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THE FUTURE PRESIDENT OF LEBANON BETWEEN
THE SIRIAN HAMMER AND THE INTERNATIONAL ANVIL
"Lebanon of democracy"
and "Switzerland of the Middle East", like it is being called, has
become a country in witch anarchy and destruction have settled,
especially after the assassination of former prime-minister Rafik
Al-Hariri and after a series of other political assassinations to
witch personalities of a certain political color, different from the
one of the foreign presence, have fallen victims. Once the Syrian army
retreated from Lebanon, in 2005, after a 30 year presence in this
country, Lebanon found itself before the imperative to eradicate the
chaos created by international interferences (Syria, Iran, Israel)
and the one of the great powers (USA, France).
The acting
president, Emile Lahoud, ends his mandate on the 23rd of November
2007, so Damascus will lose a chief of state Lebanese by identity and
Syrian by mentality and feeling. Syria cramps to the Lebanese trump
according to the "to be or not to be" law, and the president of the
parliament in Beirut, Nabib Berri is also a soldier faithful to Syria,
just like the Hezbollah movement, considered to be an active battalion
of Damascus in Lebanon, together with other currents and personalities
in this country - The Baas party, Syrian Social National Party, or a
series of Palestinian factions like "The Peoples Front-General Command,
Fattah AL-Islam and so on witch, all, constitute fuel for the Syrian
presence on Lebanese territory.
The
presidential elections have been postponed three times, and seems will
be postponed even further, because the parliamentary majority lead by
member of the parliament Saad Hariri together with Prime Minister Fuad
Siniora, wish the future chief of state to be of Lebanese extraction
and orientation exclusively, a president dedicated to the Lebanese
dignity and free of any exterior dependence, while the opposing forces
wish the future president to be a simple soldier devoted to Syria,
fact witch makes their choice orientated to the superannuated figure
of general Michel Aoun, one willing to reach the high position in the
state even by stepping over the bodies of the Christian community.
Like Nero, he is only interested in power, after he followed Amin
Gemayel as president, in 1995, and ruined the country, being then
constrained by the Syrians themselves to choose the way of exile in
France until the year 2005. Not even the Maronite patriarch Nasrallah
Sfeir managed to play more active of a role, fearing for the unity of
the Lebanese Christians, in this country fallen victim to the
ambitions of local and external forces. Iran wishes for a Lebanon that
can serve as a combat front with the US and Israel; Syria looks to
foreclose the application of the decisions to be made by the
international court which investigates the death of former prime
minister Rafik Al-Hariri, eventually by repeating the civil war and by
enlarging the gap which separates the legitimate government from the
pro Syrian-Iranian opposition. The crisis could not be solved, even
after the mediation demarches made by The Arab League, France or US.
The powerful political cleavage on internal matters, and the external
encroachment had both a strong contribution also on this situation.
According to
the Constitution, the president of Lebanon is elected with a majority
of two thirds, and if none of the candidates reaches this level then
he will be elected with a simple majority of votes in the first poll,
which, until now, the opposition has boycotted, in the hope that they
could superimpose General Michel Aoun, in the conditions of boycotting
the efforts for obtaining the majority of two thirds, which means that
the perspective of electing a new president remains, at the time, a
long way to go.
But in
Annapolis , we suppose that a Syrian - American agreement took place,
and the name of the general in army Michel Suleiman could suddenly
appear in the picture, no one knows for sure.
A president
exclusively Lebanese: no one has managed, this far along the way, to
truly define the meaning of this dream, and Lebanon - the country of
cedars and peace, remains a country resembling a fragile leaf in the
winds of a storm, caught between the Syrian hammer and the
international anvil, making the Lebanese citizen - be him Christian or
Muslim, the only victim
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