Reportage / Society 01.08.2022

Lebanon, the Middle East’s smouldering cauldron

Immense banana plantations stretch away for miles. The yellow clusters overlook the Mediterranean in a land that is a limbo. Between stretches of rock and what remains of the Mediterranean scrub, sumptuous villas emerge sporadically. Here in southern Lebanon, the…

Antonio Borrelli

Marco Ferraro

L'articolo Lebanon, the Middle East’s smouldering cauldron proviene da InsideOver.

Reportage / Society 29.07.2022

Art lost in tragedy

This reportage is among the winners of the Newsroom Academy course held by Daniele Bellocchio. When you enter an art exhibition, you expect to discover imagery and paintings about ancient times, a past era. The painting ‘Mary Maddalena’ by Artemisia…

Isabel Demetz

As difficult as the attribution was, due to a lack of adequate documentation, Buchakjian was certain that the paintings were the work of Artemisia Gentileschi. However the confirmation would only come thirty years later, after August 4th 2020.

“I entered the Sursock building a week after the explosion. Nobody had touched anything, it was as if time had stopped,” says Buchakijan. “The photographs released by the news do not do justice to what the palace and the city were.”

Buchakijan had entered the Sursock residence, accompanied by two colleagues Camille Tarazi and Georges Boustany, to assess the state of the building and the works in the collection. Upon their arrival, the artist remembers finding the Cochrane-Sursock family in a deep state of shock, unable even to speak. Lady Cochrane, daughter of Alfred Bey Sursock and Donna Maria, had been seriously injured by the explosion. She died shortly after on August 31st, 2020 at the age of 98.

With the hosts silenced, Buchakijan went to work.

“I moved around the palace as if it were my own home. I was equipped with a camera, a measuring tape and a notebook. I just knew I had to create an inventory of the works. This is where the question of Artemisia Gentileschie’s two paintings re-emerged.”

The paintings of the Sursock collection created by Artemisia Gentileschi are “Ercole e Onfale” and “Maria Maddalena.”

“The pieces of glass, wood and ceiling were all wedged into one another. I feared that the fragile balance would collapse any moment, further damaging the painting. Getting him out of that debris was a decision that took seconds. I had to detach it from the original frame, which was stuck to a beam. It’s a miracle that the canvas was in such good condition.”

In fact, the work was much less damaged than “Hercules and Onfale.” This, on the other hand, had major damage, including a large tear in the canvas, which made its transport temporarily impossible.

“Maria Maddalena”, on the other hand, could be brought to Italy for restoration.

THE RESTORATION

“Each painting has its own story”, says Andrea Cipriani, responsible for the restoration of the painting.

“I think about that when I restore. Who knows what this painting has seen, hanging on a wall, has it changed owners and where has it been? Gentileschi’s painting, for example, left Naples following a wedding. This was chosen among others, for who knows what reason? Perhaps emotional, maybe economic.”

Not all works, however, can we know their history. For some we just have to assume the path that they travelled, the restorer explains, others are lost – even before arriving with us.

“We were lucky because this work could have been destroyed, as happens to many other paintings. I often happen to imagine the events experienced by surviving art. In this case, for example, I imagine that, obviously in an explosion, the first thing one saves is oneself, but, as he leaves the house, he manages to take three things with him – among them is this painting. Thus, the work reaches us, when probably, many others will never reach us, because for reasons unknown they are not saved.”

Of “Mary Magdalene”, some confirmation of its history came exactly through this restoration.

The first step is conservative restoration, also known as structural restoration, Cipriani explains. This includes, among other things, the disassembly of the painting from the frame, relining, repairing and suturing the tears.

It was during this first phase of intervention that the restorer was able to discover something that would otherwise have remained hidden: during the disassembly of the painting from the frame, he found small shards of glass. “Most likely coming from the explosion that hit the place where the painting was located,” explains Cipriani.

