Beginning in December 2006, Hezbollah and its allies staged a series of protests in downtown Beirut, prompting a political crisis that paralyzed the Lebanese government and led to the vacancy of the presidency since November 2007. In May 2008, the Lebanese government and Hezbollah-led opposition signed the Doha agreement, ending 18 months of political deadlock. The agreement included four major provisions: the election of former Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) head Gen. Michel Suleiman as president, the formation of a national unity government, new rules for the 2009 parliamentary election and the discussion of Hezbollah’s use of weapons. Since the signing of the agreement, a government was formed and national reconciliation talks were started in the face of internal violence.
Unity Government Formation
Following his election as president, Suleiman renamed Fouad Siniora as prime minister, a decision criticized by Hezbollah-led opposition parties. Siniora was tasked with forming a national unity government, which he did on July 11, after more than seven weeks of political wrangling. Consistent with the Doha agreement, Hezbollah and its allies control 11 out of the 30 cabinet positions, giving it veto power.
Internal Violence
Since the signing of the agreement in May, there has been continued violence throughout the country. In June, there was intense fighting between the Sunni majority Future movement and Hezbollah and its Shia ally, Amal, in the eastern Bekaa region. Violence has also persisted in northern Lebanon, including a car bomb that killed pro-Syrian politician Saleh Aridi on September 10, and clashes involving pro-Syrian and anti-Syrian Christian militias on September 16. In late August, a Hezbollah member shot down an LAF helicopter, mistakenly believed to be Israeli, flying over a Hezbollah-controlled area.
Reconciliation Talks
Concurrent to the violence, factions have made efforts towards ending regional violence. Talks between factions in the Bekaa Valley led to an agreement between Saad Hariri’s Future Movement and Hezbollah and Amal, which called for the LAF to take over security duties in the area. On September 8, just two days before the killing of Aridi, Sunni and Alawite (a Shia offshoot) leaders signed an agreement in Tripoli that called for the halting of violence, deployment of LAF forces to the area and a timetable for return of displaced persons.
Political groups have also begun to discuss issues of national reconciliation. On September 16, Suleiman chaired talks on a national defense strategy that might lead to future integration of Hezbollah’s arms into the LAF.
Representatives of all signatories to the Doha accord, including Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, were present at the discussions. In preparation for the next round of talks, scheduled for November 5, Suleiman will meet with the individual parties. Also on September 16, former members of the Phalange Party, the Lebanese Forces and the National Liberal Party came together and called on the government to pursue efforts towards reconciliation. A day before the national dialogue, Hezbollah and the Progressive Socialist Party, a March 14 ally led by Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, also held talks aimed at easing sectarian tensions. On September 24, Mohammad Raan, a parliament member and Hezbollah ally, said that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hariri will soon hold their first meeting in more than two years.
