[WCUSP] Fw: Lebanese Communists seek secularist allies

[Libby or Mort Frank]

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Sent: Monday, December 25, 2006 1:25 AM
Subject: Lebanese Communists seek secularist allies


> Communist Party says pact with Fpm is about secularism
> Protest 'has developed into a sectarian conflict'
>
> By Nour Samaha
> Daily Star staff
> Saturday, December 23, 2006
> http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=77925
>
> BEIRUT: The Lebanese Communist Party (LCP) and the Free
> Patriotic Movement (FPM) signed a memorandum of
> understanding on December 7, 2006, as a result of a
> mutual goal of combating sectarianism in Lebanon,
> according to the LCP's number two. In an exclusive
> interview with The Daily Star, LCP Vice President,
> Saadallah Mazraani said that despite maintaining
> distance from the current anti-government
> demonstrations, the party feels it necessary to join
> forces with any secular party in the country.
>
> The LCP has so far maintained a quiet role amid the
> noise and uncertainty surrounding the anti-government
> demonstrations. It has made a point of not
> participating at the sit-in, and only once partaking in
> a march to the demonstration, but not actually setting
> up camp like the rest of the protesters.
>
> The memorandum of understanding between the LCP and the
> FPM comes at a time when the idea of a secular state
> seems impossible to create with the widening divide
> between the differing religious sects.
>
> The paper itself highlights six main points, including
> the formation of a temporary government in order to
> introduce a new electoral law based on proportional
> representation; a secular, democratic state; fighting
> bribery and corruption; peaceful coexistence to
> eliminate sectarianism; condemning the use of political
> assassinations; and establishing normal diplomatic
> relations with Syria as two sovereign states.
>
> "In comparison to the other, more traditional, parties
> in Lebanon, the FPM is relatively new and open to
> alternative options. Unlike the other parties present
> at the demonstration, it, like us, is based on secular
> principles, believing that the root of the corruption
> our country faces is sectarian divisions," Mazraani
> said.
>
> The LCP is clear about the fact that it wants the
> government to resign in order to begin the
> establishment of a non-corrupt, secular state, but it
> feels that the demonstrations do not represent the
> Communist demands and at the same time are not
> achieving the goals desired by the opposition.
>
> "We are against the current government and its
> policies," explained Mazraani, "but we are not taking
> part in the demonstration with the opposition for
> several reasons.
>
> "First we don't agree with the way it has been
> executed. We find that the demands are insufficient for
> us to participate, and it has also developed into a
> sectarian conflict, which we want nothing to do with.
> In my opinion, even if the opposition gains the vetoing
> third, it will only be a temporary solution, as it does
> not solve the underlying problems in the country."
>
> According to Mazraani, the opposition should have acted
> differently. "I think they went about it the wrong way;
> they should have gone to the streets with everything
> they wanted - the third, the unity government, the
> early elections, the documents surrounding the recent
> war - rather than limiting themselves to the one demand
> about the third and then waiting to see how the
> government will respond," he said.
>
> "Now they're stuck, because they asked for the third
> and the government said no. So where does that leave
> them? In addition, the opposition has also turned it
> into a sectarian issue."
>
> Sectarianism is a major concern for the Communist
> party, who base their entire manifesto on the creation
> of a completely secular state. In their opinion,
> corruption, unemployment, and the dire socio-economic
> situation Lebanon currently faces are due directly to
> the sectarian divisions present and flourishing.
>
> "During the war, Hizbullah gained a lot of support for
> the resistance against Israel, not only from the
> Shiites, and the Future Movement lost some of theirs.
> But the current demonstrations have been turned, by the
> opposition, into a sectarian war, meaning that those
> from other sects that previously supported Hizbullah no
> longer feel they can, and the support that Future lost
> has now been regained."
>
> "This is one of the main reasons why we signed this
> document of understanding with the FPM, rather than
> anyone else. Even though they are part of the
> opposition, they are not part of the March 8th
> coalition - they are an independent entity," Mazraani
> continued.
>
> He elaborated that one of the hopes of the LCP is to
> create a "national committee for the eradication of
> sectarianism," with the help of the FPM.
>
> The LCP has not had a representative in Parliament in
> recent years, primarily due to the fact that the
> majority of their supporters are in the South, which is
> a Hizbullah-Amal stronghold. In previous elections they
> have aligned themselves with the FPM in North Lebanon,
> but did gain any seats. The party's current membership
> totals a mere 10,000 people.
>
> "If we were partnering with a major party on the hopes
> of strengthening our voter percentage," said Mazraani,
> "we would've signed the understanding with another
> party, like Hizbullah, where we would have a chance to
> gain seats.
>
> "This understanding with the FPM is not about votes or
> the elections. It is merely the first step of many to
> the creation of a civil, democratic, secular state. The
> FPM shares this image of Lebanon, and we hope that
> eventually, the other parties will too."
>
> - With additional reporting by Samer Arzouni
>
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