 |
April 1999
For many people, the mention of Lebanon calls forth images of the destruction which occurred during the country's brutal 15 year civil war, which lasted from 1974 to 1989. Today you'll find scant physical evidence of war damage, and a people widely known for both their hospitality and entrepreneurial zest even though relations between a kaleidoscope of different sectarian communities remain strained.
|
Although the area now occupied by Lebanon has been settled for thousands of years (it is in fact generally acknowledged as the home of the ancient Phoenicians), the modern state of Lebanon began to take form only during the waning period of Ottoman rule in the late 19th century. In 1860, under intense pressure from the European powers following the massacre of Christians by Druze, the Ottomans were forced to create a semi-autonomous province known as Mount Lebanon to accommodate the Christian population (primarily Maronite, but also some Greek Orthodox and other sects).
In the wake of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following WWI, most of the Arab lands in the Middle East were split in 1920 between the victorious powers of France and Britain at the San Remo Conference. The French were awarded Mount Lebanon because they had played a leading role in its creation, and were long considered patrons of the Maronites. However, this area was not considered economically viable, and the Maronites had been pressing for its enlargement into a 'Greater Lebanon' almost since its creation. In August 1920, the French agreed to enlarge Mount Lebanon by adding Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, Tripoli, the Bekaa Valley, and substantial areas to the south from the area they had been awarded in what is now Syria. Whereas the Maronites had comprised nearly all the population of Mount Lebanon, they were a bare majority of the new nation, and there were significant numbers of Sunni and Shi'a Muslims in the newly annexed areas. In 1926, Lebanon was declared a republic, though still under French mandate. Full independence was only achieved in 1946.
The drive for independence had soothed religious tensions, and resulted in implementation of the so-called National Pact of 1943. This was an unwritten agreement that divided power along sectarian lines, reserving the office of president for a Maronite Christian, that of prime minister for a Sunni Muslim, and speaker of the house for a Shi'a Muslim. The 1932 census was used as the basis for apportionment of parliamentary seats, ensuring a 6-to-5 Maronite majority.
Despite some initial success, several factors conspired to doom the National Pact. Thousands of mostly Sunni Palestinians poured into Lebanon during and after the Arab-Israeli War of 1948, which upset the delicate communal balance. This was aggravated by higher birth rates among the Muslim population, as well as greater emigration of Maronites to France and other countries. Moreover, the Maronites were determined to maintain effective control of the state and economy even in the face of demographic evidence suggesting they had become a minority. This inevitably led to unrest in 1958, which was put down with the aid of intervention by the U.S. Marines.
Whereas the 1960s are generally remembered as being peaceful and prosperous for the Maronite and Sunni elites who profited handsomely from banking, trade, and tourism, there was a continued high influx of Palestinian refugees from Israel and elsewhere. Eventually, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) moved its headquarters to Beirut, further radicalizing an already marginalized element. The PLO began using southern Lebanon as a base to launch attacks against Israel following signing of the Cairo Accord in 1969.
Even though their focus was not specifically on reforming Lebanese society, the presence of the PLO had a rallying effect on many poorer Muslims (Sunni and Shi'a alike), who were becoming more aware both of their demographic superiority as well as their relative political impotence. The Maronites and other Christians were meanwhile becoming more alarmed, even beginning to view the Israelis as potential allies as armed conflict in the south resulted in more refugees flooding into Beirut's poorer suburbs. It was perhaps inevitable that against these deteriorating trends armed militias soon formed representing the major sectarian communities.
A virtual bloodbath ensued almost as soon as full scale war finally erupted in 1975, and within a year thousands had been killed or driven from their homes. Fearful both of Israel's military superiority and the PLO's political radicalism, Syria decided to intervene in 1976, initially on the side of the Maronites. After some initial successes, renewed PLO attacks on Israel prompted the latter to invade Lebanon in 1978. Israel withdrew following calls by the United Nations, but installed a client army to patrol a southern buffer zone. Meanwhile, the Syrians shifted sides and began supporting the PLO. The Israelis decided on a second intervention in 1982, this time a full scale invasion . It was this invasion which was particularly damaging to Beirut, resulting in an estimated 18,000 dead and 30,000 wounded. Christian militias, acting with Israeli participation, entered the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps near Beirut and murdered up to 2,000 people, mostly unarmed women and children.
By 1983, events had become so dire that a multinational peacekeeping force was set up; however, it was unable to stop the fighting. In April 1983, the U.S. Embassy was blown up, and later that year two attacks by suicide bombers resulted in the death of 311 U.S. and French soldiers. These attacks were later linked to a group called Islamic Jihad, the armed wing of the Shi'a group Hizbollah (Party of God) which also was responsible for the abduction of several prominent Western hostages. The multinational force gave up and left Lebanon in February 1984. Israel also withdrew to its former buffer zone.
The remainder of the war was marked by a drastic increase in kidnappings and car bombings as the various Lebanese militia fought amongst themselves. By the late 1980s, the country had been partitioned between a Christian area (roughly the traditional Mount Lebanon) and a larger Muslim one in all but name. In the event, the Arab powers had begun diplomatic efforts to end hostilities, which culminated in the Taif Accord of October 1989. Disarming the various militias began in 1991. The first parliamentary in 20 years elections were held in September 1992, resulting in the election of billionaire Rafiq Hariri as prime minister.
In spite of this tragic history (or perhaps because of it), no census has been held since 1932, and although Muslims were given some additional political powers in the National Assembly, the National Pact basically reinstated as the basis for reconstituting the state after 1991. The constitution still requires that power be shared between a Maronite Christian president, a Sunni prime minister, and Shi'ite speaker of the National Assembly. In spite of all the construction and apparent reform, peace in Lebanon remains tenuous and in some measure dependent upon continued political and economic domination by Syria. This is particularly true in the wake of the withdrawal of Israeli troops in the south, who abruptly ended their illegal occupation in May 2000. It is hoped that Syria can rein in Hizbollah and thereby avoid Israeli reprisals against Lebanon.