March 2, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Should it stay or should it go?

Controversial book’s status leaves storeowners and government officials baffled
Mona Alami

La liste Hariri by Gerard de Villiers.
Much confusion surrounds the Lebanon release of French thriller La Liste Hariri by Gerard de Villiers – a spy novel that links the 2005 killing of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri directly to Syria and its proxies in Hezbollah. Mixed messages from authorities on censoring the book means the 311-page novel is suck sitting in administrate purgatory, while bookstores across the country have responded schizophrenically by repeatedly removing and re-shelving the book.

La Liste Hariri is, like many stories, only based loosely in reality, and includes inaccuracies and exaggerations. But it remains an interesting interpretation of the grim 2005 Valentine’s Day explosion that killed Hariri and 21 others on a strip of the most expensive seaside property in Lebanon.

Delving into the world of espionage and counterespionage, the tale involves the American CIA, the Lebanese Maaloumat, and the Hezbollah and Syrian intelligence apparatuses to paint a picture of an underground war in Lebanon. The plot also links to Hezbollah agents the famous ten cell phone numbers, mentioned in actual reports to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, that were used to trail the Hariri convoy on the day of the assassination.

Because of the sensitivity of the issue Lieutenant Colonel Elias Abou Rjeileh of the censorship department (Mourakaba) at the Lebanese General Security told NOW that his department had signed an agreement with bookstores to keep La Liste Hariri off shelves for the time being.

Despite Rjeileh’s assurance, many bookstore owners seem to be confused.

“The book was initially banned from bookstores, but we started selling it for a few days after hearing that General Security had denied any censorship of the novel,” says a saleswoman at the Antoine bookstore in Beirut’s ABC Mall. “We put it on display for about four days, before we were asked once again to remove it from our shelf space.”

Like many others, her understanding (or misunderstanding) is linked to the January 20 report by French daily Le Figaro saying La Liste Hariri had been banned by the Lebanese General Security because it implicated Hezbollah in Hariri’s killing. In response, the General Security issued a statement the following day denying the information published in Le Figaro.

“We do not really know if we are allowed to sell the book or not; it was supposed to be censored initially and we have removed it and replaced it on shelves a few times. It’s now once again in store,” says an employee of Virgin megastores.

Now, the book is beginning to turn up in Hamra-area bookstores. While the Librairie Internationale still prefers not to stock it in accordance with its understanding of General Security instructions, La Librarie Orientale, which received the book last week, has started putting it on display.

“I guess the ban on La Liste Hariri has been lifted,” says one of Orientale’s saleswomen, who seems at a loss.

At Antoine in Hamra, the book is often sold by the dozens to avid readers. “All the fuss surrounding the thriller has only further spiked sales,” says an employee there.

Back at the General Security, Rjeileh seems as puzzled by the issue as bookstore employees. “We sent a letter to Information Minister Tarek Mitri about a month ago, and we are still waiting for his answer to decide of the fate of the book,” says Rjeileh. “If you happen to talk to him could you please inform me of his answer?”

As of press time, Minister Mitri was not available for comment.