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A land that never finds peace. Once again, violence, blood, and unrest prevail over Lebanon, a country in a permanent state of emergency. Just last week, Hezbollah officially declared war on the Lebanese government. Deaths, casualties, and refugees are the consequences of heavy fighting that has since broken out. Since the first outbreak of civil war in 1975, 100,000 people have died, hundreds of thousands have been injured, and more than one million Lebanese have fled to other countries. Many observers have attributed this conflict to the influence exerted by foreign governments as well as intra-state, social, and ethic conflicts. Yet to a certain extent, the real root of the problem seems obvious: Palestine. Until a solution emerges that will reconcile Israel and the Palestinians, the fundamentalist forces, first and foremost Hezbollah and Fatah, have ample breeding ground for their propaganda. But why have violence and terror governed Lebanon for more than thirty years?
Outbreak of Violence
The violent conflict began in 1975 when Kata’ib killed a busload of Palestinians returning to a refugee camp. This led to hostilities between the Palestinian and Lebanese Muslim militias on the one side and the Kata’ib militia on the other. The Palestinian militias were involved in the conflict because they had been driven out of Jordan in 1970 and had found refuge in Lebanon. After many bloody attacks, including PLO attacks, the Israeli army crossed into southern Lebanon in 1978 and occupied the area south of the Litani river. Shortly after this invasion, the UN Security Council stationed UNIFIL peacekeeping troops in this region. However, the main task of these troops was to observe. Four years later, Israeli troops invaded the area again and forced PLO troops to leave Lebanon once and for all. Yet this did not mark the end of the conflict. It wasn’t until the Taif Agreement in 1989 that a first cornerstone for a peaceful solution to the conflict was laid. Nevertheless, violent clashes still occurred in the years to follow - this time, with the Hezbollah militia at the center of the conflict, supported by the Syrian and Iranian governments. The Israeli army continued to bomb Hezbollah encampments up until the year 2000 when it finally pulled out of Lebanon. Now only the Syrian army was stationed in Lebanon, a presence that many Lebanese resented. The Lebanese Prime Minister at that time, Rafik Hariri, demanded the withdrawal of the Syrians, but to no avail. It wasn’t until after the assassination of Mr. Hariri in February 2005 that the Syrians finally pulled out of Lebanon.
Power Vacuum
Since the murder of the western-oriented Rafik Hariri, Lebanon has faced a power vacuum. After the disbandment of the pro-Syrian government, chaos and violence prevailed in Lebanon once again. The general elections that followed were won by Future Movement, led by Saad Hariri,the son of the assassinated Rafik Hariri. Yet Hariri did not succeed in forming a cabinet, meaning that the Lebanese presidency remains vacant to this day. This situation is partly responsible for the renewed escalation of violence between government troops and Hezbollah that are currently hitting headlines. Although the UNIFIL troops were given a robust mandate after the 2006 Lebanon, they patrol only the southern borderland and the coastline and are primarily there to prevent weapon smuggling. They cannot and are not allowed to intervene in the recent hostilities.
Critical Situation in Lebanon
Over the past few days, the situation in Lebanon has become critical. During the most violent incidents of fighting on city streets seen since the end of the civil, more than 80 people have been killed and some 250 injured. The situation is extremely complex and chaotic. It is reported that the Hezbollah militias have occupied a large part of Beirut. Many of the capital’s residents have since fled. But not only here, the militias are also responsible for heavy fighting in the northern mountain regions. However, the government has intensified the deployment of troops in the hope of bringing the situation under control. The German government has urged Lebanese factions to return to the negotiating table. On May 9, Foreign Minister Steinmeier declared his concern over the current situation. He called all parties in Lebanon to lay down their arms and recognize the monopoly of violence reigning over the Lebanese state.
Methods of Conflict Resolution
Like in Iraq, many ethnic groups live in Lebanon. Shiites, Sunnis, Druze, and Christians all want power and protect their interests. This constitutes a more than inflammable situation, on top of which, the radical, terrorist militia of Hezbollah also plays a role in its fight for a Muslim state against the existence of Israel and for a free Palestine. And this is exactly where international politics must intervene. As the disarmament of the militia has failed, the political wind has to be taken out of its sails. The EU, Israel, and above all the USA must step up efforts to find a solution to the Palestine conflict. On this point, the Bush Administration has failed miserably. But also the goals of former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer have not been actively pursued by the current German government, so Germany, too, bears some of the blame. However, the status of Palestine is only part of the problem. The weak Lebanese government is the other. The power vacuum that has existed for years has to be inflated with air as soon as possible. Only a strong Lebanese government will be able to establish order and peace in the long term. At the same time, domestic political forces will have to put their complacency aside. Even after all previsions have been made, the conflict in Lebanon will not stop from one day to the next.
Autor: Torsten Drewes (german version)
Popularity: 9% [?]
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