BEIRUT (Reuters) – Demonstrators attacked the
headquarters of a Lebanese television channel in Beirut on Tuesday
night, protesting against a broadcast they said was insulting to
Lebanese Shi’ite cleric Imam Musa al-Sadr. Around 300 people, some carrying flags of
Lebanon’s Shi’ite Amal Movement, tried to storm the headquarters of
Lebanese channel al-Jadeed, throwing fireworks, stones and eggs at the
building. Scores of police and troops rushed to the area. One policeman was injured and the army later broke up the protest. Sadr, the founder of the Amal Movement,
disappeared after traveling to Libya in 1978 and is presumed dead.
Lebanese media said the Tuesday demonstration had been in reaction to a
broadcast comedy sketch that referred to the disappearance. Protesters broke windows, shouted insults at the
channel’s owner, and chanted “Here we are Nabih”, referring to
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, head of the Amal Movement.

By Naharnet – Al-Jadeed deputy chairwoman Karma Khayyat had urged the
army to “intervene to put an end to the behavior of (Speaker Nabih)
Berri’s supporters outside al-Jadeed’s building,” calling the
protesters’ actions “an insult to Imam Moussa al-Sadr.” An army force eventually arrived outside the building to reinforce security lines. Army forces also deployed along the Salim Salam bridge
and on the highway near the Sports City, state-run National News Agency
reported. “Those attacking al-Jadeed’s building did not watch the
episode that they are protesting against and al-Jadeed does not accept
any insult against Sayyed Moussa al-Sadr,” Khayyat stressed. “We are being threatened with bullets and the cutting
off of broadcast, but this will not deter us from saying the truth,”
Khayyat added.

The episode featured three puppets impersonating Berri, slain Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and former U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon. According to An Nahar newspaper, the episode “hinted that Berri knows the location in which al-Sadr vanished.” The TV show is directed by controversial director Charbel Khalil. AMAL MP Hani Qobeissi had on Monday accused al-Jadeed of
“insulting” al-Sadr whom he described as “the first defender of
Lebanon.” “The language of mockery and disrespect showed that your
$70 million contract with some remnants of the Libyan regime to print
their books is more important to you than all the causes of the country
and its people,” Qobeissi said in a statement. “AMAL Movement with its martyrs, wounded, cadres and
leader will not confront you, because you are too little for that,” the
MP added.