The conservative restoration was followed by cleaning which allowed the recovery of the original colours. As the restorer says, “from a technical point of view there wasn’t much to discover. The pigments and the technique used by Gentileschi were already known and coincided with what resulted from the analysis of the painting.”

The management of the displaced was also shameful. The government barely intervened the next day. People who had just lost their homes, relatives and friends, spent the night on the street. Those who had the opportunity went down to the city to help, giving water and food to those who had just lost everything.”

On August 10th, the government, accused of being responsible for the explosion because of its knowledge of the ammonium nitrate cargo, resigned. 13 months later, on September 10th 2021, the formation of a new government was finally announced.

“We don’t have a government, a government is made up of good people, but these are not good people. They don’t care if more than 200 people died because of them,” says Mahmoud.

However, hope for political change remains sparse. Elections will be held in Lebanon on May 15th, but the sectarianism that divides the Lebanese by creed and politics is still far too deeply rooted in the population.

“They are frightening them again with the nightmare of civil war, saying that if we don’t keep the order created by sectarianism, we will go back to fighting each other on the street. The reality, however, is that we are currently worse off than during the civil war”, says Mahmoud – referring to the economic crisis into which the country is sinking.

L'articolo Art lost in tragedy proviene da InsideOver.

Reportage / Society 29.07.2022

Lebanon, an onslaught of hardship

To get to the center of Beirut from the airport – first you must travel through a black hole. The main road that connects the airport to Lebanon’s capital is completely dark. The only light comes seconds at a time,…

Antonio Borrelli

Marco Ferraro

Amplifying the drama is the country’s economic crisis. Lebanon has been brought to its knees by the explosion of the port and irreversibly injured by the war in Ukraine. The past two years, Lebanon relied on Ukraine for 66% of its grains and 12% from Russia. Today, there are no supply lines here and the nation can’t even count on a steady supply of grain stock. On top of that, the dramatic explosion at the port of Beirut on August 4th 2020 has left the capital, still, in a damaged state. 

“It is the third time I have come and this time I have seen how this profound economic crisis is being felt.” Says Colonel Claudio Guaschino, commander of the ‘Serenissima’ Lagunari Regiment on its third mission in the Land of the Cedars. “Amongst the population there is considerable difficulty in securing essential services. There is a shortage of medicines, difficulties in procuring diesel fuel – which is also used to build wells to extract water, and the price of bread has skyrocketed.” Guaschino, who was also here in 2006, during the most dramatic period of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, worries for Lebanon’s future. “Today’s situation seems even worse than back then. If a solution is not found at the government level, there is a real risk things could get worse.”

DISADVANTAGES IN THE SOUTH

In the south of the country, dotted with an array of small villages, life is even worse, explains Abdul Qader Safiyeddine, mayor of Shama – a village a few kilometers from the Israel-Lebanon border. “These villages have been abandoned by the Lebanese government. If there is a hole in the street, nobody takes care of it except the Italian contingent of Unifil.” Shama, a small village of 4 thousand, middle ground in area that has always been unstable, has always linked its fortunes (if they can be called that) to the Italian base of the UN that the village hosts in its territory.

“In all of the villages around the area, Unifil, brought water to the homes of the Lebanese. By building wells, building retaining walls and rebuilding the roads. In addition, 250 people work on the base, all Lebanese, who take their salary in euros. This is a great help for them to live.” 

L'articolo Lebanon, an onslaught of hardship proviene da InsideOver.

