Lebanese MP calls for beheading of singer

ALebanese MP has caused outrage after he called for the beheading of a Lebanese pop star after the release of a song bemoaning the worsening situation in the country.

Speaking on a talk show on Sunday, MP Hikmat Dib, a representative of President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement party said the singer’s “head should be removed”.

In a comment on Ragheb Alama’s recently released song “Tar Al Balad” (The Country is Lost) Dib said: “His head must be lost. What does ‘the country is lost’ mean? What is this irresponsibility? [There is] irresponsibility in spreading negativity and despair among the people.”

The lyrics of the song released last week by Alama were a shout of despair: “It’s time for the people to scream out loud. There is no time, the country is lost. Where is justice? Dreams are being put out. Our awareness has gone to sleep and the situation is only getting more difficult.”

Dib didn’t stop here, but took to Twitter after the show, posting a sarcastic statement: “Ragheb Alama stick to songs about love and passion, what do you [know about] the country’s affairs?”