[LCM Articles] "An Irish Lesson for the Lebanese" - Dar Al-Hayat, Hassan Haydar

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An Irish Lesson for the Lebanese 

Hassan Haydar      Al-Hayat     - 10/05/07// 

In 1998, the Catholics and Protestants of Northern Ireland reached a
historic agreement on national reconciliation and power sharing to end
thirty years of bloody conflict. But the process to form a joint authority
was very long and difficult, and faced many big stumbling blocks that led to
the suspension of the local parliament in 2002 after all communication
between the two sides was halted. The rupture of relations, however, did not
halt dialogue, which was crowned, only two days ago, with an understanding
that resulted in the resumption of the parliament's activities and the
formation of a new joint government. Both sides, who have announced the
beginning of an era of peace and the end of their centuries-long violent
confrontation, were determined to make this understanding succeed.

The Irish experience is very similar, in many aspects, to the one we have
seen in modern Lebanon since the Civil War broke out between its political
components and sects in 1975 until the Taif Agreement, which won consensus
from all parties to lay the foundation for rebuilding the State and its
institutions, was reached. But the shock caused by a Syrian-imposed
constitutional amendment that provided for the president's term extension,
and then the assassination of Rafik Hariri, shocked that understanding,
which was then completely dashed by last summer's war with Israel. This war
has cancelled the impact of a dialogue that had just begun between the
figureheads of the regime and the opposition with an eye to restore a
minimum common ground after the withdrawal of Syrian troops and the
subsequent assassinations and bombings.

In Ireland, as in Lebanon, the confusion of the local and regional factors
has always played a role in kindling the dispute. Foreign parties strove to
back the side that opposes the concept and role of the State by financial
and military means that should help this side hold out - this included
Libyan arms shipments to the Irish Republican Army. These parties have
repeatedly intervened to change the balance of power and the rules of the
game. But the Irish insight won at last for the sake of their nation; even
though neither the Catholics nor the Protestants have given up their
long-term objective. The Catholics want the reunification of the Northern
and Southern Irelands, while the Protestants want to maintain strong
relations with Britain. But both sides have decided to co-exist under a
democratic regime that safeguards the rights of all despite their different
affiliations.

Can the Lebanese carry out a similar courageous leap? They sure can. They
have not had any civil armed fighting since the Taif Agreement, which means
that their disagreements, despite being increasingly tense, are still
political. This also means that the foundation is laid for coexistence and
it could be extended and strengthened. If we look at the Belfast Agreement,
we will find that decades of almost daily bloody fights did not prevent the
two sides from sitting at the negotiating table and arrive at a solution
that would hopefully last. We will also find that the policies and program
of the government have been agreed upon before the formation of the unity
government and the distribution of portfolios. We will find that the armed
side has agreed to put its arms completely beyond use under the indirect
supervision of the joint committee, and that the elements of this armed
group were re-integrated into society after they became no longer wanted.

As to Lebanon, the situation is supposedly, theoretically, far easier. The
armed side, represented by Hezbollah, is not an outlawed organization.
Rather, it is a principal component of the Lebanese society. It is a
recognized opposition group whose achievements are also recognized. The
disagreement, however, is about the dimensions of its role following the
Israeli occupation's pullout and the conflict between this role and the idea
of State and how far it is influenced by foreign players. When Hizbollah
decides to give a higher priority to internal coexistence, which means that
it has broken free and curbed the regional pressure, and accepts a purely
political role in the framework of the State of Law and institutions,
agreeing with the other parties, whether in power or not, becomes an easy
task like in any other country where there are loyalists, opposition and
peaceful rotation of power.

 ©2003 Media Communications Group مجموعة الاتصالات الإعلامية

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