BEIRUT: Change and Reform Bloc leader MP Michel Aoun offered conditional support on Monday for the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Michel Suleiman, to assume the presidency, saying the move would be contingent on its being "in line" with a proposal issued by Aoun last month - and on a political agreement to amend the Constitition to lift a ban on senior civil servants (including military officers) from Baabda Palace.
Aoun's announcement came on the same day he unveiled a "Memorandum of Christian Principles and Basics," the result of three days of talks with other Christian figures last week. He also met with Suleiman at his home in Rabieh.
The memo outlined several "immediate demands:" that a president enjoy "representative and personal qualities;" that a Christian "imbalance" in government jobs be redressed; that a just election law which employs a small electoral district be adopted to ensure fair representation; that Christians displaced during the 1975-1990 Civil War be returned to their homes; and that the fate of those missing from the same conflict be determined.
Aoun said Christians seek to "engage other communities" and strengthen national unity, stressing that an "active role" bolsters and supports Christians' existence in Lebanon. The memorandum said Christians suffered from demographic changes resulting from the naturalization law passed in the 1990s.
The document criticized what it called Christians' "symbolic" participation in government and that a "Christian crisis" has been exacerbated by the vacuum in the presidency since Emile Lahoud left office last month. Aoun also decried attempts to push the Maronite Church into a more political role. The document said Christians should choose a president who would then enjoy national backing. Aoun also called for holding Christian political leaders accountable.
Aoun rejected reverting to an era where each sect builds up its own defense forces. He called instead for a unified defense strategy. Aoun also called for re-establishing the middle class and adopting a reform program to fight corruption.
Aoun said that part of the crisis Christians are going through right now is due to regional and Western perceptions that their role as a conduit between the East and the West in the region is no longer relevant. He said the root cause of regional conflict has been the failure to find a just resolution to the Palestinian issue and failure to spread democracy in the region, which the Christian presence in Lebanon can redress by offering a model of coexistence with other sects
http://www.otv.com.lb/web/English/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?pageid=342&parentid=33&fparentid=29
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| Aoun calls for attention to Christian marginalization
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Source: Daily Star
05-12-2007
BEIRUT: The "Memorandum of Christian Principles and Basics" issued by Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Michel Aoun on Monday calls for sweeping reforms aimed at rectifying the "marginalization" of the Christian community in Lebanon.
The memorandum was the result of three days of consultations between Aoun and other Christian figures at the FPM leader's residence in Rabieh last week. In the document, Aoun urged the country's leaders to restore prestige to the presidency by agreeing on the "representative and personal characteristics of the president."
He also called for "correcting the imbalance" of Christian representation in government and security and judicial institutions.
"The Christians seek the friendship of all people and countries," said the document.
"An effective [Christian] role maintains and safeguards the [Christian] existence."
It said targeting the Christians' existence, role and rights "is tantamount to targeting Leb-anon's unity and singularity."
"Given that fact, we are paying special attention to the Christians' marginalization, particularly the demographic defect resulting from the naturalization law, the poor representation in Parliament due to unfair electoral laws and the symbolic participation in government and public administrations," the memorandum said.
"The current crisis is nothing but an extension of the situation we were witnessing during the period of Syrian tutelage when the Christians opposed it and paid heavy price to recover sovereignty and independence," the document said.
The document set out to identify the "rules of democracy in the Christian community," saying the relationship among the Christians should be based on "two principles, two pillars and one authority."
The two principles, according to the document, deal with the concepts of political diversity and pluralism of parties as well as recognizing "the other" and the presence of a majority-minority system which should always respect democracy.
As for the first pillar, the document said it belongs to the majority which has the right to lead the community politically while the second pillar is for the minority, which has the option of either joining the majority or forming an opposition.
"Bkirki is the authority that would oversee the respect of the set rules," it said.
"The church is a high authority and Bkirki was and will remain the uncontestable national and spiritual authority.
"And in order for it to preserve such a role, no one should be allowed to use Bkirki as a parallel authority or as a competitor to the political authority," the document added.
The document also said the president should be chosen by the Christians and backed at the national level. "The Christians should not be punished for choosing their leaders; but the latter should be discussed regarding their political choices and performance."
It called for adopting a reform policy and fighting corruption, stressing that the Christians reject "auto-security which leads to sowing partitions."
"Christians support the establishment of a national defense group that provides Leb-anon with stability, constitutes a force of deterrence against enemies and allows the state to spread its authority throughout Lebanon, while preventing any foreign interference," it said.
It listed two main threats directed against Lebanon and its Christians: "Naturalization of Palestinian refugees and the monetary surplus being used in purchasing plots of land and changing their identity."
