114 news for the 6th, 21st, 30th of every month
with the bookspage 1 of 3 next
The army succeeded, after a tense day of occasional shootings, to invest and control the old town of Tripoli where many outlaws have been hiding for the past 6 months. Two civilians died, 12 were wounded, and 75 persons were arrested.
\_this day in full \_on this day
\_what the books add
Traboulsi counts this among the early-1975 protests, a southern general strike and Beirut demonstrations, over the Palestinian presence and the south's defence.
\_this day in full \_on this day
\_what the books add
De Clerck and Malsagne date the start of bread rationing to September 1975.
\_this day in full the books also date it 20 October 1975 \_on this day
The capital was rapidly set ablaze. It was the apocalypse. Militias launched street fights resulting in tens of innocent victims. Violence was at its peek and nothing seemed to end this thirst for blood.
\_this day in full \_on this day
\_what the books add
The bodies of four young Kataeb members were found on 6 December 1975, while Pierre Gemayel was in Damascus; Muslims seized at makeshift checkpoints by the port were killed in reprisal. Accounts place the bodies in the Metn (Hanf), near Tal al-Za'tar (Haugbolle) or outside the electricity company offices (Fisk). De Clerck and Malsagne blame Joseph Saadeh, whose son was among the four. Only Fisk puts Bashir Gemayel in Damascus and cites Phalangist officers saying he ordered the reprisal. The Muslim dead number about 200 (Hanf, Traboulsi, de Clerck and Malsagne) or several dozen (Picard); Fisk gives at least 300 Muslims, and probably as many Christians, in the reprisals.
Sabri Hamadeh, a legendary figure on the Lebanese political scene and an independence hero, died from a heart attack. He was 74 years old. He was born in 1902 in the Hermel and entered the political arena very early. In 1925, he was elected for the first time deputy of the Hermel. His mandate was renewed several times. In 1944, he became President of the Parliament. In addition, he had been repeatedly vice-president of the Council, as well as Minister of Interior and Minister of Public Works and Transportation. He was titular of several honorific distinctions such as the great cordon of the National Order of the Cedar.
\_this day in full the books also date it 21 January 1976, 22 January 1976 \_on this day
\_what the books add
Historians date Lieutenant Ahmad al-Khatib's breakaway to 21 January (de Clerck and Malsagne, in the Bekaa) or 22 January (Julie Tegho Bou Nassif, from the diary of the Greek Catholic bishop of Zahleh); Hanf places the mutiny in the south. About 300-400 Muslim soldiers followed him at first. The entry of 30 January may record a later step.
According to some sources, the Phalange Party succeeded in evacuating some of its militiamen who took with them seven dead bodies, three of which were young girls. According to other sources, 65 militiamen were able to run away using an underground passage. The Holiday Inn had been subject to repeated assaults for the past ten months.
\_this day in full the books also date it 20 March 1976, 22 March 1976 \_on this day
\_what the books add
Mourabitoun and Palestinian fighters, backed by Lebanese Arab Army artillery, took the 24-storey Holiday Inn after a fight waged floor by floor, day and night, from 20 to 22 March 1976 (Traboulsi dates the fall to 22 March). The Kataeb withdrew to the Fattal building near the port. The five-month Battle of the Hotels was over, and Beirut was split along the Green Line.
\_this day in full \_on this day
\_what the books add
Sudan supplied the Arab peace force's first contingent, some 2,000 men, and Libya the next (Hanf).
In a vibrant call to the Nation at the occasion of Independence Day on the 22nd of November, the President of the Republic called all Lebanese to unite around him in order to build a new Lebanon. He declared that he was sure Lebanon would put up with the challenge caused by the crisis. The President underlined the need for an absolute preservation of security, paying homage to the role played by the Arab Dissuasion Force. The President spoke mainly in his speech about the reconstruction efforts and the boosting of the economy. He also expressed his wish to see neighboring countries assist Lebanon by providing the necessary assistance and facilities.
The Lebanese reacted with firmness and indignation to the conspiracy initiated by foreign countries. According to Salim El Hoss, 'Every project expecting the settlement of Palestinians outside of their land is rejected.' The President of the Republic also rejected any project stipulating the permanent settlement of Palestinians in Lebanon. 'Our country should determine itself what it is able to offer. It is unfair to solve the Palestinian question by creating a Lebanese problem. We will make every effort to let our right prevail', he said.
\_this day in full \_on this day
\_what the books add
Hanf notes that in December 1977 Menachem Begin, Israel's prime minister, had excluded any return of the Palestinian refugees in neighbouring countries.
It considered that the Palestinian Resistance did not have its place in Lebanon anymore. The Front proclaimed that all the agreements with the PLO were null and void. The Front hoped that the Lebanese army replaces the primarily Syrian Arab Strike Force. President Sarkis was determined to dispatch the army to the South.
A feminine walk was taking place in Furn el Chebbak and Ain el Remmaneh to celebrate mother's day and the international year of the child. Demonstrators brandished banners claiming, among other things, security in the Southern suburbs, an army presence, the return of displaced persons, the indemnification of bombardment victims, and reconstruction loans.
\_this day in full the books also date it 20 March 1980 \_on this day
\_what the books add
Deploying the army, Sarkis insisted on his return from an Arab meeting at Ta'if in February 1980, should come before political reform (Traboulsi). Amal and the Phalange newspaper al-Amal also called for the army to be sent south (Traboulsi; Hanf).
\_this day in full \_on this day
\_what the books add
See the note on the entry of 25 January 1980.
\_this day in full \_on this day
\_what the books add
Hanf: clashes among the Christian militias grew more frequent after the partial Syrian withdrawal, which removed Syrian checkpoints on the roads into East Beirut and between Achrafieh and the Christian suburbs and gave the militias one unbroken territory for the first time since 1976.
\_this day in full \_on this day
\_what the books add
Ménargues dates the resignation to March 1980, after repeated deadlock between Hoss and Sarkis over the army; Hoss stayed on as caretaker until Shafiq Wazzan's appointment in late October.
page 1 of 3 next