Adonis Diaries

How bodyguards of deputies and police treat freedom of expression: In Lebanon

Is it a pub when a dozen women are having a beer, in any location? Should bodyguard of politicians harass the meeting women?

Gino’s blog posted this June 29, 2013

I have met Nadim Gemayel on several occasions, and have very good friends with many cadres of the Kataeb party from my school and university days.

I have been to several private parties where Nadim was also a guest, and know that his bodyguards are the typical, macho-man, show-off, street-hardened bunch that will not think twice about littering while parked in someone’s driveway blocking other cars, and whistle at girls passing by.

What Happened

• Nasawiya, a prominent and very outspoken feminist group in Lebanon, were holding a farewell party for one of their members, leaving this country (so many of us want nothing more than to get away from).
• No more than 12 persons were present in the Nasawiya headquarters, which is in Mar Mikhael on the ground floor of a building, with floor-to-ceiling windows, which Nadim Gemayel thought was a pub for some reason.
• Nadim was having dinner at Bar Tartine nearby, and when the bodyguards saw that the Nasawiya group were taking photos and videos of their own farewell party, barged in, not announcing themselves, and asking them to stop filming and taking photos.
• When asked who he was and under what authority Nadim was invading private property and ordering people around, the bodyguard refused to introduce their patron.
• Eventually, it was learned that it’s because an MP was having dinner nearby and didn’t want anyone taking photos of him (they didn’t even specify the MP)
• Of course, the Nasawiya NGO, which is a participant in the ongoing peaceful demonstrations against the illegal extension of the Lebanese parliament’s term, started chanting against whoever the MP was.
• That’s when the bodyguards pulled out their weapons, a handgun and an assault rifle, and threatened the Nasawiya members, putting the assault rifle to one of their heads and declaring that they have permission to shoot, while insulting and cursing the peaceful activists.
• The police were called in, and the activists were herded into their HQ and kept there for two hours as Nadim finished his dinner and Gemayel managed to gather local Kataeb supporters that wanted a piece of the Nasawiya group.
• When the Kataeb supporters got violent and pulled a person from the Nasawiya group with his shirt, the police fired two shots in the air, in a residential area, to disperse the crowd and end the altercation.
• A while after the altercation was done, and Nadim left, the Nasawiya activists headed home, and physically safe.

Policeman aiding a bodyguard carrying a gun

Why Gemayel Screwed Up Big Time

• Nadim is known for his over-exaggeration of his security concerns. When invited to speak at AUB, he’d cancel last minute for “security purposes”, while his much more outspoken and influential cousin, and thus obviously more in danger, Samy Gemayel used to drive his own car to AUB (not a convoy) and bravely face those Nadim perceives as targeting him (Hezbollah and Palestinian activists), which is partly why I respect Samy to a certain extent
• Nadim’s entire political career is built on him going on TV and complaining about Hezbollah’s and its sympathizers’ use of force, weapons and disregard for Lebanese citizens’ rights and freedoms. Tonight, Nadim and his bodyguards did exactly what he accuses Hezbollah of doing 24/7. I will now laugh bitterly at his broken Arabic on TV when he complains about Hezbollah. Not because I am pro-HA, but because he is a class-A hypocrite who’s obviously an MP for all the wrong reasons.
• Nadim’s uninformed and lightning-fast PR campaign on the media was worthy of a Syrian State TV newscast. It was full of humiliating lies. For one, he thought Nasawiya was a pub. For two, he said “50 men armed with sticks and stones attacked” his convoy (which appears untouched in the video). 50 men? Really? 12 feminists drinking beers translated into 50 men armed with sticks and stones?
• Nadim’s attempt to take a low-blow at the movement opposing the extension was pathetic. It’s as if he knows he won’t get elected if elections happen, and wants to defame the peaceful demonstrations for a purpose that shine a teeny tiny glimmer of hope in a country where MPs stay forever and their inept sons inherit their thrones.
• There is plenty of evidence recorded by multiple sources that has not been uploaded yet, and it is unquestionably incriminating to his party of armed, violent bodyguards. So, his barrage of misinformation will be proven otherwise in the coming days, adding insult to the injury he inflicted on himself tonight with this parade of machoism, terror and condescension for the people he’s supposed to be a public servant to.

My Two Cents

• Don’t worry Nasawiya, we’ve got your back and we have the evidence to make sure Nadim never gets elected again. The MP who helped block legislation that protects women, and who violated the most basic of our rights in extending for himself, tonight tried to deal another low-blow to the secular, pro-women, pro-democracy, pro-human rights movement, and he failed, big time.
• Gemayel’s bodyguards’ unacceptable behavior has weakened his already shaky political career. The only ammo he uses against Hezbollah, turned against him tonight. Nadim is just as bad as the thugs he wails about on TV day and night.
• It’s funny that less than 24-hours about his controversial “prediction” that the “era of political assassinations is coming back”, he creates this fantastical epic lie that 50 men attacked his convoy unexpectedly. How convenient for the MP who works hardest to get noticed.
• It’s also funny that he needs a whole convoy, that block a whole street, to go have dinner with his constituents. Who’s Nadim trying to impress? And since when did flashy SUVs protect anyone from the assassination attempts he’s predicting? Keep your own problems yours, don’t ruin citizens nights and threaten and humiliate them just because you’re an MP. For shame, abusing the power the people gave you with the money their taxes provide.
• I think he should fire his bodyguards and media reps and try to do some damage control after apologizing. The bodyguards obviously thought that brandishing a gun and a rifle in front of a bunch of girls would scare them off, a gamble that backfired, big-time, in today’s tweet-friendly, camera-phone age. You can’t hide anything anymore, and you’d better start acting like it’s 2013, where warlords and political dynasties are history, and where no matter who your dad was, you have absolutely no right to threaten, brutalize and defame the people that pay the salary you buy those 3 shiny SUVs with.
• Shame on you Gemayel, for tonight, you proved to the Lebanese public that you’re just another crooked, corrupt, attention-seeking and deceitful politician who will sink to epic lows just to protect the seat you have taken hostage. And don’t you ever dare of talking about others carrying and using guns to terrorize people from this day forward. To us, you’re just as bad as any other militia that keeps you up at night.

Note 2: This was compiled after talking to several sources, on both sides and from third parties, reviewing the evidence and putting the pieces together. I trust the above completely, and am as shocked as you probably are that things would come to this. I just wish I was there with them when the assault happened, so I could have chronicled every single detail of what went down there. Let’s hope the judiciary does its job without being threatened by Gemayel and his bodyguards, but if not, we have the evidence necessary, and even if it doesn’t throw Gemayel or his bodyguards in jail, at least we can make sure he never steps in the parliament legally again.

Video taken outside of Nasawiya

Another video taken outside of Nasawiya

Nasawiya Statement

Nadim Gemayel Statement

Nadim Gemayel on MTV

A MUST-READ eye witness account