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Lebanese
figures reassess political system
By Rana Siblini
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"The Lebanese System: A Critical Reassessment" was the title
of a hot two-day conference that took place on May 18 and 19
in College Hall Auditorium B1. Under the patronage of the Minister
of Culture, the conference was organized by Samir Khalaf, professor
of sociology and director of the Center for Behavioral Research
in AUB; Carol Hakim, researcher; and Leila Jbara, administrative
assistant in the CBR. It was sponsored by the CBR and the Chiha
Foundation. The main subject of the conference was the evolution
of the Lebanese political system since its foundation by Michel
Chiha until today, with an evaluation of all the changes it
witnessed, the difficulties it encountered and still does, and
propositions of solutions for the future. Many professors, politicians,
journalists, economists and intellectuals participated in the
debates held in English and French. The first day of the conference
included three sessions. In the introductory session, Nadim
Shehadi, Ahmad Baydoun and Fares Sassine talked about the composer
of the Lebanese constitution, Michel Chiha, and the evolution
of the Lebanese system. Fawaz Trabulsi, author of, Silat Bila
Wassil, in which he discussed the revision of the Lebanese system,
criticized the constitution of Michel Chiha. Among the lecturers
of the second session was Chibli Mallat, professor in USJ, who
talked about "The Constitution, the National Pact and the Ta'if
Agreement: Continuities and Discrepancies," in the context of
this session, "The Institutional Framework." Mallat mentioned
that "the sectarian formula leaves out those who do not care
about the religious type, like Chiha and Jumblat." In the same
session, journalist Samir Franjieh and Elizabeth Picard from
the Paris Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique spoke.
In session three, entitled "Politics, Society and Confessionalism,"
Dr. Nawaf Salam from AUB stressed ten reasons why the confessional
system in Lebanon cannot be abolished in the way it is done.
He suggested that "deconfessionalism can't be introduced by
confessional actors" and should be attained through acknowledging
the Lebanese citizen as a political actor and through following
the challenge of the civil society where trade unions provide
us with non-sectarian models. Professor Farid El Khazen, also
from AUB, talked about political parties, how they influenced
the system in Lebanon and vice versa. El Khazen classified the
parties in three categories: Syrian, tolerated, and banned,
and he emphasized that they are still seen as militias in the
eyes of the public. The last lecturer of this session, Melhem
Chaoul from the Lebanese University, talked about the concept
of model and the concept of evolution in the Lebanese system.
He identified the Lebanese system as a "hybrid." On the second
day of the conference, Toufi Gaspard, Makram Sader and Kamal
Hamdan lectured in the fifth session, entitled "Lebanon's Economic
System." Hamdan focused on the opportunities and constraints
of the post-war economic experience of Lebanon. Session six
of the conference discussed the foreign and regional policy
of Lebanon. Among the participants was Fawaz Gerges, who questioned
the precarious side of Syrian-Lebanese relationships that might
cause the hindrance of the evolution of liberal institutionalism
in Lebanon, and that might enhance sectarianism and inhibit
state and nation building, thus further complicating Lebanon's
economic crisis. The other two lecturers of that session were
Samir Kassir and Volker Perthes. The conference was concluded
with the seventh session, a roundtable discussion directed by
Ghassan Tueni. It was the most interactive stage of the conference,
where participants and attendees exchanged questions, answers
and comments evaluating the debates that took place during those
two days. The remarkable thing in this session was the intervention
of two AUB students, George El-Khoury and Huda Al Trieky. The
two courageous students expressed to Mr. Tueni and to an audience
formed by a relatively older generation, the problems facing
the Lebanese youth in getting involved in the political life
and in helping in the reform of the system. Lebanese young people
have problems because most of them "lost trust in the leaders,"
Huda said. Mr. Tueni was rather defensive of politicians and
intellectuals of his generation, blaming the young people for
the state of indifference and irresponsibility they have reached.
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