[tadamon-l] MEDIA ALERT

[tadamon at resist.ca]

Tadamon! is concerned with the way in which Canadian media are portraying
current events in Lebanon (see press conference at
http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php/?p=338).
The representation reflects only one side of the complex debate in Lebanon,
a debate which has tremendous implications for the entire region.

We encourage all who share these concerns to respond to inaccuracies and
distortions in coverage of the crisis.

The following tools are available to help you respond:
- Media analysis: Distortions/Reality
- Contact details for main media outlets

They are posted at: http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php/?p=365#more-365 and
can be found below.


==> MEDIA ANALYSIS. People Power in Lebanon: The Truth behind the Fog of Spin

One of the largest peaceful mass movements in the Middle East is currently
taking place in Lebanon. Unfortunately, Canadians are getting a distorted
picture of what is going on through ill-informed, biased, and sometimes
outright misleading, reporting of the facts. This is not about which side
you take in this crisis. It is about your right to know the truth and
about the right of the Lebanese people to protest their government’s
actions and to democratically chose another one. Our government has taken
a strong stand in support of the Lebanese government. It is time Canadians
know the facts about the struggle to hold their government accountable for
such a stand. The following are distortions being propagated through some
of our mainstream media outlets and the corresponding realities behind
them.

Distortion: This is a Hezbollah protest.

Reality: The opposition is a coalition of over ten parties from all sects,
ideological leanings, and regions of Lebanon. Hezbollah, and its Shiite
ally Amal, are the dominant force, but they are joined by the Free
Patriotic Movement, a secular party with a mainly Christian base that has
14 seats in Parliament (Hezbollah also has 14 seats). Other parties
include a group of Sunni coalitions, the Lebanese Communist Party, the
secular leftist People’s Movement, as well as Druze and other
Christian-based movements.

Distortion: This is an attempted coup to "topple" the democratically
elected government.

Reality: The only tanks sitting outside the government building are those
of the Lebanese army, under government command, and are there pitted along
barbed wire against unarmed protestors. Delegations in the hundreds
wishing to express solidarity with the government visit the building on an
almost daily basis. All calls for the protests have stressed the peaceful
nature of the rally. The opposition has repeatedly called for a “national
unity government”, in which two-thirds of members are from the current
ruling coalition and only one-third from the opposition coalition. This is
hardly a plan to seize power through a coup d'etat.

Distortion: These protests are a big threat to stability and the economy.

Reality: There are hundreds of thousands of bombs lying across the fields
of Southern Lebanon, the legacy of the Israeli war on Lebanon this past
summer. These bombs continue to kill and maim civilians of all ages and
disrupt the farming of these fields, a main source of income for tens of
thousands of people. Meanwhile, outgoing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan
reported this month that daily mock raids are carried out by Israel over
Lebanese skies, in some cases reaching up to 14 raids a day. This is the
major threat to stability and the economy of Lebanon. Mass movements
inevitably cause disturbance to the economy and stability, but they are in
the first place a response to government policies that are doing far
greater damage to both stability and the economy.

Distortion: This action is a Hezbollah-controlled move to take over the
country and create a religious state.

Reality: Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has gone on record saying that
Hezbollah is willing to relinquish its seats in a future national unity
government to its allies as long as all Lebanese factions are represented
in the newly-formed government.  The claim that the goal is to create a
religious state, oddly suggested by the Globe and Mail (Editorial
7/12/06), could not be seriously made within Lebanon. It is never even
suggested by Hezbollah's staunchest political enemies in Lebanon.

Distortion: The protestors are pawns of Syria and Iran, attempting to
re-introduce Syrian interference and enforce the Iranian one.

Reality: Syria and Iran do wield influence in Lebanon, but to suggest that
hundreds of thousands of citizens have taken to the streets for over a
week to serve the interests of foreign countries is insulting to those
people and cannot be taken seriously. And if it can be said that Syria and
Iran influence the decisions of the opposition coalition, it can also be
said that American and western interests, as well as the interests of
their allies in the region (Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt) influence the
decisions of the ruling coalition. U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey
Feltman meets on a regular basis with government officials and frequently
makes press statements about internal affairs in Lebanon. The German and
French governments sent delegations to support the ruling coalition during
the first week of the sit-in. Irwin Cotler from the Canadian Parliament
met with Siniora just two weeks ago.

Distortion: This is a sectarian conflict between Shiites and Sunnis.

Reality: This is a political conflict. Out of the four main speakers at
the mass rally over the past week, only two were Shiites. They included
two Sunni figures, and a religious authority who led joint prayers between
participating Sunnis and Shiites. Two prominent former prime ministers and
leaders in the Sunni community, Salim al Hoss and Omar Karami, are part of
the anti-government coalition. There is no denying that tensions between
Sunnis and Shiites are strongly present and being fomented in the current
crisis, with the majority of Sunnis siding with the government or neither
party and the majority of Shiites siding with the opposition. But the
basic issues are political ones.

Distortion: The protests are designed to prevent the establishment of an
international tribunal to investigate the assassination of former Lebanese
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Reality: All opposition parties have expressed on record, sometimes ad
nauseum, their support for establishing such a tribunal. The government
refused to grant these parties the time to review the details of the
privileges and mandate of the proposed tribunal, which is a basic
protection against manipulation of such a sensitive and important tribunal
by foreign powers. The move to ratify the order to establish the tribunal
without proper consultation sparked the resignation of opposition
Ministers from the Cabinet and led to the current situation.


==> CONTACTS FOR ENGLISH PRINT MEDIA

* Note, most newspapers require that you include your name, city, and a
telephone number where they can reach you to verify authenticity of the
letter.

Globe and Mail, letters at GlobeAndMail.ca
National Post, letters at nationalpost.com
Financial Post, fpqueries at nationalpost.com
Montreal Gazette, letters at thegazette.southam.ca
Toronto Star, lettertoed at thestar.ca
Ottawa Citizen, letters at thecitizen.southam.ca