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An overview of the devastation that followed the bombing of the port of Beirut, Lebanon, on August 8, 2020. Photo: Hannah McKay-Reuters. reuters_tickers
This content was published on November 17, 2020 – July 18:51,
By Samia Nakhoul and John Irish
BEIRUT / PARIS (Reuters) – Western powers seeking to save Lebanon’s economy facing collapse have given the country’s leaders an ultimatum: There are no measures to lift the country off its stumbling block unless they form a credible government to fix. quickly the situation in the bankrupt state.
France, the United States and other donor countries, who had previously provided aid to Lebanon more than once since the civil war that broke out between 1975 and 1990, are losing patience with politicians, many of whom were familiar faces during the slide of the country towards economic crisis.
Last year, massive protests broke out against the ruling elite, as people held them responsible for looking out for their vested interests at a time when public debt was rising. The coronavirus pandemic increased pressure on the country’s resources and a massive explosion at the Beirut port in August destroyed large swaths of the city.
With the depletion of dollars, a shortage of basic goods, including medicines, appeared and an increasing number of people fell into poverty in Lebanon.
Lebanese President Emmanuel Macron, a natural ally given Lebanon is a former French colony, swiftly visited the city after the explosion and tried to persuade politicians to implement at least partial reforms to address the emergency situation.
However, rival factions continue to fight for influence, and Lebanon has not formed a government since the government whose collapse in August and its aftermath caused its collapse. As in previous crises, each side accused the other of being responsible for this situation.
Two sources who participated in the talks in Beirut last week said Patrick Daryl, Macron’s adviser for Middle East and North Africa affairs, made clear in the talks that, while Paris kept its promises, “we will not save them unless let there be reforms “.
A Western diplomat said France was still trying to organize a conference to discuss reconstruction in Beirut in late November, but doubts remain.
The diplomat added: “There is no news. Lebanese politicians have returned to their way of working, and the worrying thing is the total disregard for the people.”
* Without free help
US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea said in a conference call from the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Friday that the United States “realizes that Lebanon is important” and that it “prevents the failure of the state. … should be the top priority. “
But he added: “We really can’t want it more than they want.” And he stressed that there are no rescue plans without reforms.
“We gain sophistication,” he added. He added that there would be a “step-by-step approach and nothing is free.”
Saad Hariri, the Sunni prime minister appointed under the country’s sectarian power-sharing agreement, is struggling to form a government.
Some sources say the efforts have been complicated by recent sanctions imposed by the United States on Gebran Bassil, the son-in-law of President Michel Aoun, who heads the Lebanese National Movement Party, the country’s largest Christian party.
The sanctions were imposed on Bassil based on allegations of corruption and his ties to the Iranian-backed Shiite group Hezbollah, which is Lebanon’s most powerful party and is considered a Tehran strike force in the region and is considered a terrorist group for Washington.
Bassil denies the corruption charges.
Official sources say the main stumbling block is Aoun and Bassil’s insistence on naming ministers to the 18-member cabinet. Hariri wants all ministers to be specialists and not tied to political parties.
A source close to the talks said some concerned people mentioned Bassil as the main obstacle to forming a government. Bassil denies the accusation and says his party has the right to appoint ministers, as others were able to appoint ministers.
A source familiar with Hezbollah’s thinking said that Daryl asked the group to try to persuade Bassil to soften his stance, but that Hezbollah is refusing to pressure him because that could further weaken him.
Hardened situations
Various sources said that the current stagnation is a suicidal situation for the country which is rapidly depleting its foreign reserves. These reserves are estimated at just $ 17.9 billion.
Due to the sanctions, which Ambassador Chia recognized as part of the Donald Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, Iran and its allies are moving to wait until Trump leaves office.
However, some officials in Lebanon have warned against the waiting game.
A high-level political source familiar with the talks said: “The message from the French is now clear: there is no government, there is no reform, so goodbye. Thank you.”
“And if the French wash their hands on this matter, who will look at us? The Gulf? The United States? No one?”
“At the end of the day, they don’t know how to deal with the exceptional circumstances and challenges … We continue to deal with the formation of the government as if we were living normal days,” he said.
Ambassador Chia said donors must maintain their position, otherwise the political elite will not take them seriously.
He added: “If they don’t feel the importance of the element of time to form a government, how will we keep pushing them?
(Covered by Ghaida Ghantous, Ellen Francis and Leila Bassam – Prepared by Munir Al-Baiti for the Arabic Bulletin – Edited by Nadia Al-Juwaili)
