Jamil Mouawad “on the dichotomy of the revolution versus counter-revolution and the need to go beyond it”
Lebanon: Protesters cautious after clashes with sectarian groups | News | Al Jazeera
▻https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/lebanon-protesters-cautious-clashes-sectarian-groups-191127143058987.html
Some, however, argue if the anti-government protesters aim for a truly united Lebanese movement, they ought to consider what they have to offer the young Lebanese coming out in support of Hezbollah and Amal.
“There is a kind of discourse that is very dichotomous: us and them, we are civilised, we want to bring about a new country, we know how to protest. While they are thugs, and mobs. It’s very pejorative, reducing their whole identity to them riding around on mopeds causing tension,” said Jamil Mouawad, a politics lecturer at the American University of Beirut.
“The superficial reading is that they’re counter-revolutionaries, sent by parties to beat up protesters and push forward a counter-revolution; but that’s not the main cause. They consider the road closures an act of aggression against their mobility as these are the main routes of access to their neighbourhoods. The more protesters are closing roads, the more they are irritated.”
Rather than reacting to aggression from sectarian supporters, protesters should attempt a dialogue, said Mouawad.
“I don’t see that protesters have opened any channels to reach out to these people, other than the chants saying ’all of us’.”
