Podcasts
05/03/2020
Sectarian politics losing purpose in crisis-hit Lebanon
While Syria appears to be heading down the route of sectarian political quotas and autonomous federal cantons, people in its neighbouring Lebanon are starting to grow tired of this system, which has put forward no real solutions to its economic woes.
Lebanon needs to pay back 1.2 billion dollars worth of eurobonds in March, or else it may have to default on its debt. Some Lebanese politicians favour an IMF bailout, but others oppose it, citing fierce austerity measures which will be implemented on the Lebanese people, many of whom already live below the poverty line.
In late 2019, former prime minister Saad Hariri stepped down after months of protests against corruption, but it wasn’t Hariri they were protesting against per se. Lebanon formed a new government, this time under its new prime minister Hassan Diab in January, but nonetheless protests continue.
That’s because it wasn’t any one particular government the people were rejecting, but the whole political system which serves more to protect the delicate power balance between Lebanon’s various sects - including Sunnis, Shias, Maronites and Druze - rather than emphasising on serving the people.
Despite stepping down, Saad Hariri is very much still involved in politics as the head of the Future Movement, which has upped its critical rhetoric targeting President Michel Aoun and his son-in-law Gebran Bassil, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement. In Lebanon, only a Sunni Muslim can be prime minister, while the position of president is reserved for the Maronite Christians.
Hariri, a Sunni leader, has accused Bassil, a Maronite, of acting as a “shadow president” and working to eliminate other parties. Hariri also withheld his support for the new government under Diab, also a Sunni, instead choosing to tap into the voice of public discontent towards the entire political establishment. The Maronite church has also been critical of President Aoun, who has been working with Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shia proxy in Lebanon, which also has representation in the new government.
Hezbollah has come under increasing scrutiny for prioritising Iranian interests in Lebanon over the interests of the Lebanese people. It no longer has the popular support it once enjoyed during its contribution to the liberation of southern Lebanon from Israeli occupation. It also highly opposes any kind of IMF bailout, as it fears Lebanon may be forced into reforms that will undermine its own position in the country.
Furthermore, Lebanese Health Minister Mohammad Hassan, a Hezbollah affiliate, has come under fire for not halting flights from Iran into the country, and thus contributing to the outbreak of coronavirus. Iran is the most affected country by the coronavirus after China, and the hardest hit in the Middle East, followed immediately by Lebanon. This again is seen as the consequence of Hezbollah using its position to prioritise its relationship with Iran to the detriment of the Lebanese people.
However, while the people of Lebanon understand the need for change to establish a government that brings solutions instead of problems, the power-balance structure in the country is incredibly delicate, with none of the political elites eager to give any concessions. It is likely that to consolidate its position, Hezbollah may attempt to provoke a war with Israel in order to regain its status as a national saviour and deflect some of the blame for its mistakes onto an outside actor.
Radio EastMed’s Editor-in-Chief Ertan Karpazli has more.
To listen to the full podcast rounding up all the major events of February 2020 in the Eastern Mediterranean, please visit the following link: https://youtu.be/fXTJli_iW6g
Lebanon needs to pay back 1.2 billion dollars worth of eurobonds in March, or else it may have to default on its debt. Some Lebanese politicians favour an IMF bailout, but others oppose it, citing fierce austerity measures which will be implemented on the Lebanese people, many of whom already live below the poverty line.
In late 2019, former prime minister Saad Hariri stepped down after months of protests against corruption, but it wasn’t Hariri they were protesting against per se. Lebanon formed a new government, this time under its new prime minister Hassan Diab in January, but nonetheless protests continue.
That’s because it wasn’t any one particular government the people were rejecting, but the whole political system which serves more to protect the delicate power balance between Lebanon’s various sects - including Sunnis, Shias, Maronites and Druze - rather than emphasising on serving the people.
Despite stepping down, Saad Hariri is very much still involved in politics as the head of the Future Movement, which has upped its critical rhetoric targeting President Michel Aoun and his son-in-law Gebran Bassil, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement. In Lebanon, only a Sunni Muslim can be prime minister, while the position of president is reserved for the Maronite Christians.
Hariri, a Sunni leader, has accused Bassil, a Maronite, of acting as a “shadow president” and working to eliminate other parties. Hariri also withheld his support for the new government under Diab, also a Sunni, instead choosing to tap into the voice of public discontent towards the entire political establishment. The Maronite church has also been critical of President Aoun, who has been working with Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shia proxy in Lebanon, which also has representation in the new government.
Hezbollah has come under increasing scrutiny for prioritising Iranian interests in Lebanon over the interests of the Lebanese people. It no longer has the popular support it once enjoyed during its contribution to the liberation of southern Lebanon from Israeli occupation. It also highly opposes any kind of IMF bailout, as it fears Lebanon may be forced into reforms that will undermine its own position in the country.
Furthermore, Lebanese Health Minister Mohammad Hassan, a Hezbollah affiliate, has come under fire for not halting flights from Iran into the country, and thus contributing to the outbreak of coronavirus. Iran is the most affected country by the coronavirus after China, and the hardest hit in the Middle East, followed immediately by Lebanon. This again is seen as the consequence of Hezbollah using its position to prioritise its relationship with Iran to the detriment of the Lebanese people.
However, while the people of Lebanon understand the need for change to establish a government that brings solutions instead of problems, the power-balance structure in the country is incredibly delicate, with none of the political elites eager to give any concessions. It is likely that to consolidate its position, Hezbollah may attempt to provoke a war with Israel in order to regain its status as a national saviour and deflect some of the blame for its mistakes onto an outside actor.
Radio EastMed’s Editor-in-Chief Ertan Karpazli has more.
To listen to the full podcast rounding up all the major events of February 2020 in the Eastern Mediterranean, please visit the following link: https://youtu.be/fXTJli_iW6g
