Lebanon, a country of little more than 10,000 square kilometers, squeezed between Israel and Syria, has been showered with nature’s gifts. Its people are educated, entrepreneurial, talented and family-oriented with an inherent joie de vie. Every Lebanese I’ve ever met said with pride that theirs is the finest country on earth and those in the Diaspora, including some of the nation’s finest minds forced to flee from violence, often have damp eyes when listening to the patriotic songs of Fairouz, remembering what could have been.
But while the Lebanese can boast about their scenic wonders, tourist attractions and business acumen, they’ve been badly let down by systematic political impasses and foreign powers that ruthlessly use their country as a battleground for proxy wars. Today, the country is in a state of complete paralysis. Sectarian divisions, exacerbated by the Syrian conflict and the upcoming tribunal in The Hague set to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, threaten to tear Lebanon apart. And with no trusted leader at the helm, the nation’s war-weary population is being blown around like straw in the wind.
How a country can operate without a functioning Parliament, an elected government or a military sans the wherewithal to protect its borders is anyone’s guess. On May 25, Michel Sleiman’s presidential mandate is due to expire and there are fears that political players will fail to agree on a successor. Such concerns have been greatly heightened following a series of sectarian bombings that rocked the nation since August 2013, beginning with an explosion in a Shiite-dominated area of southern Beirut that killed 27. Thought to be a tit-for-tat hit, two car bombs killed 45 outside mosques in Tripoli later that month—and in November, the Iranian Embassy in Beirut was attacked by suicide bombers, resulting in 25 deaths.
The recent assassination of former finance minister and ambassador to the United States, Mohammed Chatah, who was a senior adviser to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and a leading light of the anti-Hezbollah/anti-Assad March 14 movement, has elevated tensions close to breaking point. Shortly prior to his untimely demise, Chatah tweeted “Hezbollah is pressing to be granted similar powers in security and foreign policy matters that Syria exercised in Lebanon for 15 years.”
While most politicians were circumspect when it came to assigning blame for the bomb placed in a stolen Honda that robbed Chatah and others of their lives, Saad Hariri didn’t pull any punches. Writing on Twitter, he pointed at the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah, saying, “The ones who run away from international justice and refuse to appear before the international tribunal,” are the orchestrators.
It should be mentioned that the tribunal has taken eight years to indict five suspects—all with links to Hezbollah, which has denied involvement and refuses to permit those under indictment to face justice.
Nobody can accurately predict what happens here on in, but analysts broadly agree that the prognosis is far from positive.
Within March 14 views have considerably hardened with many now demanding that Hezbollah be excluded from any future government. Indeed, according to Lebanon’s English-language newspaper, the Daily Star, head of the Future Bloc and former Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora, responded to Chater’s assassination by announcing, “the March 14 coalition has decided to free the nation from the occupation of illegitimate arms so we could protect our independence and guarantee our sovereignty and civil peace. We say to the Lebanese and the family of Mohammed Chatah: ‘We will not surrender, back down or fear criminals, terrorists and murderers; they are the ones who should be in fear.’”
Those are fighting words by anyone’s standard and if supported by deeds, could provoke a kind of bloody confrontation that no Lebanese truly wants after suffering a 15-year-long civil war, Israeli and Syria occupations, not to mention all out war with Israel for which the Lebanese paid a grave price in terms of civilian fatalities.
Ultimately, unless the roots of Lebanon’s problems are tackled, the country is destined to lurch from one crisis to another.
Firstly, its antiquated confessional system of governance should be replaced by one that does not induce sectarian ambitions. A system that denotes an individual’s right to run for a certain office on the basis of his religious beliefs means that the best person for the job is excluded—and guarantees a weak state. Unless and until the loyalty of every Lebanese rests with his homeland and his compatriots, regardless of their faith, cohesion will remain forever elusive.
Secondly, the existence of an armed state within a state is untenable in the long run. Hezbollah deems itself Lebanon’s guardian in relation to threats from outside, which should be the role of the Lebanese Armed Forces that consists of approximately 56,000 troops, air and naval personnel. Despite its strength in numbers, the military is cash-strapped and is largely reliant on second-hand weapons, discarded by the US; some relics of the Vietnam and Iraq wars. Lebanon urgently requires a strong and modern military, which Saudi Arabia has recently recognized with a pledge of $3 billion to upgrade the armed forces. President Sleiman says this is the largest grant the military has ever received; adding much of it will go to purchasing sophisticated French-made weaponry.
Lastly, the international community, in particular the United Nations and the Arab League, should throw its weight behind the concept of Lebanese unity and impress upon foreign powers—with both words and actions—to quit meddling in Lebanon’s affairs and to stop using Lebanese soil like a graveyard to further their own ideologies or agendas.
Lebanon needs saving now; that’s beyond dispute. Saudi Arabia has started the ball rolling with its generosity to the army. Who will follow suit?
Linda S. Heard is a British specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She welcomes feedback and can be contacted by email at heardonthegrapevines@yahoo.co.uk.