Reportage / War 20.11.2020

Beirut’s Ground Zero

Beirut, 25 September 2020. I’m having a coffee at the entrance to the highway which runs alongside the port: the waitress is gracious  and thanks God she was not working that day. She refers to that day, without specifying. There…

Ivo Saglietti

Beirut, 25 September 2020. I’m having a coffee at the entrance to the highway which runs alongside the port: the waitress is gracious  and thanks God she was not working that day. She refers to that day, without specifying. There is no need. “That day” is  4 August 2020, when an explosion wiped out the port of Beirut, taking all that stood in its course with it. “I would have died”, says the waitress, “like the girl who was filling in for me”. It feels good in that small café, in the Beirut I am familiar with, courteous and pleasant. However, now evil and fear have set foot in there as well. It was but a few seconds. Fist the smoke, then a thousand red fragments and finally the blast. Tears, blood and corpses swallowed. In just a few moments Beirut was once again hurled back into the fears that have marked its past.

These are the memories of Beirut, the city that has seen refugees and armies march across it and leave. The city was above all a port.  Which now no longer exists. When I try to get nearer I am immediately stopped by the military.  They are  armed and have been ordered not to let anyone through. Investigations into what happened on 4th August  are still on-going. Observers from all over the world have come to try and determine what happened that summer afternoon. But to this day nobody has understood how, and above all why, such an explosion took place.  As these thoughts cross my mind, I inadvertently find myself walking along the highway. I’m a little worried: the Lebanese drivers will not pay much attention to a foolish Italian carrying a camera. However, as I stare at that pile of rubble everything becomes clear: it’s not like it is on TV. I immediately have a clear vision of the enormousness of the tragedy, of its vastness.  Wherever I look I see structures contorted by the heat. Entire window fronts have been destroyed and lie on the ground. Houses and offices have no roofs. A lorry lies overturned. But it is when you look over to the other side of the street that you perceive the feeling of the lives destroyed lives. The facades of  buildings,  restaurants and offices are hollow.  As my gaze lingers, inside I see the remnants of entire lives: photos hanging on the walls, chairs, armchairs and a few pieces of furniture with open drawers.  On one wall all that is left is a melancholic open cage.

The nearer I get to the center of the explosion, the more I can see that mushroom, that initial and terrifying blast. The panoramic camera augments the landscape.  As I walk, I see man with a crutch: I can’t understand if he’s missing a leg. I would like to talk to him but we are separated by language.  What happened to him? That day, as the waitress referred to it, was he at the port as well? I watch him leave, taking all the answers to my questions with him.  And so, almost without realizing it, I reach Beirut’s Spoon river, made not of words but of faces. Voiceless. There are only their photographs, their names, where they came from and their age and then a never ending and incomplete list of the victims. Around me just emptiness in- between the black cranes. When I reach the granaries I understand it was them, together with the sea, that saved most of the city from the shock wave, which collided onto them and fanned outwards, finally dying out at sea. 

L'articolo Beirut’s Ground Zero proviene da InsideOver.

The political crisis crippling Lebanon shows no sign of ending as the country’s politicians failed to form a new government before the deadline agreed with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Failure to Agree on a New Cabinet

Lebanese President Michel Aoun met the leaders of parliamentary groups at Baabda Palace on Monday and Tuesday, but they failed to agree on a new cabinet that could have been led by Prime Minister-designate Mustapha Adib.

Macron has invested considerable political capital into Lebanon’s political process since the Beirut explosion last month. During his last visit to the nation he received reassurances that politicians would form a government within 15 days of his trip.

Government May be Formed by End of the Week

However, Nadim El Kak, a researcher at the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, told The National that the political class are “engaging in sectarian battles,” even though some in the Lebanese media believe that a government could be formed by the end of the week.

The biggest obstacle to forming a new government is that several parties which control the interior, foreign and defense ministries fear that a reshuffle threatens the hold that they have over these institutions.

Parliamentary Speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri insists that a Shi’ite figure be given charge of the finance ministry. Macron failed to persuade him to change his mind.

If Lebanon has any hope of reforming its political system following the Beirut explosion, then the nation’s elites have no choice but to allow for a rotation between parties in Lebanon’s key political institutions. It is not fair that a certain group has an exclusive right to any ministerial portfolio.

