Headlines, Human Rights, Middle East & North Africa, Religion

LEBANON: Another Rupture Sealed, For Now

Mona Alami

BEIRUT, Nov 3 2008 (IPS) - Over the past few months, Tripoli, a large harbour city sitting on Lebanon’s northern shores, known for its mazy souks, century-old mansions and oriental sweets, has made front page headlines, falling prey to a series of deadly security threats. Following the recent political reconciliation between warring politicians, however, the army made headway towards establishing stability by infiltrating a terrorist cell accused of orchestrating attacks against the Lebanese army.

In the presence of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, leaders of Tripoli’s various factions last month agreed a reconciliation agreement at the residence of Sheikh Malek Chaar, Mufti of Tripoli and North Lebanon. The document’s ratification put an end to four months of spiralling violence between the Alawite minority living in the Baal Mohsen area, also known as Jabal Mohsen, and Sunni communities from the adjacent impoverished neighbourhood of Bab el-Tebbaneh. The Alawites are a Shia sect.

The agreement was signed by Sunni and Future movement leader Saad Hariri, son of slain premier Rafik Hariri who was killed in a bomb blast in 2005 that is largely attributed to Syria. It was endorsed by pro-Syrian Alawite leader Rifaat Al-Assad and his son, Ali Eid. Siniora declared while signing the document that “Tripoli should be a demilitarised city, free of gunmen and any military presence.”

He went on to underline that the army and security forces have been ordered to enforce law and order. Hariri also attempted to reassure the public by pledging that the state will meet the needs of victims of the violence.

An army source interviewed by IPS, who chose to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the issue, admitted that “power struggles among the different factions in the north have temporarily ebbed since the reconciliation.” But he said that while money flowing into Tripoli will help relieve pressure in the shanty towns sprawling around the city, the issue of weapons, which abound in the northern capital, remains unresolved. The source said the Alawites are still in possession of large stockpiles of weapons received from Syria, while weapons are also found in many Sunni households.

The fractured Lebanese government has yet to address the issue of weapons, and restoring the peace in Tripoli has proved a complex exercise in cooperation. The Lebanese pro-Western and Arab parliamentary majority – comprised of the Future movement, the Druze Progressive Socialist party as well as the Christian Phalangists and Lebanese Forces – has been engaged in intense rivalry since the death of Rafik Hariri with the pro-Iranian and Syrian minority dominated by the Shia Hezbollah and Amal parties, which are allied to the Christian Free Patriotic movement.

In spite of both blocks forming a unity government in July, and Tripoli’s allegiance to the majority leadership, the dissention between the two factions, though condemned officially by all sides, has translated into intermittent eruptions of violence in the northern city. The area was shaken by two terrorist attacks that targeted the army on Aug. 13 and Sep. 29, resulting in 21 deaths.

“There was a definite breakdown of power in the North, with every small faction taking over a neighbourhood and imposing its own law, with individual feuds being exploited by various political factions and taking on a sectarian dimension,” said the army source.

However, political factions seem to have finally reached a consensus. “The resulting collaboration between the various intelligence services has allowed the crackdown on a terrorist cell accused of the bombings, which, according to information provided to me, was operating independently,” said Future movement MP Moustapha Allouch.

Islamist factions close to the minority added, however, that fear of possible Syrian intervention in the north under the banner of support to the Alawite community, or a possible quelling of the Salafist movements (a radical faction of Islam) as well as pressure from foreign countries allowed for the crackdown. Syria, Lebanon’s immediate neighbour to the north, ruled by an Alawite minority, has historically suppressed Islamic movements, and Tripoli is known to be home to various fundamentalist factions.

On Oct. 13, members of the terrorist group allegedly involved in the recent bombings targeting the army in northern Lebanon were arrested, according to a statement released by the Lebanese army.

“Tensions have been diffused to a certain extent since the intervention of the High Relief Commission (HCR), which is handling the compensation of victims of violence in Tripoli and has beefed up its staff working on the relief effort from four to ten committees. However, the lengthy process has frustrated some citizens,” said Allouch.

The MP pointed out that the fragile reconciliation process could still be jeopardised by the activity of foreign intelligence services – namely, Syria. But for now, the decrease in the number of men in fatigues roaming the streets is a refreshing sight.