotic ends." I am confident Hezbollah will be all ears.