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Please sign and share. http://al-manshour.org/node/7016 On Monday, July 11th, 2016, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Baalbek-Hermel governorate will impose a curfew for Syrian refugees from 6 PM to 6 AM during the upcoming annual Baalbek International Festival, which takes place from Friday, July 22, 2016 until August, 28, 2016. While Governor Bashir Khoder verbally denied extending the existing refugee curfew, no official statements have been passed by the Baalbek-Hermel governorate indicating that the NNA reported false news. Many areas in East Lebanon have already imposed tight curfews on Syrian refugees, and more have been imposed after the recent attacks in the village of Al-Qaa, where 7 suicide attacks took place in late June, murdering 5 and wounding 28 others. While Governor Khoder and the Baalbek-Hermel governorate may consider the massacre in Al Qaa and recent threats around the country to be reference points, the Lebanese Internal Security Forces confirmed that the attackers were not refugees or among them; in fact, they came through the Lebanese-Syrian border. This is a form of collective punishment and a racist policy to implement on people who are fleeing from such atrocities. We believe that these values do not reflect Baalbek International Festival and their performers. Therefore, we call on the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate to release an official statement denying the curfews, or to reverse them. We also call on the this year’s performers to cancel their performances unless these policies are lifted. This year’s performers are the following: Caracalla Dance Theater - Saturday, July 23 Jean Michel Jarre - Saturday, July 30 Mika - Thursday, August 4 Bob James Quartet - Friday, August 12 Abeer Nehme - Friday, August 19 Lisa Simone - Sunday, August 21 Shereen Abdel Wahab - Friday, August 26 Jose Van Dam Meets Carlos Gardel - Sunday, August 28 We also call on ticket-holders and potential ticket-holders to stand on the side of human rights, justice, and dignity, and boycott Baalbek International Festival 2016 unless these unfair curfews stop taking place. *Signatories: * Joey Ayoub - Hummus For Thought Sarah Shmaitilly- Beirut Syndrome Kareem Chehayeb- Beirut Syndrome Hassan Chamoun- Levantine Chronicles Elie Fares- A Separate State of Mind Ramez Dagher- Moulahazat Hassan Chamoun- Levantine Chronicles Elia El Khazen- Socialist Forum -- *Click here to sign the statement* <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeRQ98fXfQKouqScImHj70b_SeKhbUdkSd7QdwLyf3pOVJ3wA/viewform> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeRQ98fXfQKouqScImHj70b_SeKhbUdkSd7QdwLyf3pOVJ3wA/viewform _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
