Taif Agreement

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The Taif Agreement of October 22, 1989 ended the Lebanese civil war . It was the second agreement that was signed in the Saudi Arabian city ​​of Ta'if .

The way to the agreement

At the beginning of the 1980s, when the Lebanese civil war escalated, there were several initiatives to negotiate a peace treaty. In 1985 the so-called Tripartite Agreement of Damascus was first concluded. This had been negotiated by the three most important militia leaders of the hour, Elie Hobeika (for the Forces Libanaises ), Walid Jumblat ( PSP ) and Nabih Berri under Syrian patronage. However, it failed not least because of the lack of legitimation of the militia leaders in the eyes of their religious companions who allegedly represented them. The agreement met with vehement resistance, particularly from the Maronite population.

After the failure of the Tripartite Agreement , further initiatives followed, which, however, received little public attention.

In 1989 the political situation in Lebanon deteriorated dramatically. For the incumbent President Amin Gemayel no successor could be found who was accepted by all sections of the population. The office of President of the Republic thus became vacant for the first time. In a final official act, Amin Gemayel installed the Maronite Michel Aoun as Prime Minister. According to the National Pact of 1943 , this office was actually reserved for a Sunni Muslim (although there had previously been a Maronite Prime Minister for a short time). The previous government under Selim al-Hoss did not recognize this occupation of the office of prime minister, so that there were now in fact two governments in Lebanon.

Triggered by the war of national liberation that Michel Aoun had launched and whose declared aim was to drive Syria out of Lebanon , the humanitarian situation in the civil war country has now deteriorated. Another international intervention seemed in prospect, but was ultimately prevented by rapprochement between Syria and the USA against the backdrop of the looming Gulf War.

In view of the failure to resolve the conflict through military means as well as through negotiated peace between the most important militia leaders, the Arab League launched an initiative, the aim of which was to unite the members of the Lebanese parliament in a neutral place so that they can “calmly “Could negotiate a peace treaty. This plan met with approval from almost all sides. Finally, the parliament, which was last elected in 1972, met in the Saudi Arabian city of Ta'if.

This parliament was still occupied according to the old formula 6: 5 Christians to Muslims. Of the MPs, 92 were still alive in 1982 and 78 in 1989. The civil war that broke out in 1975 had repeatedly prevented new or by-elections.

The way to peace

However, the negotiations in Ta'if city dragged on considerably longer than anticipated. Lebanese MPs' visas soon expired. Since the role of Syria in Lebanon was particularly controversial, this topic was initially decoupled from the other negotiations. The discussions on domestic reforms were therefore discussed first, but with the proviso that the agreement reached there should only apply if agreement was also reached on relations with Syria.

The most controversial constitutional amendments were in three areas: (1) the role of the president, (2) the function of speaker of parliament and (3) the fundamental reform of the denominational political system.

The office of president

Since the National Pact of 1943, the office of President was reserved for a Maronite Christian. The prime minister should always be a Sunni Muslim, and the office of parliament speaker should be taken over by a Shiite Muslim.

The president's powers were severely curtailed in Ta'if. Nevertheless, he was not only left with representative functions, but also remained. a. supreme commander of the military . He also received extensive soft powers . Even if he can no longer govern by decree, there are various means available to him to intervene in the political process.

His executive functions were largely transferred to the cabinet. In practice, however, these tasks were mostly performed by the Prime Minister.

The President of Parliament

The strengthening of the office of President of Parliament was extremely controversial. Hussein al-Husseini , who held this office at the time, was able to assert himself here in full. The mandate was extended to four years and its competencies and powers of participation were expanded considerably.

Reform of the denominational political system

The Lebanese political system is based on the division of power among the different denominational groups in the country. A declared aim of some civil war parties, u. a. the PSP was the complete secularization of the political system. Others even demanded complete secularization (including in the social sphere). However, these votes could not prevail. And so only a programmatic commitment was included in the Taif Agreement, since it was everyone's fundamental goal to overcome the denominational system.

Other domestic reforms

Contrary to popular belief, the Taif Agreement does not address the issue of the denominational distribution of offices. The 6: 5 formula has been repealed and replaced by 50% to 50%.

The civil war militias were to be disarmed and dissolved or converted into regular parties, and a new Lebanese army was to be built up (instead of Aoun's troops) with Syrian help.

Relationship with Syria

In terms of foreign policy, “special relations” were agreed between the two countries Lebanon and Syria . This restricted the leeway for Lebanese decisions, ultimately the sovereignty of Lebanon. The agreement provided for the withdrawal of Syrian troops, first to the Bekaa plain and then by mutual agreement. Syria's argument against a withdrawal was that it could only happen as part of a comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East . That means, only after the return of the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel in 1967 - and later annexed - to Syria and after a solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians .

The withdrawal of the Syrian troops took place in 2005 following international pressure after the attack on the vehicle convoy of the Lebanese ex-Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri . Syria has been indirectly blamed by the US and directly by the anti-Syrian Lebanese opposition for the murder of al-Hariri.

Varia

According to Lebanese economist and journalist Marwan Iskandar , ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated on February 14, 2005, drafted the agreement together with Nasri Maalouf , a Lebanese politician, lawyer and linguist, before it was approved by comments from Lebanese politicians and groups received its definitive form.

Web links

literature

  • Theodor Hanf: Coexistence in War. State collapse and emergence of a nation in Lebanon. Nomos-Verlags-Gesellschaft, Baden-Baden 1990, ISBN 3-7890-1972-0 .
  • Marwan Iskandar: Rafiq Hariri and the Fate of Lebanon. Saqi Books, London et al. 2006, ISBN 0-86356-370-8 .
  • Samir Khalaf: Civil and Uncivil Violence in Lebanon. A History of the Internationalization of Communal Conflict. Columbia University Press, New York NY 2002, ISBN 0-231-12476-7 .