Lebanese system oblivious to economic, social rights
The deadlock over selecting a new president highlights the growing desire for nonsectarian government and social reform in Lebanon.
Three concurrent developments are rippling through Lebanon prior to the next parliamentary session to elect a new president before May 25. First, massive demonstrations are expected in a number of cities today, May 14, as teachers and other workers seek adjustments to a minimum wage that the trade union movement considers unfair and substandard. The perception in Lebanon of a growing gap between the rich and the poor is making these demonstrators insistent on economic and social rights.
Second, Maronite Cardinal Bechara al-Rai will be going to Bethlehem and Jerusalem on May 25 to meet Pope Francis. There has been some whispered criticism of Rai’s visit to the Holy Land, but the cardinal, as the patriarch of Antioch, is taking into consideration the presence of a significant number of Maronites in Israel who are part of his congregation.
Third, the growing anxiety in various political circles sustaining Lebanon's parliamentary deadlock will once again stifle the election of a new president and lead to a political vacuum. In that case, the mandate of the current president, Michel Suleiman, could be extended, although he is reluctant to accept such a stopgap measure. The deadlock among the presumed political leaders of the Maronite community, whose candidacies are divisive and controversial, should result in a president emerging from outside the circle of traditional and recognized leaders — namely, Amin Gemayel, Samir Geagea, Michel Aoun, and Suleiman Frangieh — who until now have been unable to agree on a candidate they can jointly support.
Once again, the dilemma of selecting a president has brought to the forefront the flaws of Lebanon's sectarian system, which is divisive and oblivious to the collective human, economic and social rights of the large majority of Lebanese, who are eager for a viable, democratic and secular system of government. They envision a government that is sufficiently committed to addressing the real social and economic imbalances in Lebanese society. The masses demonstrating on May 14 represent a repudiation of the sectarian system and are reinforced by a growing and enlightened constituency of civil society, including women and a new generation of students, intellectuals and professors whose ties transcend the divisive politics underlining the ongoing political paralysis Lebanon is experiencing.
