Lebanon on the brink

The political crisis that broke out two months ago between the Lebanese government and opposition has taken an increasingly violent and sectarian turn in the past weeks, removing the veil over long-dormant divisions between the country's Sunnis, Shias, and Christian factions.

Lebanon is once again the focus of everyday news after Hezbollah-organised protests, calling on the government to resign, developed into bloody turmoil and violent attacks that spilled all over the country.

News also focused on Paris conference, believed to be aimed at boosting the position of the embattled Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. The conference collected $ 7.62 billion in aid and loan pledges to help the pro-Western government recover from war and strengthen it in its struggle against Hezbollah's rising power.

As said by many analysts, Lebanon's division between two camps is receiving external and foreign support and is being fuelled by Western powers.

And many experts explained that Siniora's government, now strengthened by pledges and aid as well as generous and unlimited support from U.S. President George W. Bush, would soon adopt tougher measures against the Hezbollah-led opposition, believed to be supported by Iran and Syria.

With the two parties receiving external support, the situation now seems quite precarious, stated an editorial on Gulf News.

But there's still hope to end the current standoff in Lebanon that threatens to develop into another civil war if, according to the editorial, all Lebanese are brought together, creating unity out of the current political turmoil the country is suffering.

But such move needs great international support to boost it.

The core source of the current crisis in Lebanon is that the country's leaders and major external players focused their goals on the issues that divide Lebanese instead of those that can unite them.

Also the U.S. played a key role in deepening the crisis, by backing one side, i.e. Siniora's government, against the other; that is Hezbollah and its allies.

So instead of helping solve the problem, the U.S. became part of it.

Washington needs to realize that Lebanon's sovereignty is not negotiable.

No party is expected to emerge victorious from the current standoff. Lebanon's divisions are too deep and the only solution to such crisis is creating a government that contains equal representatives of all parties.

Also engaging neighbouring countries is crucial, and ignoring them guarantees that even $ 7.6 billion in aid will not be enough to stabilize Lebanon.

The current dispute will be solved if all political parties involved backed away from confrontation and focused more on defining an agenda that saves Lebanon - before it's too late.

If the current situation in Lebanon is not contained, it could even reignite Lebanon's civil war. Lebanon's archaic and unfair political system that divides the country's top offices among rival communities needs to be reshuffled.

By: Emil Tayyip