Whether used as a diversionary tactic or to gain an advantage in the ongoing jostling for majority representation in the upcoming May parliamentary elections, the sharp increase in sectarian innuendo is too dangerous to ignore. Many agree that Lebanon's confessional diversity sharply differentiates the country from its surrounding Arab neighbors, acknowledging that such a religious plurality is more of an asset than a handicap. However, in an environment in which politics is so closely entangled with religion sentiment, any cracks surfacing in this fragile bond could lead to catastrophe. Following a 15-year bloody civil war, Lebanese are hoping they bid farewell to sectarianism and now shudder at the mere thought of going back to that dreadful part of Lebanon's history. In fact, the 1989 Taif Accord was introduced to end the cycle of sectarian violence and ensure proper confessional representation in government and guarantee coexistence among Lebanese of all religions and sects. Orthodox Archbishop Roland Abu Jaoude was visibly shaken and angry Sunday at sectarian remarks floating ever since talks of a new electoral law that would divide Beirut into three confessional electoral districts emerged. Beirut's division has been viewed as an attempt at "clipping" former Premier Rafik Hariri's wings, in essence limiting his dominance in Parliament. This has been further reinforced upon Prime Minister Omar Karami's cancellation last Monday of a Hariri-backed "Conference Palace" project "due to dire economic conditions."
Describing talk of the division as only demagogy, Abu Jaoude said that those speaking a sectarian language are themselves sectarian and can give lessons in it. On Monday, Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh will announce his proposal to the Cabinet, which is expected to endorse the electoral law on Thursday, with the qada to be recommended as the next electoral district. Nabatieh MP Qassem Hashem expressed on Sunday fears that this type of districting will encourage sectarian sentiments, while Tripoli MP Najib Mikati warned that the absence of "state logic" and escalating sectarian language are creating a political atmosphere that is regulated and driven by confessional impulses and not by national interests. Hizbullah officials had warned that reverting to the 1960 qada law would ultimately "polarize" the Parliament and bring into it fundamentalists who do not represent or reflect national sentiments. Nevertheless, Abu Jaoude's remarks were more in reference to remarks made by Beirut MP Nasser Qandil over a week ago when he said that one Christian vote would equal two Muslim votes in the event small electoral districts are adopted, as smaller districts tend to favor minorities.
These remarks were followed by Metn MP Pierre Gemayel's argument during a Phalange Party dinner that "if they have a majority, we have quality." Although Gemayel clarified last week that his statement was in response to political statements made by Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and not based on sectarian considerations, the damage was already done. Karami's political adviser, Khaldoun Sharif attacked Gemayel and his father, former President Amin Gemayel, accusing them of stirring sectarian sentiment. Now, the issue of voting age is threatening to take the sectarian tone to new levels. Last Friday, Baalbek-Hermel MP and former Speaker Hussein Husseini addressed a letter to Franjieh explaining the rules and measures required for the new electoral law. Among the suggestions is a proposed draft constitutional amendment to lower the voting age from 21 to 18.
Such a proposal is not new. It emerged in 1998 and was endorsed by 102 MPs including Husseini and Karami. However, the Parliamentary petition was consequently shelved by Parliament in 2002 because of fears mainly expressed by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir and Christian MPs that the law would radically alter voter ratios in favor of Muslim voters. Sfeir has long contended that Maronites make up the majority of Lebanese emigrants - totaling about eight million - and should be given Lebanese citizenship and be allowed to participate in the electoral ticket in tandem with the reduction of the voting age, in order to maintain the electoral demographic balance. Whatever the face of the new electoral law turns out to be, many are hoping it will not disfigure the current coexistence picture that Lebanese swear and live by.