Analysis: Francophone leaves bickering trail

Bickering among the pro-government and the opposition groups here has resumed after the conclusion of the Ninth Francophone Summit last week.

Loyalists threatened to take their conflict with the opposition to the streets if the latter decided to demonstrate in protest of the closure of the MTV station own by opposition figure and parliament member Gabriel Al Murr.

The TV station was closed down on September 4 after a court order that charged it with illegal election propaganda during the Metn by-election in June that saw the triumph of opposition candidate Gabriel Al Murr.

The opposition Qornet Shehwan Gathering, which met last week, expressed its intention to call for a demonstration next Thursday. For this purpose, the member National Liberal Party (NLP) was commissioned to acquire permission for the scheduled protest from the Interior Ministry in accordance with the Lebanese law.

Qornet Shehwan sources believe that Al Murr was paying the price for running in the Metn by-election in defiance of his brother, Metn MP Michel Al Murr, whose pro-regime supporters sponsored his daughter Myrna in the poll.

Meanwhile, the pro-government gathering, the Hamad Cell, met in Royal Plaza Hotel on Thursday and threatened to counter-demonstrate if the opposition insisted on taking to the streets.

After the meeting, Beirut MP Bassem Yammout read a statement in which he said the decision to stage a counter-demonstration would be taken after consultations with our allies and other parties.

The group's Christian allies include pro-Syrian political leaders belonging to the Parliamentary Consultative Gathering, the Phalange Party and the disbanded Lebanese Forces, whose leadership has recently managed to build strong relations with the government.

Yammout denounced Qornet Shehwan accusing it of "provoking strife". The group "will not leave the streets empty for dissidents who aim at harming security and stability in the country," he warned.

Sources from the opposition said that there will be a last minute announcement of their demonstration, which had been originally scheduled on Thursday, lest the Islamic National Gathering announces a protest at the same time and place as was the case right after the closure of the MTV station, a step that gave at that time the Interior Ministry the excuse to prohibit all kinds of demonstrations on that day to avoid mutiny.

For his part, Gabriel Murr told a crowd of students at the American University of Beirut on Wednesday that the verdict of closing his television station was unfair. He also warned of "a dangerous phase to come."

Chouf MP and Druze leader Walid Jumblat responded to his once Christian allies by accusing them of being seeking to divide the country.

Jumblatt wondered after his meeting with Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday: "Are the members of Qornet Shehwan seeking division in the country?" Jumblatt asked. "Why did they call (on people) to go down to the streets? We can do the same."

The showdown between the pro-government groups and opposition is expected to heat up. The unpredictable war of statements will be taken to the streets with each faction testing its popularity in an standoff that seems far from over.