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New Political Movement to Scrap Sectarianism in Lebanon
BEIRUT, July 17 (IslamOnline
& News Agencies) - A newly established political movement headed by Member of Parliament Nassib Lahoud was launched in Beirut Monday with an aim to reduce sectarianism in Lebanon, a country that has suffered long civil wars on ethnic lines, news agencies reported.
The Movement for Democratic Renewal (MDR) has 'combating sectarianism' and 'rectifying Syrian-Lebanese relations' among the main items on its agenda, press reports said.
According to the Lebanese newspaper, the Daily Star, the movement, which calls itself a "moderate" grouping seeking reform and internal unification, is one of about half-a-dozen parties and movements created this year.
In April, the 'National Gathering for Salvation and Change' - a group of some 300 politicians and intellectuals - formed another non-sectarian gathering that also called for abolishing the confessional system and establishing more balanced relations with Syria, the French news agency AFP reported.
The 'National Gathering for Salvation and Change' grouped representatives of the People's Movement led by maverick former member of parliament Najah Wakim, the Lebanese Communist Party and the Popular Nasserite Organization of MP Mustapha Saad.
Lahoud was elected committee president and Bassem Jisr, a lawyer, as vice-president of MDR.
Asked why he chose to form a "movement" and not a "party", Lahoud said the members shied away from creating a party because of "its rigid organizational structure."
The BBC online news service quoted Lahoud as saying the movement is calling for an end to the confessional system of government, which allocates ministerial posts along sectarian lines.
It urged abolishing Lebanon's confessional ruling system, which stipulates that posts be distributed along religious lines guaranteeing a certain quota for the Christian, Sunni Muslim and Shiite Muslim communities, whether in parliament, government, public administration or the armed forces.
Since Lebanon's independence in 1943, the president has always been a Christian Maronite, the parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim and the prime minister a Sunni Muslim.
The MDR groups Christian and Muslim members of various political affiliations, mainly made up of current MPs, former MPs and government ministers, politicians, lawyers, businessmen, university professors and journalists.
It also promises a national dialogue on Lebanon's relationship with its dominant neighbor, Syria, which still maintains a large military presence in the country.
Speaking at a press conference, Lahoud presented the MDR platform entitled "For a new contract among the Lebanese'.
The MDR platform called for a rectification of Lebanese-Syrian relations, including the "strategic" Syrian military presence and the Syrian "political security and influence" in Lebanon.
Syria has more than 20,000 troops stationed in Lebanon and carries enormous influence in the country's political life.
The group also urged looking into Lebanese-Syrian bilateral trade exchanges and the "movement of labor forces" to guarantee the "national economic interests of each of the two states on their territories."
An enormous number of Syrian laborers work in Lebanon.
The Movement for Democratic Renewal (MDR) was launched when the gathering's estimated 50 founding members - both Christian and Muslim - elected a 15-member executive committee headed by MP Nassib Lahoud.
"We consider that the launch of a new democratic, political and non-sectarian movement is a long-awaited necessity to face Lebanon's problems," Lahoud told AFP.
The platform calls for launching political, social and economic reforms in the country, which is plagued by a debt of more than 25 billion dollars.
The Lebanese daily newspaper Al Anwar reported on its website that Lahoud has stressed that the movement will allow the young and all those who agree to its fundamentals to become part of it, and that it will establish strong relations with all the various forces in the Lebanese political arena as well as forming allies with all parties that share its principals.
"Realistic dreams are not easy to achieve but are not impossible. We need to work hard to achieve our goals even if we fail occasionally. This is how democracy works," Lahoud was quoted the pan-Arab newspaper, Al Hayat.
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