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Living on the edge
Posted on January 8, 2014 by Linda S. Heard
Lebanon, a country of little more than 10,000 square kilometers, squeezed between Israel and Syria, has been showered with nature’s gifts. Its people are educated, entrepreneurial, talented and family-oriented with an inherent joie de vie. Every Lebanese I’ve ever met said with pride that theirs is the finest country on earth and those in the Diaspora, including some of the nation’s finest minds forced to flee from violence, often have damp eyes when listening to the patriotic songs of Fairouz, remembering what could have been.
But while the Lebanese can boast about their scenic wonders, tourist attractions and business acumen, they’ve been badly let down by systematic political impasses and foreign powers that ruthlessly use their country as a battleground for proxy wars. Today, the country is in a state of complete paralysis. Sectarian divisions, exacerbated by the Syrian conflict and the upcoming tribunal in The Hague set to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, threaten to tear Lebanon apart. And with no trusted leader at the helm, the nation’s war-weary population is being blown around like straw in the wind.
How a country can operate without a functioning Parliament, an elected government or a military sans the wherewithal to protect its borders is anyone’s guess. On May 25, Michel Sleiman’s presidential mandate is due to expire and there are fears that political players will fail to agree on a successor. Such concerns have been greatly heightened following a series of sectarian bombings that rocked the nation since August 2013, beginning with an explosion in a Shiite-dominated area of southern Beirut that killed 27. Thought to be a tit-for-tat hit, two car bombs killed 45 outside mosques in Tripoli later that month—and in November, the Iranian Embassy in Beirut was attacked by suicide bombers, resulting in 25 deaths.
The recent assassination of former finance minister and ambassador to the United States, Mohammed Chatah, who was a senior adviser to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and a leading light of the anti-Hezbollah/anti-Assad March 14 movement, has elevated tensions close to breaking point. Shortly prior to his untimely demise, Chatah tweeted “Hezbollah is pressing to be granted similar powers in security and foreign policy matters that Syria exercised in Lebanon for 15 years.”
While most politicians were circumspect when it came to assigning blame for the bomb placed in a stolen Honda that robbed Chatah and others of their lives, Saad Hariri didn’t pull any punches. Writing on Twitter, he pointed at the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah, saying, “The ones who run away from international justice and refuse to appear before the international tribunal,” are the orchestrators.
It should be mentioned that the tribunal has taken eight years to indict five suspects—all with links to Hezbollah, which has denied involvement and refuses to permit those under indictment to face justice.
Nobody can accurately predict what happens here on in, but analysts broadly agree that the prognosis is far from positive.
Within March 14 views have considerably hardened with many now demanding that Hezbollah be excluded from any future government. Indeed, according to Lebanon’s English-language newspaper, the Daily Star, head of the Future Bloc and former Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora, responded to Chater’s assassination by announcing, “the March 14 coalition has decided to free the nation from the occupation of illegitimate arms so we could protect our independence and guarantee our sovereignty and civil peace. We say to the Lebanese and the family of Mohammed Chatah: ‘We will not surrender, back down or fear criminals, terrorists and murderers; they are the ones who should be in fear.’”
Those are fighting words by anyone’s standard and if supported by deeds, could provoke a kind of bloody confrontation that no Lebanese truly wants after suffering a 15-year-long civil war, Israeli and Syria occupations, not to mention all out war with Israel for which the Lebanese paid a grave price in terms of civilian fatalities.
Ultimately, unless the roots of Lebanon’s problems are tackled, the country is destined to lurch from one crisis to another.
Firstly, its antiquated confessional system of governance should be replaced by one that does not induce sectarian ambitions. A system that denotes an individual’s right to run for a certain office on the basis of his religious beliefs means that the best person for the job is excluded—and guarantees a weak state. Unless and until the loyalty of every Lebanese rests with his homeland and his compatriots, regardless of their faith, cohesion will remain forever elusive.
Secondly, the existence of an armed state within a state is untenable in the long run. Hezbollah deems itself Lebanon’s guardian in relation to threats from outside, which should be the role of the Lebanese Armed Forces that consists of approximately 56,000 troops, air and naval personnel. Despite its strength in numbers, the military is cash-strapped and is largely reliant on second-hand weapons, discarded by the US; some relics of the Vietnam and Iraq wars. Lebanon urgently requires a strong and modern military, which Saudi Arabia has recently recognized with a pledge of $3 billion to upgrade the armed forces. President Sleiman says this is the largest grant the military has ever received; adding much of it will go to purchasing sophisticated French-made weaponry.
Lastly, the international community, in particular the United Nations and the Arab League, should throw its weight behind the concept of Lebanese unity and impress upon foreign powers—with both words and actions—to quit meddling in Lebanon’s affairs and to stop using Lebanese soil like a graveyard to further their own ideologies or agendas.
Lebanon needs saving now; that’s beyond dispute. Saudi Arabia has started the ball rolling with its generosity to the army. Who will follow suit?
Linda S. Heard is a British specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She welcomes feedback and can be contacted by email at heardonthegrapevines@yahoo.co.uk.