The below video sums up pretty much the current situation in Lebanon. Slowly but surely, gunmen all over the country seem to gain more control on the ground, while the army is appearing weak and helpless.
The below video sums up pretty much the current situation in Lebanon. Slowly but surely, gunmen all over the country seem to gain more control on the ground, while the army is appearing weak and helpless.
Calling for the army to be “firmer” with these militias is an ill-thought action plan that would only exacerbate the issue and increase tensions. Harsh military responses rarely ever solve the problem, for they inevitably lead to crimes and increased radicalization and reactions from the opposition. Considering how radicalized and polarized Lebanon is becoming, I doubt a harsh military response is Lebanon’s best option.
We are not witnessing a new problem that arose very recently, but rather the consequences of our mistakes since the post-civil war period. We (as in the Lebanese population) have continued to vote along sectarian lines, for the same warlords, each caught up with the sectarian and geopolitical dynamics of the region. They have sucked the whole population into these dynamics, and distracted us from our most pressing issues (such as shortage of sanitary water and 24 hour electricity, as well as nonexistent traffic laws to name a few). The representatives we vote for adhere to foreign loyalties, whose actions are in the middle of the increased sectarian tensions and conflicts in the region.
Our sectarian political system exacerbates this, forcing the people to think of representatives not as politicians working for all Lebanese, but instead working for a particular sect – leading to division and unaccountability across government.
We are thus in a position where we are much more vulnerable to regional crises, where any neighbouring conflict will have major effects on our ability to govern, to vote, and to have civil discussions. The problems we are witnessing are a direct result of the continuous election of politicians that are caught up with the dangerous regional dynamics, which is in part attributed to the sectarian mentality that haunts us, and is re-inforced by our confessional political system.
Thus instead of advocating for short-term responses that will likely not lead to a long-term solution, we need to address the fundamental issue – a radical response to the political system that encourages such violent and lawless behavior and promotes the voting of sectarian politicians.
I totally agree with you Rami … We just need a new Fouad Chehab …