30/11/2007 / LEBANON
Earlier this year, I was watching the fight between opposition and majority-party supporters and that gave me the idea to present our leaders as action figures, since they use their supporters as string-puppets. I took the decision myself to close the site, to avoid any problems. Was I pressured? No comment.”
Lebanese pols battle it out online. But Hezbollah's honcho is not in sight.
Material compiled by Marc Daou, our regional editor for the Middle East
'Douma Game,’ a street-combat game, was launched online shortly before President Emile Lahoud quit office following his Nov. 23 term expiration. (the election of his successor had been postponed six times). Inspired by the famous PlayStation game, ‘Tekken’, Douma Game feaures Lebanese politicians of all stripes locked in a battle for survival. One notable omission though, is Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who escapes the call to the boxing ring. For good reason, it seems. The last time he was caricatured on television, there were riots in Beirut. So Douma Game's creator was careful about representing the pro-Iranian party, using one of Nasrallah’s deputies, Hussein Hajj Hassan, instead. Alas, Lebanese bloggers hardly had time to test the game, as it was stripped off-line by its own creator, officially for ‘legal reasons’.
Interview with the game's creator
Earlier this year, I was watching the fight between opposition and majority-party supporters and that gave me the idea to present our leaders as action figures, since they use their supporters as string-puppets. I took the decision myself to close the site, to avoid any problems. Was I pressured? No comment.”
Below, the message displayed when the site was shut down on 30 November.
Extract of the game
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