Fires Continue to Shatter Lebanon’s Psyche

Aoun’s son-in-law, Gebran Bassil, who leads the President’s party, accused internal and external forces of thwarting the formation of a new government.

As the political elites continue to frustrate attempts to initiate radical reforms in Lebanon, fires continue to shatter the nation’s psyche. A fire broke out at a shopping center being built in Beirut, marking the third blaze in a week in a city still reeling from the devastating explosion in August.

The shopping center was designed by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid.

Although the disaster is still being investigated, the fire was reportedly triggered by a detonation of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored unsafely.

A Government Must be Formed Quickly

That is why Lebanon’s politicians must form a government quickly. Jogger Joe Sayegh told Reuters that the latest fires signify that if the country’s new administration is formed by the same politicians then “nothing will change.” This is just one example of how citizens’ confidence in their politicians has been damaged by recent events.

Whoever leads Lebanon’s new government has a daunting task ahead of them. Macron wants the country’s elites to initiate a reformed electoral law and to hold parliamentary elections by September 2021. Given the current state of affairs in Lebanon, this might be easier said than done.

Iran will be monitoring developments in Lebanon carefully as they are one of the main sponsors of Hezbollah, a Shi’ite Islamist party which has influence over the Lebanese Government. The Washington Institute discovered that the Iranian Government provides the terrorist group with $100 million per year. The Iranian Government has already spoken out against Macron’s interventions, and they may attempt to block the French President’s planned reforms.

Time is Running Out for Lebanon’s Political Elites

The Council on Foreign Relations’ Amir Asmar suggests the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) were instrumental in defeating ISIS and it is one of the few institutions that Lebanon’s citizens have a positive view of. They can act as a restraining force against Hezbollah and Macron would be wise to engage with them if he is serious about reform.

With Lebanon’s currency losing 80 percent of its value against the dollar and the economy likely to contract by 24 percent this year, it is imperative that a new government tackles the ongoing economic crisis the nation faces. Continuous delays to the forming of a new administration means that the tough decisions which are necessary to spark an economic recovery are not being made.

It is clear that the next stages for Lebanon’s political elites are to form a new cabinet, initiate reform and rebuild the economy. Time will tell if this is too ambitious for them to accomplish or not.

L'articolo What’s Next for Lebanon? proviene da InsideOver.

Lebanon has been plunged into one crisis after another, beginning with mass protests and economic turmoil and recently with the explosion in Beirut that killed more than 220 and destroyed vast amounts of infrastructure. As a result, the entire cabinet of Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned just days after, making room for a new government to take its place. 

Mustapha Adib Named as New Lebanese PM

On Monday, President Michel Aoun named Mustapha Adib as the new Prime Minister. Adib becomes the third person to hold the office since January of this year. He was voted in by 90 of the 120 members of parliament, with backing from the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal movement, as well as the Sunni Future Movement of former leader Saad Hariri. 

The new PM — required to be a Sunni under the Doha Agreement — has the monumental task of rebuilding Beirut’s infrastructure and gaining the trust of a frustrated populace, which has been protesting on and off for almost a year.

“There is no time for talk, promises and wishes. It is a time for action,” Adib said in his first speech. 

Lebanon’s Economy is in Freefall

Adib’s job becomes extraordinarily difficult considering the state of Lebanese economy, which is facing one of the worst turmoils in history. The country’s gross domestic product is expected to plunge by 12% in 2020 while public debt levels near 175% of the GDP. Adding to the troubles is the unemployment rate of around 25% while the budget deficit is approximately 15%, making the prospect of any new reconstruction and comeback even more daunting. 

Lebanon’s economic crisis has been brewing for a long time now, as just in March the country defaulted on its dollar-denominated bonds for the first time ever. Adib is expected to revive talks with the International Monetary Fund for a $10 billion facility after the previous round in early July failed. But given the long-term sovereign credit outlook — downgraded by Fitch to CCC, a non-investment grade — it’s going to be a tough sell.  

