Lebanon in Turmoil
Today a huge explosion rocked the Lebanese capital, Beirut, killing a Lebanese MP together with his son, 2 bodyguards and 2 innocent civilians.
In your opinion, what is the solution to Lebanon’s complex problems and how can stability become part of Lebanese life again? Is the International Tribunal set up for the assassination of former PM Rafik Harirri going to find the real perpetrators and murderers? Or is the Int. Tribunal just another tool of political leverage used by the West (US) to pressure Syria and gain political capital in the region?
Lebanon hmmm Voice my Opinion.Better then that i Voice for MY AFGHANISTAN :D
But I know They Are Son Of Lions They Do Know How To Take Care Of Them Selves.
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DaRuDe,
I am actually sitting at home in Beirut using my laptop visiting QL web page! It would be nice if you voiced your opinion on this topic...
Really NO ONE CARES??? guess that includes you too here then sitting on QL. :)
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Lebanon is burning and no one cares!
Hi Ragnarock Raider,
Far from dangerous and radical, I consider your views to be progressive and enlightened and should serve as the remedy to solving Lebanon’s problems.
We are in the same ditch buddy; I have come under fire many times before in this forum because of my criticism of Lebanese society and its sick Sectarian mind that is destroying this beautiful little country.
Being half Lebanese, I have not much to be proud of when I speak about Lebanon. The one thing I am very proud of and that is the Lebanese resistance made up by Hezbollah; seems to be a curse for other fellow Lebanese citizen.
Although I disagree with Hezbollah on ideological grounds, as I patriot, it is my unquestionable duty to stand beside such a heroic movement that liberated our country form Israeli occupation and has freed Lebanese prisoners from Israeli jails. As long as the Lebanese army can not protect my country from our historical enemy Israel, Hezbollah remains our only option to counter this constant threat. It is sad to see that after “only” 3 days of shelling Fatah al-Islam in Nahr al Bared, the Leb. army ran out of stocks and had to wait for another delivery form Europe or the US! Can you imagine how they could fight Israel?
You are 100% correct, by pointing out to the deliberate flaws in the Lebanese constitution and I would also add the Taif agreement (even worse than the constitution!). Unlike other confessional systems that existed in Europe (Netherlands and Switzerland), the Lebanese confessional system is an end point in itself and until now most Lebanese do not want to progress form this discriminating sectarian system into a complete democratic one. The various civil wars are always blamed by us on outsiders and never have we taken the responsibility for these horrible wars. Instead we promote the Lords and Masters of Lebanese civil wars, to Parliamentarians, Ministers and Presidents.
I absolutely believe that the International Tribunal will be used as a political bargaining ship by the US to extract concessions from Syria in Iraq and Palestine and may be also to force Syria to cut its good ties with Iran.
The Tribunal can not be effective unless it has a strong and unbiased police man. Well, we all know that the US is strong. But we also know that the US is strongest in being biased to Israel. I am afraid we will never ever know the truth about the assassination of Rafik Harirri or all the others. Lebanon is a labyrinth that is infiltrated by many secret services. Instead of putting all our efforts into blaming Syria, US, Israel, etc. we Lebanese should put all our efforts to become united and abolish the sectarian/confessional system.
So far nobody, except for the two of us, seems to be interested in this topic! Where are all the other lebanese?
At least I think so.
The international tribunal is a mixed bag imho...on the one hand, you need to hold accountable people who think that political disputes can be solved with car bombs...but on the other hand to surrender your sovreign jusripudence to an organization like the UN (the second furthest thing from an unbiased honest broker, after the US that is) is inviting foreign powers to levy political pressure.
I don't think that Lebanon's constitution (in its current state) is an accident. The colonial powers that drew this up, knew exactly what they are doing. It's not a constitution, its a recipe for blood.
What is stunning is how few Lebanese realize this, and the call to chage this retarded constitution doesn't even seem to be on the agenda. We have seen street clashes over how MANY seats should be allocated to which sect, but the people have not called for the abolishment of such a draconian system. Even talk of allowing civil marriages brings the realigious leaders out in force to sqash any hope of a secular and peacful society.
IMHO, Lebanon (the republic of...in its current state) is a FAILED social experiment. Its borders are articficial, its constitution a disaster, and its population ignorant of their real history/culture/identity, obsessed with material acquisition, and just happy or too distracted to do anything but go along with this catastrophy of a state.
Please note that I am talking in general terms...I do not mean every single Lebanese person, I just mean the apparent majority (if you are one of those exceptions, please do be offended and mass email me hate messages). I also am not Anti-Lebanese. Its because I care that I risk my unpopular views on public forums and any open discussions about the current state of affairs.
The solution, again imho, is not even implementable in the current timeframe, and would involve an overhaul of the entire society. From its constitution, to its geopolitical divisions, to the eductaion system, and the list goes on and on.
As a first step, the absolute separation of religion and state is a MUST (especially in multi religious societies). Unfortunately, no one seems to want that. Certainly not the religious authorities, and not the people (who all claim they are not bigoted, but would refuse to allow their daughters to marry someone of a different faith).
It has been my sad experience that my views are considered radical and utopian by some and downright dangerous by others. Not only am I in the VAST minority, but I tend to draw fire and criticism everytime I open my mouth. Lets see if this happens here.
Also I'm, curious what your views are Qais, as the originator of this topic.
Perfection does not exist. The question therefore, is: what level of imperfection are we willing to settle for?