The Lebanese should be concerned, and even fearful, over the remaining public freedoms and spaces to express one's opinion. This is not directly linked to the formation of the new government or the political and media campaigns launched against it by the new opposition. It is rather linked to a series of phenomena and escalating measures to which public life is being subjected, namely cultural and social life. Indeed, two movies were banned in less than a week. The first is Lebanese called “What Happened” regarding a massacre that took place in the Akkar region during the civil war, and the second is an Iranian movie called “Green Days” about the uprising demanding democracy which followed the Iranian presidential elections in 2009. On the other hand, the Lebanese authorities reinforced the measures to prevent the entry of the refugees fleeing the oppression of the Syrian regime, but also to arrest those seeking security in Lebanon in a blunt defiance of all the pacts signed by the Lebanese government in regard to the protection of human rights. This behavior was accompanied by warnings from the deputies of the new majority, that each Lebanese citizen who helps a Syrian refugee will be considered a partner in the American-Israeli plot against the state of rejectionism in Syria. But the relevant phenomena did not stop at this level, as those convened at Dar al-Fatwa issued a statement in which they announced their categorical rejection of a draft law sanctioning domestic violence against women, under the pretext that the draft was submitted by secular women's associations based on “the savage principles of capitalism, market values and individualism.” There is something distinguishing the aforementioned measures and events, leading each of them back to a specific political and social context for which the sides in the ruling coalition – regardless of the majority or minority in the government formation – are responsible. Indeed, there is no arguing about Hezbollah's role and that of the March 8 forces in the prevention of the Syrian refugees from entering the country and the refusal to host international fact-finding committees to learn about the violations committed against the Syrian civilians. On the other hand, there is no doubt that the position of Dar al-Fatwa toward the draft law and before that, the slightly exaggerated position towards a violation committed by some Palestinians on lands affiliated with the Sunni endowments, stem from a feeling of encirclement, domination and threat prevailing over a wide faction of Sunnis. This is being expressed through excessive sensitivity toward anything that might feature a threat to the status and interests of the sect, even if the issue is related to helping poor Palestinian families get set. It is believed there is one climate that produced all these steps and measures. It is a mixture of puzzlement and terror vis-à-vis the major changes which are being witnessed in the Arab world and are shedding light on the extent of the rottenness on the internal levels, and the expiry of the exploitation of foreign threats to uphold the oppression, tyranny and disregarding of the freedoms. We could even go a step further and say that what Lebanon is witnessing today - in terms of the deterioration affecting public freedoms and the measures targeting foreign journalists - conveys an attempt by the system of the Lebanese sects to defend itself against the Arab revolutions. In the face of the freedom called for by these revolutions, the Lebanese are returning to repression. And in response to the demands to open up to the world, the Lebanese are pursuing their Syrian brothers among the refugees. Furthermore, in order to stop the massive media communication from which the Arab revolutions are benefitting, the institutions of the sectarian system have nothing to do but prohibit movies revealing the simple facts in regard to what the people of this part of the world have endured in terms of civil wars and the confiscation of opinions. We believe that the Arab revolution is extending to Lebanon from these doors, and not from ones that were exploited by the leaders of the dominating sects.