‘The IMF is Exploring All Possible Ways to Support the People of Lebanon’

After the August explosions, some hope for support emerged as France’s Emmanuel Macron rallied to Lebanon’s cause while IMF’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said: “The IMF is exploring all possible ways to support the people of Lebanon. It is essential to overcome the impasse in the discussions on critical reforms and put in place a meaningful program to turn around the economy and build accountability and trust in the future of the country.”

Before any negotiations with the multilateral lender, Adib will meet with Macron, who played an instrumental role by pressuring the ruling elite to name a new candidate. The French President is trying to get more international financial support for Lebanon’s development and fiscal management. 

However, there are now questions whether the new leader can bring any meaningful change to the rotten system or is it merely a change of face. Adib had been serving as the Lebanese ambassador to Germany since 2013 and like his predecessor Hassan Diab, is an academic by qualification and has previously taught at a number of universities. Similarly, his political days go back to the time of billionaire PM Najeeb Mikati with whom he served as an advisor. 

Hence, his appointment is unlikely to be welcomed by the general public that has been protesting to completely overhaul the current political system and get rid of the corrupt ruling elite who have captured the government.

Adib, too, seems to be a member of that same exclusive club.

L'articolo Tough Road Ahead for New Lebanese PM proviene da InsideOver.

The recent visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Lebanon has forced political leaders there to increase their efforts to select a new prime minister following the resignation of former PM Hassan Diab.

The aftermath of the Beirut explosion has triggered demands for a radical overhaul of Lebanon’s political system as many of the country’s citizens blame political elites for failing to prevent the event from happening.

Parliamentary consultations at the presidential palace took place on Monday morning, with most politicians settling on a diplomat called Mustapha Adib, who previously served as Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany.

Adib Has an Unenviable Task Awaiting Him

The task that awaits Adib is a daunting one, as he must lead his country through one of the worst political crises that Lebanon has ever faced.

The French President called for “deep change” when he visited Beirut on August 6, and stressed that he would monitor Lebanon’s progress during his visit this week to mark the centenary of Greater Lebanon.

Like with any other political appointment, Adib’s represents an opportunity for change in Lebanon. The new Prime Minister has Macron’s support and the French leader will continue to monitor events in the former French colony closely. Yet the two politicians also face enormous obstacles if they hope to implement meaningful changes in the country.

Macron is Provoking Rouhani by Intervening in Lebanon

The more the French President intervenes in Lebanese politics, the more likely he is to provoke Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Tehran has already pleaded with the international community not to interfere in Lebanon’s political process and has urged Washington to start lifting its sanctions there.

Iran is one of the main sponsors of Hezbollah, a Shi’ite Islamist party and militant group which has influence over the Lebanese Government, a radio and a satellite station, and social services. They have been described as a “state within a state.” The Washington Institute discovered that the Iranian Government provides the terrorist group with $100 million per year.

Macron Cannot Have His Cake and Eat it too

If relations between France and Iran deteriorate as a result of the Lebanese crisis, it will be difficult for Macron to persuade US President Donald Trump and the Iranian President to draft a new nuclear deal after he almost persuaded Rouhani and Trump to do so last year. He cannot have it both ways in the Middle East and at some stage he must decide to prioritize reform in Lebanon or peace between the US and Iran.

Politico reports that the French leader has been consulting both Rouhani and Trump over his plans for Lebanon, but as the Council on Foreign Relations’ Amir Asmar suggests, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) were instrumental in defeating ISIS and it is one of the few institutions that Lebanon’s citizens have a positive view of. If they are not involved in reforming Lebanon’s political structure, there is little chance they can act as a restraining force against Hezbollah, which is intent on maintaining its stranglehold over the country.

