Rebuffs to be Expected

While the Christians felt the Syrian regime hassle and abuse, the Sunnis minded their own business and the Shias had to deal with Israeli aggressions and the lack of state involvement in their areas.

That was the general framework and things moved within this paradigm for too many years.

In 2005 it was Sunnis turn to be in shock and awe. Their leader was murdered. The assassination came on top of the tensions between Rafiq Hariri and the Syrian regime. Hariri was a long time friend of the regime. The problems appeared when he did not accept anymore the limitations imposed on him by Damascus for the electoral lists.

The chain of assassinations brought the Sunnis and Christians together. To this day there is more to this relationship than the March 14 group was able to put forward. Not that many within the group grasped the importance and the responsibility of the momentum they had. The Future Movement [Al Mustaqbal] is still a new political party. The challenge for them did not come only in terms of political development but also in terms of security.

One of the lines that separates the Christians is that Maronites due to their historical experience always felt under siege while the Orthodox adopted a more open attitude towards the Arabs. It is equally true that all Maronite leaders aspire (secretly or not) to be Presidents hence the division that weakens the community almost to an irreparable point.

Within the Shia community not all are Hizballah’s or Amal’s supporters or members. Many expect an alternative. It does not have to be a Shia movement. Why not a party where Shias, Christians, Sunnis and others who feel unrepresented by the existing parties join efforts? That would be a fantastic achievement. I might be wrong but I blame the sectarian mentality for many ills of the society.

Hizballah needs Syria to get its weapons from Iran. The weaponry cannot not just dematerialize and materialize, Star Trek style, hence the pragmatical ties. Hizballah tried often during the years to explain the relationship with Tehran but there are gaps in the explanation. The Lebanese deserve to have a full account of what is going on. The Shias are very active at the governance level so I cannot understand what some of them mean when they ask to be partners. Maybe they wish a change of role within this broad partnership.

The very design of the system, the lack of boringly yet stable rules, coupled with distinct experiences, enemies, real or perceived, creates an unhealthy atmosphere. The problem is with the political class that manipulates in order to attain small political gains overlooking intentionally or not the great damage inflicted on all communities.