Lebanon's Communist Party calls to overthrow the political system

According to the Lebanese Communist Party, it is necessary for the Lebanese to demonstrate and escalate the confrontation against the ruling system.

"LCP calls for overthrowing the murderous regime and its foreign-backed political system". This is the headline of the Lebanese Communist Party (LCP) statement from 7 August this year.

The statement came in the wake of the explosion at a port stockpile of explosive ammonium nitrate in Beirut, which killed over 160, injured more than 6,000 and left about 300,000 homeless.

Since the statement, Hassan Diab's government has stepped down as a result of the explosion, but the political system remains unchanged and the president and leader of parliament remain the same.

The LCP believes that this needs to be changed because they are responsible for allowing such a disaster to take place.

- We see the crisis as a structural crisis related to the nature of the regime itself, says responsible for international relations at LCP, Omar Deeb.

RELIGION AND POLITICS

"The whole political system that has made the state an apparatus of political clientelism and sectarian favoritism has paved the way for such a crime to take place," LCP writes.

Posts in Lebanon's political system are divided on the basis of religion. This means, for example, that the president must be a Christian, the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim, and the head of parliament must be a Shia Muslim.

- We have a sectarian electoral law, which divides quotas between Muslims and Christians and between sects within each religious group. It's a very detailed sectarian system, Deeb says.

The system has given rise to corruption as political leaders often hire their family and friends, all the while the Lebanese people are being neglected, writes the newspaper from the United Arab Emirates, Gulf News.

MORE CRISES

The aftermath of the Beirut explosion is far from the only crisis in Lebanon today.

Before the explosion, Lebanon was already struggling with a severe economic crisis. The Lebanese pound has lost about 60 percent of its value, while nearly half of Lebanon's population lives below the poverty line, according to Turkish TV channel TRT World.

Poverty in Lebanon was expressed in earnest in July when a video of an armed man robbing a pharmacy for nappies was shared on social media.

But as if that were not enough, Lebanon is also fighting a corona crisis that has overwhelmed hospitals. On August 16, Lebanon saw the highest number of new infected, all the while several hospitals in the capital have been destroyed by the explosion.

HISTORICAL CROSS ROAD

According to Reuters, incumbent President Michel Aoun had been warned by officials two weeks before the explosion that the stockpile of ammonium nitrate posed a security risk. Still, nothing was done about it.

"The Lebanese people today stand at a historic crossroads from which there is no turning back," the LCP wrote, adding that "the explosion at the port has opened a new political milestone. In addition to being a catastrophic explosion, it could be an opportunity for to renew the political system. "

According to Lebanese Communist Omar Deeb, Lebanon is in a situation that can develop in three different ways:

- One possibility is that the major parties form a national unity government that will receive foreign assistance. But the problem with that is that they want to reintroduce the policy that has led to our collapse. How can we trust the people who are to blame for the financial crisis and the explosion in Beirut?

- The second possibility is that they can not reach a compromise and that tensions instead escalate between the parties and sectarian groups. Such tensions can lead to security problems and armed conflict, the communist explains.

- The third possibility is that we are able to unite a democratic secular coalition that can bring about real change in economic policy and the political system through a transitional government.

TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT

The LCP believes it is time for pro-reform groups and organizations to unite their efforts to put in place a transitional government that is not affiliated with any of the sitting political factions. According to Deeb, the transitional government should primarily be responsible for two political tasks:

- The first is an economic rescue plan. We are in a deep economic crisis that has led to hyperinflation and devaluation of our currency. So we need a plan whose costs are to be put on the shoulders of those who have acquired wealth over the last three decades.

According to the World Inequality Database, the richest 10 percent in Lebanon have the equivalent of 57 percent of national income, while the poorest 50 percent of the population makes up only 11 percent of the economy. This makes Lebanon one of the most unequal countries in the world.

- The second task is the creation of a new election law, which must be based on citizenship rather than sectarian affiliation and quotas, says Deeb.

Deeb says the LCP works to unite with secular political parties, unions, organizations and independent journalists and political writers in one democratic opposition to the political system. It is this coalition that the party hopes will form a transitional government.

MACRON COUNTERWORKER

Two days after the explosion, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Lebanon, a former French colony. In Lebanon, he met with political leaders and demanded reforms as a precondition for international aid.

- When Macron came to Lebanon, he organized a meeting for the leaders of the six sectarian parties that control parliament. Here, he exploited economic interests, not to make real changes, but to revive the dying system, Deeb believes.

- It was very arrogant of Macron to come to Lebanon and gather political parties to tell them what France wants them to do. It seems that he is the president of Lebanon and not of France, criticizes the communist.

"For the last 30 years, France and other foreign powers have supported the corrupt political system. These powers have directly funded the state institutions, which are controlled and administered by corrupt political factions," the LCP explained in their statement.

The LCP sees Macron's visit to Lebanon as a clear signal of French support for the political system, which stands in contrast to the changes that the party and other forces are fighting for.

"BE ON YOUR TOES"

According to the LCP, it is necessary for the Lebanese to demonstrate and "escalate the confrontation against the ruling authoritarian system". Political groups should unite their efforts in one political framework, which should lead the organization of the next wave of insurgency.

In addition, the party urges its members to organize in aid organizations to provide assistance to the injured, clean up the ruined streets of Beirut and offer shelter to the displaced residents.

"As a final point, the LCP urges its members and supporters to be on their toes and asks them to maintain the highest possible level of political and organizational preparedness."

"This is extremely important to achieve the political goals of the uprising. And to ensure the fastest transition to a new Lebanon - a country whose values ​​are based on modernity, freedom, democracy and social justice," the LCP concludes.

Finally, Omar Deeb encourages Danes to contribute to the independent aid organization "Secours Populaire Libanais".