Real Reform Won’t happen in Lebanon Until Iran’s Grip is Loosened

Macron told reporters in Paris at a Q&A with the Presidential Press Association on Friday that he will ‘finalize something,’ but how can he persuade Lebanon’s political leaders to transform a system that they have profited from for the last three decades and change their political identities at the same time? So far, they have only committed to forming a new cabinet.

Hassan Sinno, a member of the Massirat Watan opposition group, claims there is little time to initiate change, but he will be judged on his actions as opposed to his words after Macron’s visit, as will the rest of Lebanon’s political elite.

Adib may enjoy Macron’s support, but he cannot realistically expect things to change until Iran’s grip over Lebanon is truly broken. The French President should prioritize reaching an accord with Rouhani before asking Lebanon’s political elite to embark on an impossible task.

L'articolo Can Macron Help Prime Minister Mustapha Adib Reform Lebanon? proviene da InsideOver.

The Beirut explosion that took the lives of 160 of the city’s residents has already sparked change in Lebanon and days of violent protests. Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced his resignation and that of his government whilst addressing the nation on Monday, and he described the blast as a “disaster beyond measure.”

But the alarming rate at which political developments are taking place in Lebanon has also caught the attention of Iran. Tehran has already called on the international community to refrain from politicizing last week’s explosion in Beirut. They also pleaded with Washington to start lifting sanctions against Lebanon.

Tehran Accuses Macron of ‘Interventionism’

Iran will begin to monitor events in Lebanon closely as Tehran is one of the main sponsors of Hezbollah, a Shi’ite Islamist party and militant group which has influence over the Lebanese Government, a radio and a satellite station, and social services. They have been described as a “state within a state.” The Washington Institute discovered that the Iranian Government provides the terrorist group with $100 million per year. It is no wonder that Tehran is alarmed by French President Emmanuel Macron’s “interventionism.”

Iran did not attend an emergency donor conference on Sunday led by Macron. The French leader assured the event’s audience that he would closely monitor how aid was being spent. The Iranian Government itself has so far provided Lebanon with $298 million for immediate humanitarian relief.

Lebanon Becoming Part of Larger Geopolitical Fracas

It is more than likely that Iran will use Lebanon as an opportunity to enter into an international dispute with France, should the latter choose to increase its level of intervention in its former colony. Iran’s ultra-conservative paper Kayhan has already stated that Macron’s proposed reforms in Lebanon would result in the elimination of Hezbollah and the “rescue of the Israeli regime.” Therefore, the French President’s attempts to curb Hezbollah’s influence over Lebanon could be met with rebukes from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in the future.

Rouhani will be keen to clash with France over who leads Lebanon in the future. This is a tactic that Tehran has deployed before when they helped Hezbollah put Diab into power last October. With the Lebanese Prime Minister leading a caretaker government until he can find a successor, there is no doubt that Iran will do all it can to prevent a reformist candidate from breaking Hezbollah’s grip over Lebanon.

Iran may well increase the amount of funding Hezbollah currently receives from Tehran, as the terrorist group has been used as a means to crush protests in the past. Hezbollah fighters who returned to Lebanon from the Syrian battlefield last year attacked protesters such as poor Shi’ites who have historically supported the militias. Prior to the Beirut explosion, The Soufan Center stated that the use of violence against protesters last November reduced the numbers of protests in Lebanon.

Iran Won’t Loosen its Grip on Hezbollah

Nonetheless, Iran’s ability to fund Hezbollah will depend greatly upon its economic fortunes. Focus Economics believes that US sanctions and the coronavirus will cause the Iranian economy to contract sharply for the third consecutive year by 7.3 percent.

Hezbollah’s funding may also be affected by US-Iranian tensions if Donald Trump is re-elected in November. Trump claims that he will ‘have a deal with Iran within four weeks’ if he wins this year’s US election. But it is unlikely that Washington will approve of a deal that lifts sanctions against Tehran just so that they can continue to fund terrorist groups, which was a flaw with Obama’s Iran Deal. The US President may well want to make it harder for the Iranian regime to continue to fund terrorist organizations.

