Cannes, September 23rd 2024
The approach by federalism advocates in Lebanon drawing their own maps of a federal Lebanon, which would be constructed putting forward a single factor, the sectarian distribution of its population, is wrong. By the same token, those who criticize federalism must not fall into the trap of identifying the topic in the same manner it is being marketed locally. We debated this in Paris last year with Mr Hicham Bounassif . I presented a different approach grounded on natural and geo-cultural diversity and developed based on a gradual tackling of priorities. This would start by focusing on a long overdue national truth and reconciliation process and would be followed by a referendum about federalism as opposed to simply an effort to decentralize. I proposed turning the existing casas or a combination of casas (if that is the wish of certain communities) into federated units under a bicameral federal state.
Decentralization in Lebanon is an absolute necessity. A Federal state would naturally resemble its communities, prevent cultural tyranny, enhance direct democratic practice, inject oxygen in the system, release the judiciary from political interference and uphold the principle of subsidiarity including horizontal subsidiarity (that translates collaboration and consensus over practical issues affecting various communities).
The internationally sponsored process should also tackle border security, the return of refugees and a return of sovereignty under the Lebanese Armed Forces’ exclusive right to lethality. They are prerequisite to the goal of constitutional reform: national concord.
The process would allow people who wish to meet, debate, and reach an understanding about their practical local issues, as well as the more fundamental national dilemmas, to do so without fear.
I met the following day with Mr Nawaf Salam in Paris (now the president of the ICJ) and was pleased to see that he supported the decentralization project presented in 2014 by Mr. Ziyad Baroud (who has since kept silent about it). To me, the one justification for a need to decentralize the legislative authority in Lebanon (which would take us into the realm of federalism), is to avoid another situation of capture similar to what we have been enduring under Mr. Nabih Berri (who has now served as speaker literally for over thirty years)) and suffer the consequences of the totalitarian tyranny and the drift away from the republic.
As Hannah Arendt says: “there is no freedom without liberation”. And since the raison d’être of politics is freedom, there can be no political reforms without liberation. And since we won’t liberate our country by force, it must be then with the help of the international community.
I somehow feel that the UNIFL, currently an expensive misused force enjoying international legitimacy could, if its mandate were to be adequately amended, and its massive annual budget reallocated towards regional development, play a significant role during a nationwide debate about truth, reconciliation and the constitution. The process would resemble what the UN did elsewhere in post civil war situations. Unfortunately, the Security Council has been stalled due to the geopolitical scene. Nevertheless, current events that are unfolding in Lebanon, and the massive blow that was just dealt to the axis of the so called “strategic deterrence”, along with the renewed displacement of a majority of South Lebanon residents, offer a unique opportunity for a liberating initiative. The international community could play an active role in quickly filling the vacuum that is caused by the destabilized command and control apparatus within Hezbollah.
An advocacy group sponsored by US lawmakers, Saudi leadership, former diplomats, entrepreneurs, financiers and selected experts would lobby its efforts to call for the UNSC to redefine the mandate of the UNIFL, changing its name (let’s call it for now South Lebanon Liberty Project or SLLP ) under a new UNSC resolution, in order to reflect Not a need to return to status quo ante, but to forcibly replace bad weed with fresh grass for the hope of a better spring through economic development and peace building. This would be 1701 with a brain and muscles and openly call for peace.. with Israel.
The $400 million UNIFL budget to be restructured and topped up as follows:
- $100 million annually to secure local and national democratic institutions and key border crossings including port and airport, via a dedicated military police, and intelligently assisting the redeployed Lebanese Armed Forces (following the nomination of a new commander in Chief)
- $350 million annually to establish an IFC supervised, along with a fully autonomous authority to secure land and resources rights, the South Lebanon Economic Development Fund would be tasked with injecting legal and physical infrastructure and would be assisted by sponsor nations under the auspices of the United States.
- $50 million would be dedicated for a two years management of truth and reconciliation forums and round tables, in each of the main Lebanese governorates.
There is no need to confront a vanishing movement. Hezbollah’s mission to “liberate Jerusalem” is a lie, was always a lie, but just as any bad virus, that lie will transform and grow back into various shapes or forms if no sustainable alternative is found to secure residents and get them to reclaim property to their own lives in the human dignity that they deserve. The exodus that is taking place out of South Lebanon is proof beyond reasonable doubt that what matters most to those residents is their safety and dignity. And that signifies that Hezbollah has already fallen. Just as Reagan and Thatcher did in eastern Europe, the time has come in Lebanon for “putting freedom on the offensive”.