Middle East Politics.Net » Lebanon

Lebanon and Syria, Another Viewpoint

sanajong — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:55:18 +0000

Walid Jumblatt, Lebanon’s Progressive Socialist Party leader had harsh criticism for Aoun’s visit to Syria last week. It seems as if Lebanon is not only at odds with Syria personally, but also at odds with Syria’s reconciliation with the world. He heavily berated the hypocrisy of Aoun’s visit and proclaimed that he would never reconcile with his neighbor.

Why is it that Aoun is able to put the past aside and forge a relationship in order to promote unity in the Middle East, but Jumblatt cannot?

Sade San A Jong

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Aoun’s Church Tours

sanajong — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:51:40 +0000

As Lebanon’s Michel Aoun visited Syria, he toured some of its churches and Christian religious sites. This article explains the author’s frustrations with the niceties and falsehoods that the world adopts at the expense of the people in the Middle East.

Sade San A Jong

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Lebanon’s Parliamentary Elections As Expected

vvahedi — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 05:06:26 +0000

Lebanon will conduct its parliamentary elections as scheduled, despite rumors that they are to be postponed. The elections will be held in the Spring and concerns that they could be canceled are unjustified, note senior government officials. The elections are typically held between April 20th and June 29th.

The elections were to be postponed following the concerns over the deep political rifts between political parties. Also, there was a possibility of a conflict with the court date for the March trial concerning former PM Rafik Al-Hariri’s assassination.

Venus Vahedi

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Reconciliation between Lebanon and Syria Impossible

sanene — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 04:37:49 +0000

December 4th 2008, the leader of the Lebanese Parliament, Walid Jumblat, suggested that a peace between Syria was impossible and not feasible. Jumblat said Wednesday that the incumbent coalition wants and needs to win in order to avoid “Syrian tutelage.” He reiterated that if the incumbent party was unable to win, then Syria would succeed in sequestering Lebanese institutions and imposing its quasi-colonial rule, going back to the thirty year period of 1976 to 2005. He reiterated that reconciliation between the two nations and a reversion back to Syrian control over Lebanon was out of the question.

Samuel Anene

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Lebanon Immune to Economic Crisis

vvahedi — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 04:28:16 +0000

The Lebanese economy is booming in light of the global economic crisis, reports BBC News. Lebanon, a country known for its political turmoil and wars, appears to be thriving in the new economic climate. Banks have been reporting record deposit numbers and their vaults are full of cash.

According the a Lebanese banking official, this is because Lebanon started to prepare itself for a economic meltdown back in September. ”I saw the crisis coming and I told the commercial banks in 2007 to get out of all international investments related to the international markets”, says Riad Salameh, the governor of Lebanon’s Central Bank.

This success can also be attributed to the Lebanon’s conservative banking system. Banks do not take on too much debt and are required to keep up to 30 % of their assets in cash. They are not allowed to partake in risky bundled debt packages either and weak banks must merge with stronger banks before they get into any fiscal trouble. “You could have thought they had a crystal ball. It was very wise of the Lebanese regulators not to get involved in all these risky international investments that turned out to be the doom of many banking systems,” says Edward Gardner of the International Monetary Fund. Sounds like the rest of the world, including the United States, could take a lesson from Lebanon’s banking system!

Venus Vahedi

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Hezbollah Expresses Approval of Aoun’s Visit

sanene — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:26:03 +0000

December 5th, the Lebanese pro-Syrian Shiite group Hezbollah voiced its approval of Christian opposition Leader Michel Aoun’s trip to Syria. Hezbollah’s parliamentarians expressed their excitement as from their perspective Aoun engaged Syria and approached it with the right outlook instead of repeating some of the mistakes of the past. This was a historic trip because of Aoun’s previous vehement disagreement with Hezbollah ideologies; however since Syria’s pull-out in 2005, both sides have come together as allies with visions for the future for both Lebanon and Syria.

Samuel Anene

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Jimmy Carter to Visit Lebanon

sdemetri — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:06:14 +0000

The Carter Center has announced that former US President Jimmy Carter will be visiting the Middle East this month, and will be focusing on issues of particular concern to Lebanon and Syria. As part of his visit, Carter will lead an assessment mission in Lebanon to prepare for the upcoming 2009 elections and to consider the possibility of a subsequent election observation mission. Additionally, he will be presenting a lecture at the American University of Beirut titled, “30 years after Camp David: A memo to the Arab World, Israel and the Quartet.”

He will also meet with Syrian and Lebanese officials on fostering peace in the Middle Eastern region.

Stefanie Demetriades

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Lebanese Elections to Proceed as Planned

sdemetri — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:54:07 +0000

Lebanese officials have dismissed concerns that the parliamentary elections scheduled for next spring may be canceled. Calling such claims unfounded, officials insist that, as planned, elections will take place between April 20 and June 29, 2009. Skeptics have cited the deep political fragmentation among Lebanon’s political forces, and have voiced particular concern that the the investigation of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination, set for March 2009, will stir up tension at the time of the elections. There is concern among many that the resurgence of tensions over the 2005 incident will spill over and spark political, and violent, conflict during the elections.

Stefanie Demetriades

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Syria’s Stage

sanajong — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:01:17 +0000

Lebanon’s Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun criticized the UN’s handling of Israel in relation to other Middle Eastern nations. He did this not at home, in Lebanon, but at Damascus University during his visit to Syria.

Aoun, who is in Syria to meet with top officials, including President Bashar Assad, in order to revisit Syria’s relations with Lebanon, is using his moment to get across a broader message. That message is the unilateral criticism of Israel that many Middle Eastern nations share. Is this the proper platform for such a message –especially since he is not in his homeland?

Sade San A Jong

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Human Rights Coalition Praise Ruling in Lebanon, Urge For More Progress

sdemetri — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:28:19 +0000

Human rights organizations around the world have praised Lebanon’s recent ruling in the case of Muhammad Mugraby, a prominent human rights lawyer. Mugraby was on trial for slander following his 2003 speech in which he openly and harshly criticized the Lebanese government’s policies, focusing particularly on the violent suppression of political dissent and the use of torture in interrogations. Last week, a criminal court in Beirut ruled that Mugraby was protected by constitutional rights of freedom of speech, prompting organizations such as Human Rights Watch to praise the decision as an affirmation of progress. Mugraby still faces eight additional charges, however, which a coalition of 11 human rights organizations have pressed the Lebanese government to lift. In a joint statement these organizations emphasized that “the cases against Mugraby may be multiple and complicated, but they are all motivated by a desire to punish him for publicly criticizing the country’s judicial and legal institutions…The Lebanese government should put an end to this campaign of harassment.”

Stefanie Demetriades

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