By proposing to reform Lebanon’s political structure, Macron may have unintentionally paved the way for a power struggle between France and Iran over the former French colony. Tehran is already winning due to Hezbollah’s strong grip over the country. To prevent Beirut’s explosion from becoming a wasted opportunity to reform Lebanon, Macron must prevail.

L'articolo How Will Iran React to Hezbollah’s Waning Influence in Lebanon? proviene da InsideOver.

When French President Emmanuel Macron visited Beirut on Thursday following the devastating explosion there that killed approximately 137 people, he was mobbed through the city. Residents implored him to help them as they denounced their own leaders. He was the first global leader to visit the city since the tragedy.

The Lebanese People Have Lost Faith in Their Political Leaders

The desperate pleas from Lebanese citizens toward the French President show that this is a country that has truly lost faith in its own political elite. Lebanese security forces fired teargas at demonstrators in Beirut as anger over the nation’s leadership grew following the explosion in the city that laid waste to large parts of the capital on Tuesday. Protesters had gathered outside the Lebanese Parliament, where a small fire was lit and stones were thrown at security forces, according to the Guardian. 

The same thing happened last October, which led to Lebanon’s security forces being condemned in a recent report by Human Rights Watch for using excessive force against demonstrators on several occasions.

Aid and Reform Should Be Linked

Last year’s October demonstrations led to the resignation of Saad al-Hariri, who was prime minister of Lebanon at the time. Lebanese President Michael Aoun has recently launched a probe to investigate whether external interference might have caused the explosion, but his actions are likely to fall upon deaf ears as the explosion in Beirut has led to calls for wider political reform, particularly from Macron, who has said that any aid that comes from France must be tied to political change.

Macron has a unique opportunity to persuade the rest of the international community to pressure Lebanon’s political elite into reforming its system. Following the collapse of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in World War One, Lebanon became a French protectorate until 1943. Therefore, the French Government has a vested interest in ensuring that peace and stability is restored to the former French protectorate.

Macron Has Many advantages in Leading the Effort for Change in Lebanon

France is a leading member of NATO and the United Nations and Macron can use his influence over both institutions to persuade other world leaders that Lebanon is likely to become increasingly vulnerable to Iranian influence if they choose not to help. The Washington Institute discovered that the Iranian Government provides Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah with $100 million per year. As Iran is currently forging closer ties to Russia and Turkey in the Middle East, the French President has a chance to urge his counterparts to not let Lebanon become vulnerable to a power vacuum.

Macron is also one of the few Western leaders who has a somewhat decent relationship with US President Donald Trump. The US’s support will be vital in the future if Lebanon has any hope of reforming its political system. Trump should follow Macron’s lead if he is serious about preventing Moscow, Ankara and Tehran from taking advantage of Lebanon’s vulnerability.

As the Council on Foreign Relations’ Amir Asmar suggests, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) were instrumental in defeating ISIS and it is one of the few institutions that Lebanon’s citizens have a positive view of. They were able to beat IS because of US funding, which is why it would be in Trump’s best interest to fund the LAF so that they can prevent Hezbollah from strengthening its grip over Lebanon.

Macron Must Avoid Repeating the Mistakes He Made in Libya

Despite this, Macron’s interventions in Middle Eastern politics have had mixed results so far. Although the French President produced a four-point plan that could have persuaded Iran to end its nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of US sanctions, neither the US nor Iran are likely to agree upon a new deal before the US election in November.

The French President’s desire to end the Libyan war is genuine, but his actions have been rather clumsy. The 2018 Paris summit failed to consult a wide range of actors in the Libyan conflict, which is a mistake Macron should not make in Lebanon should he go down this route.

On the whole, Macron is the only world leader best placed to persuade the international community that they need to support political change in Lebanon, and he was right to suggest that aid needs to be tied to reform. He just needs to remember the lessons he should have learnt from his intervention in Libya to ensure that he is successful in helping the former French protectorate transform its government for the better.

