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42.1%ANMag Issue 20 Editorial
The New National Anthem of Lebanon
By Shadi Tabbara, Editor-in-Chief
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – In another attempt to make the [Lebanese] Seniora government look bad, Hezbollah has installed an independent private phone network that covers between two-thirds and three-quarters of Lebanon (especially in the South of Lebanon and the suburbs of Beirut and even areas inside the Beirut Central District). Marwan Hamadeh, minister of telecommunications criticized Hezbollah’s move as a “commercial, security and military project” related to the group’s “state within the state,” and branded the move as a “state violation.” However, Ghazi Al-Aridi, Information Minister, stated that "[they] agreed to draw a plan of action for a peaceful resolution of this issue, but [they] are serious about resolving it because it is a dangerous matter.”
But why does the government seem surprised about this move? Is it the first time Hezbollah gets involved in a “state violation”? Or is the government threatened by Hezbollah’s well-established structure in the country?
The State within the State
With only $32 million, Hezbollah was founded in Lebanon in 1982. Since then, Iran spent $78 million to $131 million a year to maintain and grow the party, by investing in training and providing its fighters with the adequate tools to become the strongest fighting force in the Middle East after Iran and Israel (a cumulative of $3 billion invested in three decades).
According to Naim Kassem, Hezbollah's number two, the party has an annual budget of $680 million comprising of businesses set up by the movement, including a bank, a mortgage co-operative, an insurance company, a travel agency, several hotels, a chain of supermarkets and a number of urban bus and taxi companies. Those, in addition to its mass media consisting of a television channel “Al-Manar” (the Lighthouse), a radio station “Al-Nour” (the Light), and a monthly magazine “Kabdat Alla” ("The Fist of God"), all of which help promote its propaganda across the Arab and the foreign world.
The "people-based movement fighting on behalf of the Muslim world" controls 25% of the national territory. It collects its own taxes, with a 20% charge on all income. Moreover, it runs its own schools where a syllabus produced in Iran is taught at all levels. It also runs other additional social services such as clinics, hospitals, social welfare networks and centers for orphans and widows. Something the government has yet to do.
In the Political atmosphere, Hezbollah controls the elected municipal councils and appoints local officials. The party has its own system of justice based on the Sharia law and operates its own police force, courts and prisons.
Military wise, Hezbollah’s guerrilla is made up of about 8000 men (highly trained and armed with the latest weapons from Iran and Syria), of which 2000 men represent the elite force under the direct command of the party’s secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah. Moreover, the party claims that it possesses over 30,000 reservists.
The Material of “the State within the State” is taken from Benador Associates and Wikipedia
The New Anthem
Basically, Hezbollah is running its own state and is doing a good job at it (of course, according to its state citizens). However, according to the other Lebanese parties, this is only endangering the few constitutional institutions that are still running and increasing the tensions between the opposite parties. Hezbollah must know that times have changed and that this is not a joke anymore; let us remember who is our real enemy (or enemies) and fight him instead of weakening ourselves, if this is what the intensions of Hezbollah are – and let us hope that they are.
Prime Minister Fouad Seniora is right; moves like that are violations of the Lebanese sovereignty.
Nevertheless, according to him, “All we need now is just to ask a musician [Hezbollah] to compose a new national anthem.”
ANMag Issue 20
In this Issue, ANMag explores the American lies in Iraq, why developing countries are losing the “five star” status, and the legalization of pedophilia in India, all in the Public Surveillance Section. In the Global Awareness section, ANMag sheds the light on Tai Chi and the New Seven Wonders of the World; moreover, ANMag talks about the scientific and religious facts of the Big Bang, and endorses the Independent People's Tribunal on the Impact of the World Bank Group in India. In the Personal Maintenance section, the members express their thoughts about friendship, life and death, commitment, music, and the job of a guy. In the Entertainment section, ANMag reviews the “All Quiet on the Western Front” book and the new [Lebanese] movie "Caramel". In the Arabic section, ANMag documents the “Rehan” [Arabic] font, talks about the veil versus the short skirt, and ends it with an Arabic poem. Finally, ANMag gives you some insight on the current month in the Horoscopes section.