Conflict Incident Report

Employees at the Lebanese University in Hadath staged a protest in solidarity with Speaker Nabih Berri as part of the fourth day of actions in support of the speaker.

“Today we are protesting in a civil manner and will continue to do so because we feel that the nation is in danger with this language we’re hearing today,” Ali Chehade, an Amal supporter, told MTV Lebanon.

Protests were sparked Monday after a video of Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil was leaked in which he called Berri a “thug.”

Chehade was joined by a small number of administrative LU officials, students and Hadath officials from Berri’s Amal Movement. “Politically and civilly, we will keep up our protests, and in the days to come, we will prove that we are right,” Chehade said.

Echoing Amal Movement leadership’s denial of responsibility for the Hadath standoff Wednesday night between Amal supporters and Hadath residents, Chehade said: “We are distanced from these methods and this language that was used.” He added that Amal and Berri “recite the National Accord from the 70s until today, from Deir al-Ahmar and Al-Qaa all the way to the south.”

Chehade said that Amal follows the motto of coexistence between all religions and cultures.

The Hadath campus of LU has been the site of controversy in the past. In December 2016, tensions escalated between political parties after Hezbollah-affiliated students at the university prevented Fairouz songs from being played during a memorial service.

At the time, friends of engineering student Mohammad Hamadeh who died in a car accident planned a memorial service at the campus. They intended to display his picture and play Fairouz songs to remember his love for the famous Lebanese singer.

The Hezbollah Student Council said the reason for their opposition was that the ceremony coincided with the anniversary of the death of the Prophet Mohammad.