L'articolo Can Macron Persuade Allies to Force Political Change on Lebanon? proviene da InsideOver.

2020 will be regarded as one of the worst years in Lebanese history because of an explosion that happened in the country’s capital, Beirut, on Tuesday.

What Caused the Blast?

According to Lebanese President Michael Aoun, the blast was caused by 2,740 tons of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely in a warehouse.

The explosion killed approximately 137 people and injured about 5,000 others as of the latest reports. Dozens of people are still missing and the incident has triggered a two-week state of emergency.

Ammonium nitrate is used as a fertilizer in agriculture and as an explosive. It had reportedly been stored in the warehouse in the port for six years after it was unloaded from a ship impounded in 2013.

Beirut’s Residents are Angry

There is a sense of anger throughout Beirut. The BBC‘s Lisa Sinjab reports that the same people who protested in the streets last October are angry that their politicians failed to prevent this explosion from happening. It is staggering that this was allowed to happen considering the head of the port and the head of the customs authority both told local media that they had written to the judiciary numerous times asking that the chemical be sold or exported to ensure port safety.

This explosion will have a lasting impact on Lebanon’s psyche, alongside many other events that have damaged the country’s self-confidence. It is a desperate call for things to change in Lebanon.

How Can the International Community Help Lebanon?

Perhaps this is where the international community can play its part. French President Emmanuel Macron said that his country will provide aid to Lebanon if the political elite initiate wide-range reforms, and the Lebanese Government is not in a position to say no because of the state of the economy.

Time suggests that one in three Lebanese citizens are unemployed, the currency has lost 80 percent of its value against the dollar since last fall, and mains electricity is only available for a few hours each day. The lockdown made things worse. A July 28 report showed that almost a million people in greater Beirut do not have money for sufficient food.

Anger at Lebanon’s political elite has been growing for some time. Not long before the explosion in Beirut, Human Rights Watch submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council in advance of the next periodic review of its human rights situation in January 2021. The report suggests that Lebanon has not made progress on a number of recommendations it accepted following its previous review in 2015.

Lebanon Suffering from Widespread Corruption

The report states that Lebanese security forces have used excessive force on several occasions against demonstrators, especially following the nation’s October 17, 2019 uprising, often with impunity. Furthermore, prosecutions against people exercising their free speech rights have increased rapidly since 2015.

The rest of the report makes for grim reading. Lebanon’s penal code is still being applied to criminalize same-sex relations, and security forces have interfered with human rights events related to gender and sexuality based on spurious “morality” claims.

The nation’s dollar shortage has contributed toward the difficulties Lebanon’s health sector is facing as patients are not being provided with necessary life-saving medical care. This is because of the Government’s failure to provide public and private hospitals with the money it owes them.

The US Has a Part to Play in Lebanon’s Future

As the Council on Foreign Relations‘ Amir Asmar argues, the Lebanese people must yield positive change without embroiling the country into another civil war. Their desire to remove all sectarian considerations from government and policy is necessary for Lebanon to flourish, although it is unlikely to happen. Perhaps the explosion in Beirut could stimulate further demands for change, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has a role to play here due to the positive view many Lebanese citizens have of this institution.

With US support, the LAF helped defeat Islamic State. The US should have a stake in Lebanon’s future, too, because if they can assist the LAF in any way, then they can prevent Hezbollah and its Shi’ite militia from emerging as the only fighting force in the country.

The explosion in Beirut will have a negative impact on Lebanon’s psyche, but it could also be a moment for positive change. Lebanon’s people need to feel more optimistic about the future, but that will not happen without the aid of external forces. Will the international community heed this nation’s call for help?

L'articolo Beirut Explosion Will Have a Lasting Impact on Lebanon’s Psyche proviene da InsideOver.