Jumblatt: we should kill them like they kill us
And we have another winner of the Quote of the Week: Walid Jumblatt who called out for a tit-for-tat policy regarding the killing of March 14 people: He was quoted in L'Orient as having said that "like in the Mafia, every time they kill one of us, we should kill one of them!".
And no, don't wait up for the obligatory statement that 'we won't do such a thing because we're decent and we value life while they prefer death' or a similar statement to reduce the obvious hatred contained in his statement. Nope, this time it was full stop.
It was unfortunate that the journalists present during his speech in the USA didn't follow up on his statement. Simple questions as "In what way will your statement contribute to solving the situation?" or "Just exactly how would you select your revenge targets and who would be topping your list?" were not asked.
Was it out of fear of asking the obvious? "To restore the balance" would possibly be his response to the first question, thereby forgetting that March 8 got the seat of murdered Pierre Gemayel, so revenge killing might feel good to Jumblatt, it most likely wouldn't really solve anything; let alone that the idea in itself is simply disgustingly short of basic moral.
It's yet another sign on the wall that things are getting more and more tribal here in Lebanon. What's even more disturbing is that most people, including journalists, seem to accept statements like this from their leaders. Jumblatt is seriously proposing revenge killing, or at least he didn't make any effort to pretend he wasn't serious, and he gets away with it. It certainly seems like a breakdown of leadership as well as a equally disturbing lack of critical attitude among the Lebanese journalists.
7 comments:
Surprised?
After all, this is one of the warlords of old, the one who massacred many.
There are so many cheeks one can turn before turning "the left one".
You're just quoting half of what he said. If you watched him, you'd know that he immediately said after that, that they don't want to kill anyone.
I agree with anonymous. You shot your gun based on a half quote totally out of context. In fact, what he actually said was the exact opposite of what you wrote. He said, the Italian mafia has a balance of terror: you kill one of us, we kill one of you. But, he added, we are NOT the mafia. We don't and won't kill them.
Next time check more closely before you write.
Shame on YOU !!!
If you want anyone respectable to read your blog........behave in a respectable way.
And save your lecturing.You seem to be the kind who think that just being critical is intelligent, even if it is based on untruths.
Do you know how to count?Well count how many were cold bloodedly and brutally murdered from M14.
How would YOU feel if your father,brother,son or friend was murdered?How would you feel if you have to live every moment feeling hunted and fear for your life and those of your loved ones?How would you feel when those despicable ones saunter freely with a smirk on their faces?
Shame on YOU !!!
@Anonymous 3:42PM / Tony Bey:
I based my story on the article in l'Orient, one of the better newspapers in Lebanon and they didn't mention the nuance you talk about. Or at least, I don't remember reading it.
Your comments, however, don't really clarify his speech. What exactly was he trying to say: that the Lebanese are not the mafia and that we shouldn't go down the road of violence?
If so, that would be a great message, but he sure made an effort to hide it. Why not simply state that March 14 will NEVER kill March 8 politicians, not even in revenge, simply because they won't stoop so low as March 8? Wouldn't that have been simpler?
Why make this reference to the Mafia, only to add that the Lebanese are NOT the Mafia? And wasn't there a trace of regret in his voice when he said this?
Was he perhaps trying to threaten the Opposition, that March 14 could start restoring the balance of power by taking after the Mafia? If so, how peaceful is that?
This blog is not out to attack one single politician or one side. It's just that Walid Jumblatt often make it to the front pages of L'Orient, Naharnet.com and the Daily Star (these are the newspapers I can read) with statements that are, well, eh, remarkable. Aoun would be another example of someone who can be trusted to make the wildest statements without blinking twice.
By all means, they're not the only politicians in Lebanon in this respect, but others do seem to be making less of such statements.
@Anonymous Dec 24:
This post was removed for insulting content. I don't mind open, constructive discussion, in fact I prefer it, but your post was really a bit too much.
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