Tyrants in Lebanon, martyrs in Syria
Myra Abdallah/Now Lebanon/February 22/16
Adonis Nasr (Image via Twitter)
Syrian Social National Party (SSNP) member Adonis Nasr, known as “Ado,” who is infamous for assaulting journalist Christopher Hitchens in Beirut, died last week in Latakia, Syria. Referred to as the “Eagle of the Swastika,” Christian Lebanese Nasr has reportedly been fighting in Syria alongside Hezbollah and the Syrian regime. Many news outlets have reported that Nasr— who was the media officer for “Eagles of the Swastika” Forces, the military branch of the SSNP in Syria— was killed by a “terrorist missile” that hit the vehicle he was in.
In 2009, Christopher Hitchens, who reportedly came to Lebanon to participate in the annual memorial rally of assassinated Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, was assaulted by Nasr and other SSNP members on Hamra Street in Beirut for “vandalizing” an image of the party’s swastika. In an article published by Vanity Fair, Hitchens described the incident:
“Well, call me old-fashioned if you will, but I have always taken the view that swastika symbols exist for one purpose only—to be defaced. Telling my two companions to hold on for a second, I flourish my trusty felt-tip and begin to write some offensive words on the offending poster. I say “begin” because I have barely gotten to the letter k in a well-known transitive verb when I am grabbed by my shirt collar by a venomous little thug, his face glittering with hysterical malice. With his other hand, he is speed-dialing for backup on his cell phone. As always with episodes of violence, things seem to slow down and quicken up at the same time: the eruption of mayhem in broad daylight happening with the speed of lightning yet somehow held in freeze-frame. It becomes evident, as the backup arrives, that this gang wants to take me away.”
People who spend a lot of time in Hamra probably know Ado, but more importantly, they know that the SSNP maintains a largely hostile presence on that particular street in Beirut. A lot of stories reported the violent reactions of the party’s member towards their opponents, or simply, the people they do not like.
Civilian opponents being beaten up by SSNP members in Hamra became a normal news headline. In addition, in 2012 for example, they assaulted a Lebanese security forces officer who was passing by the SSNP office in Hamra; and in 2014, they attacked the Lebanese army; journalists were also victims of these violent attacks. Pub owners, regular coffee shop goers, residents, activists of Hamra know for a fact that nothing happens on this particular street in Beirut without the knowledge, not to say the approval, of the SSNP, and whoever challenges them or tries to openly express disapproval of their politics knows how violent and dangerous they can be.
Although Hezbollah is definitely more involved in the Syrian war than the SSNP, the latter has already lost three of its members in the Syrian war. Last week, Nasr joined the list of the party’s martyrs killed in Syria, which previously included Nasr’s friend – Mohammad Awad – and Adham Najm. A longtime ally of the Syrian regime, secular SSNP is a de facto Hezbollah ally, the number one Shiite oppressor in Lebanon and Bashar al-Assad’s ally.
Hezbollah is far from being a democratic party as well. The Party of God’s opponents face all types of pressure, occasional abductions, attempts to silence them, threats, and both direct and indirect messages sent by party members or supporters. However, Hezbollah does not always use the force of direct violence like the SSNP. The powerful party, which controls Lebanese politics and that has been given the power of its “divine weapon,” does not always need to use violence. Indirect messages, accusations of being Israeli agents, media campaigns against opponents, and family members who disown the “black sheep” of the family (who speak out against Hezbollah or its General-Secretary Hassan Nasrallah) are an always-ready tool used to silence those who vocally oppose the divine party, or who uncover their activities, such as recruitment of fighters, corruption in South Lebanon and other Hezbollah-controlled areas and suspicious monetary activities around the world for example. In Hezbollah’s case, journalists or activists being abducted or threatened for speaking up against the party – without being necessarily beaten up – also became normal headlines.
Being oppressors in Lebanon, they know how to do it. They know how to silence people and beat them up. They have controlled areas, empires, fortresses where no one who speaks against them is allowed to enter. It is of no surprise that both parties allied with Syria’s dictator; not only because they share the same ideologies, believe in the unity of path and fate, work together, fight together, live together and die together, but they also share techniques of oppression and tyranny. They threaten and try to dominate similarly. For them, the world that contradicts them should not exist.
**Myra Abdallah tweets @myraabdallah, and she knows she won’t be having drinks in Hamra anytime soon.