Lebanon’s Failed Sectarian System is to Blame for Hezbollah and its Weaponry

Hezbollah’s "opponents" no longer want to address the Lebanese militia’s weapons. These so-called opponents continually emphasized the dangers of the militia’s arms which restrict the state’s sovereignty and independence for over a decade and a half, since the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri to the historic settlement that led to the election of Aoun as president. In fact, they claim that the timing is inappropriate to put forward this "slogan" - they, of course, consider it a slogan- arguing that it may divert attention from more important issues such as the immense economic, financial and social crises. Each political party has its own motives for calling on the protestors not to raise the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons. The most important of these motives is the knowledge that any politician’s advancement in the higher echelons of power is subject to the approval of Lebanon’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Then there is the belief among some that the solution to the problem of Hezbollah’s arms will come externally, either in the form of an Israeli invasion like the one in 1982 which uprooted the Palestinian Liberation Organization from Beirut, which would have returned to Lebanon had it not been for the veto of Hafez Al-Assad, or in the form of US sanctions which will weaken Hezbollah and end its control over the country, dissolving all its remaining powers. Hezbollah’s “opponents” praise the bloody sacrifices taking place in Iraq and Iran by those who object to or seek to change the regime in those countries. They support the Syrian “revolution” but refuse to pursue such path in Lebanon. Why? Because Lebanon is unique in its structure, and violence will only aid in destroying this paradigm. Hezbollah’s “opponents” find it sufficient to complain about the militia which can land them a neat spot in the government. And when those same opponents are asked how they can work with a party that is classified as a terrorist organization by the West and the Gulf, which are Lebanon’s economic “lungs”, they say that Hezbollah’s problem is a global one, and therefore they cannot confront it. They believe Americans should impose more sanctions or the Israelis should attack their enemy from the Southern Gate without putting the whole "state" of Lebanon in danger, thus risking the dismantling of the Lebanese version of "coexistence" and the loss of the Lebanese "paradigm" which is considered a gift from God to all humanity. Lebanon is experiencing serious consecutive political, security, military, economic, and financial crises ever since weaponry invaded the Lebanese political field which has resulted in becoming isolated internationally. Domestically, it has resulted in sectarian tension that is pushing the country into a kind of territorial violence that may one day accelerate into civil war. History proves that this is not the first serious crisis that the country has gone through since the state was founded a hundred years ago. Therefore, the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons is first and most an important one that should be raised not only as a slogan for a demonstration, but as one of the main problems that hinder the establishment of a state, whatever its form, and prevents the impedes the rule of law and emboldens corruption. Criticism of the regime is essential today, not because Hezbollah and its weaponry are the cause of the economic, financial and social crisis, but rather because it is the result of this failed sectarian system. There are questions that the Lebanese people need to frankly ask themselves to figure out the reasons that lead to Hezbollah taking over the sovereignty and independence of the country. Why and how did Hezbollah become so powerful? How did this militia contain and control the country? How did the state abandon its role in favour of an armed party? What laws made the state attached to such a party? These questions and others need answering if there is any intention to rebuild the state. This is the foundation for any political discussion in the country. Anything else is just a waste of time while we await the emergence of another political party like Hezbollah and will allow history to repeat itself.