By Sam Heller — foreignpolicy.com — For the last two and a half years, Lebanon’s economy has been in free fall. The country’s currency, the lira, has lost more than 90 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar; GDP has shrunk by nearly 60 percent; and close to 80 percent of Lebanese have slipped below the poverty line, along with practically all of the 1.5 million Syrian refugees living in Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the country.

The crisis, which is among the worst to hit any country in modern history, was precipitated by the collapse of what UN Secretary General António Guterres described as “something similar to a Ponzi scheme”: for years, the country’s central bank used ordinary bank depositors’ money to finance the corrupt and wasteful spending of successive Lebanese governments. Participants in the scheme reaped huge returns—until 2019, when it all came tumbling down. The pyramid scheme may not have been technically illegal, but it nonetheless amounted to corruption on a grand scale: Lebanese elites made a killing, spirited their ill-gotten gains abroad, and left millions of their impoverished countrymen holding the bag.

But the crisis wasn’t just caused by greed and corruption; it has been prolonged by the unwillingness of those who are responsible to change their ways or to assume their fair share of the country’s massive financial losses. International donors are willing to discuss a bailout that could right the economy, but Lebanese leaders have resisted even the most basic reforms that lenders have demanded as a precondition for a rescue package. The country’s political and financial elites have benefited handsomely from the current system, and they stand to lose from any ordered resolution of Lebanon’s national bankruptcy. According to the World Bank, Lebanon is now mired in a “deliberate depression,” one that has been “orchestrated by the country’s elite that has long captured the state and lived off its economic rents.”

Abu Dhabi, UAE (CNN) — By Nadeen Ebrahim — Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati is due to visit Saudi Arabia in the next two weeks, a first trip by a Lebanese premier to the Arab powerhouse in almost four years following an unprecedented rupture in relations. The last visit was in 2018 by then-Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who in 2021 stepped down nearly nine months after he was tasked with forming the country’s government. One of Lebanon’s biggest benefactors, Saudi Arabia’s ties with Beirut had been progressively deteriorating over the past decade, a split fueled by Iran-backed Hezbollah’s growing influence in the country. This came to head in 2017 when Hariri, once Saudi Arabia’s main ally in Lebanon , resigned in a televised statement from Riyadh. Lebanese politicians said he was forced to take the decision after being detained in the kingdom. Hariri and Saudi Arabia denied those claims.

The tensions culminated in a break in relations in October following Lebanese information minister George Kordahi’s open criticism of the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen. The comments were made before Kordahi took office, but Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states withdrew their envoys from Beirut after recordings of the criticism resurfaced. The minister subsequently resigned. Lebanon has for more than two years been suffering from a financial crisis the World Bank says is one of the world’s worst since the nineteenth century. The Levantine country’s woes have been further exacerbated by political wrangling, corruption and disputes over a delicate power-sharing system. Ties with Riyadh seem to be on the mend, however. Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies Kuwait and Yemen have said they’ll re-instate their ambassadors in Beirut. The Saudi ambassador to Lebanon also hosted a Ramadan iftar banquet, which was attended by Lebanese leaders and former officials.

Do Saudi and Arab overtures to Lebanon point to a change of heart? And why now?

by tribunalcommunity.com — Cairo: As per the Kuwait sources, Kuwait is expecting to open their visas following Lebanese a thaw in relations between Lebanon and the Gulf countries after months of strains and tensions. The return of the Kuwaiti and Saudi representatives to Beirut is seen as signalling an end to the crisis with Lebanon, which economic woes have roiled in recent months. According to Sources, which cites security sources, residence affairs agencies around Kuwait are prepared to handle applications from Lebanese once the government decides to resume awarding visas to them. For the past five months, such visas have been on hold. Initially, the visa re-issuance for Lebanese will going to start with trade and official visas to be followed by labour visas, as per the sources stated. “Family, tourism and dependence visas will follow.” As was previously the case, the State Security Service will analyse and verify any form of visa before it is issued,” the sources said.

By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: The lack of security in Beirut’s southern suburbs has led to an increasing number of complaints and outcries from people, with armed robberies taking place in broad daylight also on the rise. A security source linked “the poor security conditions in Beirut’s southern suburbs to the deepening of the economic crisis.” However, the source told Arab News that the main reason for these crimes was the loss of the state’s reputation.

A security source said there were armed robberies of motorcycles every day after robbers previously used to steal them at night. Saleh said he was going to work in Haret Hreik and had parked his motorcycle on the side of the road due to heavy traffic. Someone pointed a knife at him, forcing him to leave his vehicle, before fleeing the area. Thieves and gunmen have become bolder in carrying out their armed operations without any concern for security or party officials in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which are a Hezbollah stronghold and centers for the Amal Movement. The suburbs have had security checkpoints since the 2014 attacks by Daesh suicide bombers.