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Lebanese Christian Proposals Document
Rabieh, December 4, 2007
Whereas Lebanon without Christians wouldn’t be a country, just as it wouldn’t be
without Muslims,
Whereas Lebanon as a “mission” and a model of coexistence is a joint Christian-Muslim
responsibility,
Whereas Lebanon represents the catalyst of the dialogue of civilizations and the buffer of
their conflicts,
Whereas the targeting of Christians has put Lebanon on a collision course commanding
us to address the roots of the problem rather than its symptoms,
Whereas the Lebanese who refused the rise of a Christian Lebanese state, isolated from
its environment, are rightly entitled to expect from their fellow countrymen, to refuse the
rise of a Muslim state in Lebanon, in contradiction with the heritage of the Lebanese
make-up,
Whereas the Christians in Lebanon have no choice but to blend in their environment and
fraternize within their society, while preserving their personality and their cultural
identity deeply rooted in the East and open to the West,
Whereas coexistence is more than a compulsory way of life but rather a doorway to
citizenship and to a set of rights and obligations voluntarily embraced by Lebanese
religious communities, whenever their fears for their future and stability are dispelled.
Following a thorough analysis of the Christian and national reality, after having drawn
the lessons from historical experiences, and in view of a series of consultations with
General Michel Aoun, subsequent to the presidential void crisis, we submit the following
Lebanese Christian proposals:
1- On the issue of existentialism
The Christians draw their inspiration form the Synod, the Apostolic Exhortation, and the
teachings of Church.
They are a founding force in Lebanon where their presence is final. And just as freedom,
diversity, acceptance of others and living in harmony with them are among Lebanon’s
principles, an unshakable principle is that Lebanon can never be “left at the mercy of an
ideology of the majority”, but is rather ruled by a genuine partnership, a balance of
powers and a consensual democracy.
And since the Christians seek fraternity and solidarity within their own community, they
also seek to remain open to dialogue with other communities, rejecting all forms of
inferiority, subservience and subordination, permanently looking forward to
strengthening the peace and national unity, refusing the policies of alignment with
regional or international influences, seeking the friendship of all peoples and countries.
Therefore, only an active role played by the Christians can consolidate and safeguard
their existence, the Christians of Iraq and Palestine being but the painful proof of the
contrary.
In this context, the Lebanese in general, and the Christians in particular, are solemnly
invited to a careful reading of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Free
Patriotic Movement and the Hizbollah.
2- The Christian crisis and their current situation
Bearing in mind that targeting the presence, the rights and role of Christians means in fact
undermining Lebanon’s unity and uniqueness, we focus our attention on their
marginalization, namely stressing on the naturalization decree and its subsequent
demographic imbalance; on the displacement and immigration, as well as on the poor
representation of Christians in parliament due to an unfair electoral law, in addition to
their flawed participation in the government, the public administration, the judiciary
system and the security institutions, to which are added persecutions, violation of rights
and other misfortunes they had to endure on the social, economic and educational levels.
The existential crisis of the Christians in Lebanon, recently exacerbated by the current
void of the presidency -which has been void in essence for two decades now- dates back
to 1969 when the systematic process of undermining Lebanon as a nation, a system, and a
state was initiated.
The current crisis is merely the extension of the one that prevailed under the Syrian
occupation, which was fiercely opposed and spearheaded by Christians, who paid the top
price to recover Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence firmly believing that the end of
occupation will restore back a genuine partnership on the one hand, and achieve the
building of the state they have long sought on the other.
However, a bitter reality awaited them, as their wish never came true. They realized then
that relentlessly, their will was being forged, whether in the elections of 2005, or by the
dissolution of the Constitutional Council thus preventing it from ruling in cases of
rightful electoral appeals, and again as their true representatives were kept away from the
government, crowning it all by the government losing its legitimacy with the resignation
of the Shiite ministers.
Whereas the Shiite and Sunni leaderships took office respectively heading the parliament
and the government, external forces coupled with internal allies played a major role in
denying the Christians this right, thereby clearing the way for external policies targeting
the last bastion of opposition, and disregarding the national interests. This is the very
essence of the current presidential crisis, amidst fears that the Lebanese people would
only realize it a little too late.
3- Rules and Principles of Democracy within the Christian community
The principle of the unilateral thought considered by some as a source of power has not
only collapsed in the world, but has also put at great risk its own advocates. Thus, two
Lebanese Christian Proposals Document - Rabieh, December 4, 2007 Page 3 sur 5
principles, two rules and one authority should govern the relations among the different
Christian parties:
The first principle is the preservation of the intellectual partisan and non-partisan political
diversity.
The second principle is the recognition of others, as well as of a majority and a minority
both dedicated to the respect of the fundamental principles of democracy, taking turns in
the political leadership.
The first rule is the acknowledgement of the right of the majority to assume the political
leadership. The second rule gives the minority the right to either join ranks with the
majority on the basis of its democratic representation, or to form an opposition dedicated
to monitoring the flaws perpetrated by the majority and proposing alternative solutions
within the framework of the democratic process.
Bkerke remains the authority that guarantees the implementation of these rules. Since the
Church represents a “high moral authority”, Bkerke was and still is the uncontested
national religious authority. In order for it to remain as such, all parties should refrain
from using it as a competitive or parallel authority. Bkerke abstains from taking part in
political tensions, in compliance with the Apostolic Exhortation that stipulates in
Paragraph 112 that it is not up to the Church to engage directly in the political life; in fact
the Church does not have technical solutions and does not propose systems or economic
and political programs, it shows no preference for one over the other…However duty
falls upon the Church to relentlessly reiterate the principles which can alone ensure a
harmonious social life….
