By Appo Jabarian
Executive Publisher / Managing Editor USA Armenian Life Magazine
Friday, June 12, 2009
The much talked-about 2009 Lebanese parliamentary elections took place on June 7 under the watchful eyes of both local, regional and international powers. The United States, Russia, the European Union and China anxiously followed the June 7 Lebanese parliamentary elections.
1.63 million voters constituting over 51% of the 3.169 million, cast their ballots in an election that is considered to have a major impact on Lebanon’s international politics. Many foreign governments closely watched to see which Christian Maronite Lebanese party leader would emerge as the main parliamentary leader of the Christian Lebanese inside the national assembly.
Many wondered, would that leader be jointly formed by the ruling March 14 partners, the Phalangists’ and the Lebanese Forces’ leadership under Sami Gemayel and George Geagea; or March 8th opposition Free Patriotic Movement’s General Michel Aoun?
By Monday June 8 noon time, the answer was clear. Gen. Aoun emerged as the leader commanding over 27 seats in the parliament (21 before the elections), in major part, thanks to an important victory of 6 seats out of 8 in the Metn District, delivered by the Armenian Lebanese swing vote.
Only two ruling candidates barely squeaked through to victory as opposed to seven. One was a March 14 loyalist, Phalangist Sami Gemayel; and the second was an independent candidate, Mr. Michel Murr.
At approximately 2:00 AM Monday, a realist Sami Gemayel reached out to the Armenian Lebanese Tashnag supporters during a live speech on MTV Lebanon. He said that he marveled at how the Tashnag election machine worked so effectively, and delivered victory to opposition party. He said that “we need to learn from the Armenians,” the spirit of being so united and of being so organized. In the May 22 issue of USA Armenian Life Magazine, this writer had underlined that “the overwhelming majority in the Lebanese-Armenian municipality of Bourj Hammoud and the entire Metn region always votes in favor of Tashnagtsutiun. And one can clearly tell how the Lebanese-Armenian vote may ultimately contribute to altering the U.S. Policy in the Middle East.”
Non-Existent Popular Mandate Vs. Parliamentary Victory
The March 14 political ruling bloc can claim a parliamentary victory. But on the streets it is far from having a popular mandate. Out of one million six hundred thousand (1,634,181) voters only seven hundred twelve thousand (712,902) voters cast their ballots in favor of the ruling March 14 candidates. In contrast, over nine hundred twenty one thousand (921,279) electorate cast their votes in favor of the March 8 opposition candidates.
The ruling March 14 political bloc is a fragile association between a small segment of the Maronite Christians, Sunnites, and other minorities including the Druze, some Shiites and some Greek Orthodox Christians. The March 8 opposition alliance is mainly formed by Christian Maronites, Shites, Greek Orthodox Christians, Christian Armenians and some Druze, and Sunnis.
The Story Behind The Story
The story behind the story is March 8th camp’s staunch opposition to March 14th leader Saad Hariri’s intention to help the country’s sizeable mostly Sunni Palestinian refugees acquire Lebanese citizenship thus helping boost the dwindling presence of the traditional Sunni Lebanese community. Both Christian Maronite and Shiite Lebanese majorities actively support General Aoun in opposing such maneuvering by Mr. Hariri. They are keenly aware that Hariri’s plans would tip the balance to their detriment and in favor of the Lebanese Sunnis.
That’s why the clear majority of the Maronite Lebanese defied Maronite Patriarch Sfeir’s 11th hour advice to vote against Aoun’s party. Gen. Aoun registered impressive victories in Kessrouan and in most of the Christian stronghold of Mt. Lebanon region.
Many Christian and Moslem Lebanese feel that Israel should respect the Palestinians’ right to return to their homeland. They blame Israel for most of the problems of Lebanon and the Middle East. They point to the key year of 1948 when the Zionist Jews from around the world began migrating to Palestine to create the state of Israel; and initiated a campaign to usurp Arab lands in Palestine and to systematically uproot its Arab inhabitants. A large segment of the Palestinian refugees were accepted into Lebanon.
Emergence Of The Armenian As An Important Lebanese Language
In order to reach out to the Armenian-Lebanese voters, the two major camps, March 8 and March 14, allocated sizeable budgets for media and billboard advertising in Armenian language.
During the entire length of the campaign, several political messages and slogans were also presented in Armenian in various parts of the country. Besides Arabic, English, and French, Armenian has been featured as the fourth most important language in Lebanon. Two out of four Lebanese major TV networks – The Future TV and Orange TV regularly feature programs in Armenian.
Lebanon Reinvents Itself As The Traditional Bastion Of Democracy In Middle East
Setting the election results aside, Lebanon has reinvented itself as the traditional bastion of democracy in the entire Middle East eclipsing both Turkey’s fledgling and Israel’s predominantly Jewish democracies. Neither Turkey nor Israel can boast to have inclusive democracies. Many observers agree that the sizeable Palestinian Arab minority in Israel is under-represented in the Israeli Knesset; and the minorities in Turkey are either not represented or terribly under-represented.
Armenian-Lebanese Hard-ball Politics Due To Incomplete Reinstatement of Their Right To Accurate Representation In The Parliament
The siphoning off of the four Armenian seats out of six from the Armenian Lebanese majority by Mr. Hariri’s Sunni voters in Zahle, Beirut I, Beirut II, and Beirut III, Lebanon’s parliament is condemned by thousands of Lebanese both inside and outside the country.
Hopefully in the future that inequity may be solved by Mr. Hariri’s recognition that the Armenian Lebanese have the right to get reunited. Past experience has shown that even though the Armenian Lebanese Tashnag party continuously enjoyed the backing of over 75% (80% in 2009 elections), it has always reached out to the minority Armenian Lebanese Ramgavar and Hunchak parties by including a Ramgavar and a Hunchak candidate in its party list (Antranig Manoukian and Ara Yerevanian in the 1970’s).
The defrauding 2000 parliamentary election laws under the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, stripped the Armenian Lebanese Tashnag-leaning majority of the right to directly elect its real representatives. Therefore, the Tashnag party had boycotted the 2005 parliamentary elections.
It was after the 2008 Doha agreement that the traditional Armenian Lebanese Parliamentary Bloc was able to partially reinstate the Armenian Lebanese Tashnag-leaning majority’s right to genuine representation.
During this year’s election, that reinstatement process was partially completed, because Mr. Hariri once more interfered in the intra-Armenian Lebanese consensus-building process by imposing his hand-picked Armenian Lebanese individuals against the will of the majority by abusing the votes of his Sunni and non-Armenian Christian constituents who outnumber the Armenian Lebanese voters in Beirut I, II and III; and in Zahle. The Hariri-led Sunnis voted against the interests of the traditional Armenian Lebanese Parliamentary Block.
To its credit, even under these adverse political conditions and in order to create consensus among both Tashnag supporters and Ramgavar/Hunchak supporters, the Tashnag party has once more put its goodwill to good use by again including non-Tashnag individuals like Arthur Nazarian in its list. It is hopeful that in the future Mr. Hariri will show his goodwill toward the Armenian Lebanese community by letting the community create its consensus list, thus reunifying the various Armenian Lebanese political segments around a mutually acceptable list.
It’s also hopeful that the individual exploiters of the current discord between Hariri and Tashnag party abstain from self-interest at the expense of the majority; and re-align themselves behind the reunification of the Armenian Lebanese community.
The resuscitation of the all-inclusive Tashnag-Ramgavar-Hunchak coalition is a basic human right that the Armenian Lebanese community desperately needs and deserve. In the absence of goodwill on the part of the ruling March 14, the Armenian Lebanese majority has no choice but play hard-ball politics.