Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Analysis: Lebanon Sectarianism is Put to Test


Sat 09 Nov 2019 | 03:35 PM
Yassmine Elsayed

Analysts have revealed that the mass protest movement that has been going on in Lebanon for more than three weeks is putting the political system based on sectarian lines to the test with little hope of dismantling it.

An analysis published by the Associated Press said that Lebanon, which recognizes 18 sectarian groups, balances all these communities, politically, to ensure that there is no return to violence, with a reference to the civil war (1975-1990).

The report quoted analysts saying that the posts of president, prime minister and speaker of parliament are distributed based on the larger blocs of Lebanese communities. According to analysts, abandoning this pision in the distribution of positions - in response to protesters' demands - would upset the balance between communities, as one sect's gains would be seen as losses to another, something which eventually threaten the stability within society.

On their part, protesters complain that sectarian appointments in government institutions are linked to corruption and mismanagement.

As protests continued, Lebanon's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdellatif Darian called on the country's officials to heed the protesters' demands to end corruption and sectarianism. "It is time after this national vigilance, that the reform process begins, and that the people go to form a government of salvation from competent and competent," the mufti said in a televised address.

Several petrol stations closed in Lebanon this morning with the expiry of their stocks and the difficulty of buying from importers in the US dollar amid the economic crisis and continued popular movements against the political class.