In this context, any talk deploring the divisions within the Christian community is
considered as self-destructive, targeting the existence of the Christians and their political
entity.
4-The democratic rules and principles in Lebanon
At a time where we aspire to citizenship as the sole basis of belonging to the State, the
reality of the Lebanese political system based on the acknowledgement of the rights of
each community, entails the respect of a simple competitive democratic rule within a
religiously homogeneous community, and of consensual democracy within a wider
heterogeneous and religiously diversified community. This is what makes the president of
the republic a Christian figure requiring the consent of the nation as a whole, as is the
case in Belgium or Switzerland. In both cases it is unacceptable to question or to sanction
the Christians on their choice of political leaders, but it is acceptable to question the
Christian leaders on their political choices and performances.
5- The Restructuring of Society
The resurrection of Lebanon and its Christians lies in the restructuring of the middle
class. To attain this goal, all efforts should be focused on solidarity and fraternity within
the community in a variety of fields ranging from education to health and housing so as
Lebanese Christian Proposals Document - Rabieh, December 4, 2007 Page 4 sur 5
to achieve a higher level of social justice.
Moreover, it is crucial to grant priority to a wider decentralization, to issues pertaining to
equitable and sustainable development and to the brain drain in order to find modern and
tailor-made solutions to these problems.
6- The Establishment of the State
Reform and corruption fighting are the corner stones in building a just and strong state
where the rule of law prevails; a state capable of reassuring its citizens and benefiting
from the characteristics of each and every one of its components.
The Christians reject the principle of self-protection that carries within the seeds of
division and partition of the state, and embrace the adoption of a national defense strategy
capable of granting Lebanon the necessary immunity and stability to constitute a
deterrent force against enemies and aggressors, and to stretch the power of the state
throughout the Lebanese territory, as well as safeguard the sovereignty and independence
of Lebanon from any foreign interference.
7- The Imminent Dangers
Two imminent dangers threaten Lebanon and the Christians:
The first danger concerns the threat represented by the settlement of the Palestinian
refugees, which will disrupt the already precariously-balanced demography, in a country
that strives to maintain this balance through the immigration of its own people – knowing
that Lebanon lacks resources and has the sixth highest population density in the worldthereby
rendering the assimilation of any “human surplus” impossible.
The second danger lies in the “money surplus” represented by the massive buyout of
lands and the alienation of their identity, which places Lebanon once again, at the brink
of a new tutelage, and violates the principles of sovereignty and free national decisionmaking.
Topping the above-mentioned dangers is the heavy burden of the national debt that has by
far, exceeded Lebanon’s capacity to honor its financial dues, thereby generating a fear of
a compulsory tradeoff with the settling of the Palestinians or with any other process
detrimental to the national interest.
8- The Immediate demands
I- To adopt the principle of equal treatment, and establish political justice as the
basis for the balance of powers.
II- To rehabilitate the presidency of the republic by ensuring that the president enjoys
personal and representative qualifications; and to clarify some of the president's
prerogatives.
III- To issue a fair electoral law (based on the small constituency) to guarantee a fair
Lebanese Christian Proposals Document - Rabieh, December 4, 2007 Page 5 sur 5
representation.
IV- To address the imbalanced Christian representation in the government, the
administration, the judiciary system, and the security institutions.
V- To solve the issue of the internally displaced Christians of the mountain, of the
Lebanese refugees in Israel, and of those missing in Syria.
9- The Mission of the Christians in Lebanon
The crisis endured by the Christians of Lebanon is partly due to the fact that they were
lead to believe, in their environment and in the West, that their existence and their
mission have actually lost their “raison d’être”, in an era of globalization and direct
meeting between the East and the West.
But the facts depict another reality: the encounter between the two worlds on the east side
of the Mediterranean has resulted in a collision not in a dialogue. It was violent,
exclusive, intolerant and non-interactive. The reasons for this being: on one hand, the
absence of a just solution to the Palestinian problem, and on the other, the failure to
promote democracy and human rights in this part of the world.
Only the Christians of Lebanon through their presence and their mission can take up
these two challenges, because this community living in freedom and fraternizing with
other religious groups can provide the required cultural and social model.
10- The path to salvation
The Christians should remember that the wait-and-see attitude equals a slow and certain
death, and that being hopeful and bearing witness to the truth are at the core of their
beliefs. Therefore, and in order to find a way out of this destructive path and to initiate
the resurrection process, they have to move from the status of objection and opposition to
that of an ascending political resistance, the sole guarantor of their role and existence.
All in all, if the existence and the preservation of the Christians in Lebanon as a free
people is an issue that lies in the hands of the Christians themselves, it nonetheless
constitutes a historical challenge that faces their Muslim counterparts, should they wish
Lebanon to remain a land of reunion, diversity, and dialogue, thus proving that Islam is
indeed a religion of mercy, tolerance, and acceptance of others.
http://www.tayyar.org/NR/rdonlyres/A96BC718-3415-4D12-A39B-B509405A5761/0/christianprop.pdf
