Gebran Tueni, Arab Ruler?

Why Gebran Tueni, The boss of Annahar, risks looking more like the Arab leaders he criticizes often.


When Gebran Tueni took after his father the position of General Manager of Annahar back in January 2000, everyone thought that the days of Lebanon's most prestigious newspaper are about to be over. How could someone so young and so inexperienced assume such a great responsibility? They all asked.

Nevertheless, the young Gebran, namesake of the 1933 founder, has shown that he is the ideal man for the job. He proved to be an apt manager by overseeing the modernization, expansion and diversification of Annahar Group. More significantly, he proved to be one of the most audacious journalists in Lebanon.

In the 22nd of March 2000, Gebran Shocked the Lebanese/Syrian establishment and the world with his groundbreaking page one Op-Ed piece: Open Letter to Bashar al Assad. Back then, the ruthless Hafez al Assad was alive, and his son Bashar was responsible for the "Lebanese File". People were even afraid of speaking privately about the Syrian role in Lebanon. Still, Gebran wrote: "Many Lebanese are not happy about the Syrian military presence in Lebanon and believe that Syrian behavior in Lebanon contradicts the principles of sovereignty and independence," I remember back then when I read that piece, that I was hiding the newspaper in fear that informers would spot it with me. Mr tueni had effectively given an electric shock to the freedom of speech in Lebanon, triggering more people to brave their way into the new and fascinating domain of criticizing Syria (albeit mildly at that time).

Fast forward, five years later, Independence 05.
The Syrians are wrapping up and leaving, the UN envoy Terje Roed Larsen was so impressed with the Syrian withdrawal that he emphatically declared that the Syrian factor is going to be removed from Lebanese politics and that the Lebanese would be responsible for their own future.
Still, A day later, Gebran Tueni, as fiery as ever, accuses prime minister Karami and the Ain el tineh gathering of "taking orders" from a now-toothless Syria.
It seems to me sometimes that Gebran Tueni is in denial that other parties in Lebanon exist. Parties that are Lebanese yet genuinely pro-Syrian, not least because they want to keep their positions. Tueini seems to carry in his heart a rosy image of a united Lebanese people that "the others" are trying relentlessly to destroy. If the others didn't exist, the Lebanese wouldn’t have fought each other and would have lived in a fairy tale.

This is not unlike Arab rulers who blame all their countries' misfortunes on Israel and the US. The highly acclaimed "Arab World Development Report 2004" is now released with a section criticizing the US and Israel. Something tells me that this is the section all the Arab rulers are going to talk about.

Gebran Tueni has to realize that although the Syrians were a big impediment to Lebanese unity, there still is a Lebanese component to the problem that we, as a people, need to address together.

It is often said that people who lead revolutions should not lead the peace.
Gebran Tueni is now making the move into politics by standing for elections. The Beirut Spring, a sincere admirer of Mr. Tueni, wishes him the best of luck; however, it still thinks that this is the right time for him to sober up and to become a real statesman.