Time for Lebanese to resume rebuilding

July 14, 2008


Time for Lebanese to resume rebuilding



THE new Lebanese cabinet headed by Prime Minister
Fouad Siniora announced on Friday represents the compromise agreement reached in Qatar this year after many months of political paralysis in the country.
The 30-member cabinet includes 16 ministers representing the majority bloc led by Siniora and 11 from the opposition led by Hizbollah. The other three ministers were named by President Michel Suleiman, who exercised his prerogative to do so as contained in the May 21 Doha agreement.
Effectively, the opposition has gained veto power that would be reflected in any decision that the government takes from now on., and the new equation of power has far-reaching implications for prospects for peacemaking in the region.
Surely, the compromise was not to the liking of some, mainly the US which had tried to forestall any move that would strengthen Hizbollah arguing that the group was taking its orders from Damascus and Tehran. However, the ground support that Hizbollah has among the Lebanese, particularly after the group successfully withstood Israel's military assault against the country two years ago, helped it have its way in the political stand-off.
Predictably, the Israelis are upset because the strong Hizbollah and allied presence in the government undermines its secret designs to lure Lebanon into a "peace" agreement after giving up the occupied Shebaa Farms to UN control. The UN says the area is Syrian territory but Damascus insists it is Lebanese and this justifies the state of confrontation between Israel and Hizbollah as a Lebanese resistance group. Indeed, there are continued behind-the-scene moves for peace between Israel and Lebanon and Israel and Syria. However, even if the moves are meaningful, there is little chance of any Israel-Lebanon agreement without a peace deal between Israel and Syria. The newfound strength of the Hizbollah-led opposition in the Beirut government has removed all doubts, if there existed any, that Israel could cut a seperate deal with Lebanon.
In a broader context, it is also unlikely that any concrete move would or could be made any soon towards peace in a Israel-Lebanon-Syria framework, given the complexities and regional developments involving Iran.
As Siniora declared on Friday, the government's first task is to restore confidence in political institutions and the Lebanese political system and the second is to make sure that next year's parliamentary elections will be held transparently and under a new electoral law that "guarantees justice and true representation."
Hopefully, Siniora would be able to accomplish the mission despite the contradictions in the make-up of the new cabinet.
In the meantime, what matters for the Lebanese at this point in time is stability and security. With the Hizbollah-led opposition having entered the cabinet, the tension that gripped the country since early last year and fears of renewed civil strife have faded.
At least that is what the signs in Lebanon indicate. It is then time for the Lebanese to resume the process of rebuilding their country.