Bloody explosions have claimed the lives of innocent citizens and turned streets overshadowed by fear into ghost towns. The flames of sectarian rancor have been reignited, while the ground is drenched in the blood of division. This is how Lebanon celebrated the 70th year of its independence — an anniversary which holds several lessons.

First, the 1943 National Pact, which laid the foundations of the Lebanese state and a cornerstone in reaching independence, has been obliterated under the pressure of regional conflicts and their corresponding sectarian strife in Lebanon. The pact was the first attempt to distance this small country from the conflicts of the region. It allowed local parties to steer clear of foreign tutelage projects and affiliations to unite around the project of a state that effectively guarantees their rights as individuals first and foremost, and second, as sects. The 1943 draft presented a unique composition that divided authority among the different sects. Moreover, it was based on a pact that represented two parallel refusals. Christians, most of whom considered the French occupation a guarantee for their rights as threatened minorities, refused this occupation. Muslims, specifically Sunnis, refused the project of an Arab state that included Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Iraq led by King Faisal.

A lot was said and written about the fragility of the Lebanese composition and of the pact that did not firmly decide on essential issues such as Lebanon’s identity. It did not settle the discussion about Lebanon being an Arab state, either, and maintained a sectarian system that impeded the country’s economic and social development and progress.

The pact committed an “original sin.” Shared rejection was not enough to draft a common project agreed on by all parties, and the resulting Lebanese draft was a hybrid.