By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanese President Michel Aoun has assured the Lebanese that parliamentary elections will be held and that all the arrangements are ready, as people celebrated Easter. He took part in the Easter Mass, which was led by Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai in Bkerke. Aoun said he hoped for “the resurrection” of Lebanon. “We are living through a difficult tragedy in which problems have accumulated. I am experiencing the same situation you are and what befell you, befell me also.” The president met Al-Rai before the Mass and then told the media: “We want better relations with Arab countries, and the return of ambassadors to Beirut is an important step in this direction.”

BACKGROUND

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi urged people to vote in the upcoming elections because Lebanon ‘needs a national, sovereign and independent parliamentary majority.’ He hoped that the staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund would “positively affect” the situation in Lebanon and, speaking about the papal visit to Lebanon in June, wished “it would bring hope” to the country. “Today, we live in the hope of the resurrection. As long as we are alive, we will not allow despair to get the best of us.” Aoun also addressed the Shiite duo – the Amal movement and Hezbollah without naming them – and accused them once again of obstructing the work of the judicial investigation into the Beirut Port explosion. “They are the same parties obstructing the Cabinet’s work, and you know who they are. The families of the martyrs should address their demands to them.” The ministers of Hezbollah and the Amal movement boycotted Cabinet sessions last October amid their demands to dismiss the investigator into the explosion, Judge Tarek Bitar. In mid-January, after paralyzing Bitar’s work and bombarding him with lawsuits, they started attending sessions again.

By Sarah Ayoub — smh.com.au — Almost 15 years ago, while sitting in a meeting among some church volunteers, a white Roman Catholic priest opined that the Maronites were taking over the Catholic Church in Australia. Despite knowing that I was Maronite, he continued ranting about certain Maronites in church leadership positions, while I, shocked to my core, sat there in silence taking it. Years later, when I began researching racism in Australia as part of my PhD, particularly as it affected teenage girls, I realised how much that encounter had traumatised me. It had been one of the most blatant displays of xenophobia I had ever experienced, and it took more than a decade for me to be ready to process it.

For those unfamiliar, the Maronite Rite is traced back to a 4th century Syrian Christian monk named Maron, who lived a life of austerity as a hermit in the Taurus Mountains. Persecuted for many years, the Maronites now make up a significant number of Arab Christians in the Middle East and the diaspora. It took my Muslim friend to remind me how ridiculous the priest’s accusations were. “Christianity was born in the Middle East,” she told me when I shared the experience. “If there’s anyone who should have a monopoly on it, it’s you.” Back then, I was the youngest in the room and bound by an idea of respect that I’m not sure I still espouse. But now, despite knowing there are an infinite number of good priests in the world, I also recognise that priests are men and therefore prone to flaws, and as we know, occasionally even evil. That priest had rubbished people in my community and led me to believe that my community had to better assimilate, or at least step back from taking up roles in the church in Australia, because we were different.

By Najia houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: A total of 155 female candidates from different sects are contesting the Lebanese parliamentary elections scheduled for May 15. The only Shiite female candidate on the lists of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement is MP Inaya Ezzeddine. The remaining Shiite female candidates are trying to win seats previously secured by the Shiite duo. Choosing Ezzeddine to represent parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the Amal Movement four years ago, in the 2018 parliamentary elections, was a deliberate move to establish “the movement’s openness to the importance of women’s role in public affairs,” as Berri said at the time. But Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was very clear on “not involving women in political life because, in Lebanon, MPs offer condolences, participate in weddings and provide services, and we in Hezbollah do not accept that our women carry out such duties.”

This year might be the first time that Shiite women from Hezbollah’s entourage have stood up to the party. In the Baalbek-Hermel constituency, in northern Bekaa, six electoral lists are competing to win 10 parliamentary seats, including six for the Shiite sect. One list includes Hezbollah and the Amal movement, another includes members of local clans. The others draw candidates from civil society movements that do not seem to be hostile toward Hezbollah as their programs do not have demands related to the fate of the party’s weapons. But Sarah Mansour Zeaiter, a Shiite candidate running in the Baalbek-Hermel constituency under the Qadreen list, was subjected to verbal abuse and defamatory remarks from her family a few days ago.

The Zeaiter clan issued a statement explaining that she did not represent the family and that the clan remained loyal to the current MP and candidate for the upcoming elections Ghazi Zeaiter. The statement does not mention that Ghazi Zeaiter is a defendant in the probe into the Beirut port blast. In the Zahle constituency, in central Bekaa, eight lists are competing to win seven seats, including one Shiite seat. Among the competing lists is the Zahle for Sovereignty list backed by the Lebanese Forces, Hezbollah’s arch-rival. The list bears the slogan: “Restoring sovereignty, liberating decision making, and direct confrontation with Hezbollah.”

by reuters — Lebanon’s cabinet has approved the demolition of what remains of the grain silos at Beirut port which were at the site of the 2020 blast that destroyed much of the capital. Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makari said a “technical report” had concluded the silos were likely to collapse in the coming months and said it would be too expensive to renovate them. The 4 August blast, caused by a neglected store of ammonium nitrate, left 215 people dead and wrecked much of the city around the port area. The silos are said to have taken the brunt of the explosion, limiting the spread of the destruction caused by the explosion.

Some families of those killed in the blast had called for the silos to be preserved as a memorial to the incident, which was widely blamed on rampant corruption and negligence within Lebanon’s political class. However, Makari, speaking in televised comments after a cabinet session, said the country’s interior and culture ministers were instead to be tasked with overseeing the creation of a separate memorial. Investigations into the explosion have been repeatedly delayed, halted and restarted over claims of judicial bias from a number of those under scrutiny. A number of senior officials have refused to be interviewed.

سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

قبلَ 13 نيسان 1975 وبعدَه، ومحاولاتُ إنشاءِ أوطانٍ على حسابِ كيانِ لبنان تتوالى وتَندَحِرُ الواحدةُ تلو الأخرى. بقي لبنانُ مستقِلًّا ولو بدون سيادةٍ وواحِدًا ولو بدون وِحدة. منذ نشوءِ هذا الوطنِ “الذخيرة” وعيونُ المحيطِ عليه كعيونِ الحاسِدين. لماذا منه انطلَق الحرْف؟ لماذا ذُكِر في الكتبِ المقدّسة، لماذا زاره المسيح؟ لماذا صَمَد عبرَ العصور؟ لماذا أطلقَ النهضةَ العربيّة؟ لماذا تأسّسَت دولتُه سنةَ 1920؟ لماذا سُمِّيَ بـــ”سويسرا الشرق”؟ لماذا كان دَخلُ الفردِ فيه بالنسبةِ للناتجِ القوميِّ في المرتبةِ التاسعة عالميًّا؟ لماذا… لماذا هو وليس نحن؟ تارةً يريدون لبنانَ جُزءًا من وِحدةٍ عربيّةٍ وتارةً أخرى من وِحدةٍ إسلاميّة. طورًا جُزءًا من سوريا الكبرى وطورًا آخَرَ من إسرائيل الكبرى. حينًا من هلالٍ سُنيٍّ وحينًا آخرَ من هلالٍ شيعيّ.

حين يَكثُر أدْعِياءُ الحقوقِ في لبنان تَنتفي حقوقُهم ويَنكَشِفُ زَيْــفُــها ويَتأكّدُ أنَّ لبنانَ للبنانيّين وليس للبيعِ أو للإقراضِ مع أنّه بِيعَ وأُقرِضَ مرارًا من دون أن ينالَ بَدَلًا. المحزنُ أنَّ جميعَ تلك الادِّعاءاتِ وَجدَت صدىً لدى المكوِّناتِ اللبنانيّةِ، لا بل انطلقَ بعضُها من لبنان. والمحزنُ أيضًا أنْ حين تراجَعت ادّعاءاتُ الدولِ الخارجيّةِ بلبنان، بانَت دويلاتُ الداخلُ. وأُضيفَ إلى الصراعِ على لبنان صراعٌ في لبنان، وإلى الصراعِ على الكيانِ صراعٌ على الدولة. وها نحن اليومَ نواجِهُ قيامَ دولةٍ مذهبيّةٍ بموازاة، وأحيانًا مكانَ، دولةِ لبنان الديمقراطيّةِ والتعدّديّة.

By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Saudi Arabia has expressed its support for the people of Lebanon and its desire to bolster ties between the two nations following the return of its envoy to Beirut. Walid Bukhari, the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, told Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Wednesday that “the Kingdom is keen on helping the Lebanese people during difficult circumstances and strengthening relations between the two countries.” According to the president’s media office, the two men discussed bilateral relations and Bukhari told Aoun about “the mechanism of the Saudi-French joint fund aimed at providing humanitarian support and achieving stability and development in Lebanon.”

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Gulf states recalled their ambassadors from Lebanon in October in protest against insulting statements made by former Information Minister George Qordahi regarding the war in Yemen. Bukhari last met Aoun in March 2021. That meeting took place after a failed attempt to form a government led by former Premier Saad Hariri and the exchange of accusations of disrupting the process between Hariri and Aoun. Since returning to Beirut, Bukhari has held talks with religious authorities, current and former prime ministers and interior ministers, foreign diplomats and other politicians.

Kuwaiti Ambassador Abdul-Al Sulaiman Al-Qenaei has also returned to Beirut. He said after meeting Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Wednesday that “restoring diplomatic relations and the return of ambassadors indicate the success of the Kuwaiti initiative.” He added that both Lebanon and the Gulf states had mutually agreed that their long history was above everything else and that “what happened is in the past and the return of ambassadors will lead to further rapprochement and cooperation that benefit the brotherly countries.”