Cedar Revolution of 2005 In Lebanon - Essay Example

? 2005 Cedar Revolution of 2005 in Lebanon Table of Contents Introduction 3 Discussion 3 References 7 Introduction This paper details the Cedar Revolution of 2005 in Lebanon, focusing on the reasons that led to it; how the revolution occurred and the factors that allowed the participants to undertake it; the events, how successful it was. By way of background, the Cedar Revolution of 2005, as it came to be called, is essentially the galvanized action of a large group of protesters who banded together in protest against the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, former prime minister of the country, and what the assassination represented in terms of the perceived control of Syrian forces of the political processes in Lebanon. That the revolution involved Lebanese of various religious denominations and was a spontaneous display of indignation and a latent drive for democracy in the country is what makes the revolution representative of the tide of democratic uprising that swept through the country at that time. Hariri's death is seen as the key event that precipitated the chain of events leading to this revolution (E-Collaborative for Civic Education, 2013; McCarthy, 2005; Follath, 2005; Singh, 2009; Morley, 2005). Discussion The precursor for the revolution, as discussed in the Introduction, is the assassination of former Prime Minister Hariri. The literature tells us that Hariri was in conflict with the political power in Damascus, Syria, and that this conflict was what presaged the assassination, presumably with Syria having a hand in the murder. It is to be noted that Hariri was given credit for undertaking the rebuilding of Lebanon and Beirut in particular after the devastating civil war that gripped the country all the way to 1989. Hariri was popular and his fight with the Syrian power brokers was a proxy fight of a large majority of Lebanese against the control that Syria wielded over the country, so to speak. These are very powerful reasons that powered a groundswell of support for the revolution, and it can be said that the murder of Hariri in this context was the spark that lit the revolutionary fire. That the United States and much of the west pinned the blame for the murder on Syria no doubt provided further justification for the popular revolution. On the other hand, it was the funeral march of Hariri that immediately precipitated the chain of events that led to about 20,000 protesters gathering and marching to Martyr's Square just a few days after, and which then led to the massing of over one million activists by the time that the Syrian sympathizing Prime Minister Omar Karami had resigned and the subsequent announcement of the complete withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon after three decades of continuous presence in the country (E-Collaborative for Civic Education, 2013; Singh, 2009). There are many reasons cited for the success of the massing and the chain of events being effected as described above, but chief among these reasons is the non-violent way with which the protesters dealt with the government forces that were sent their way to try and stop the revolution in its tracks. While it is true that the funeral of Hariri attracted protesters who openly asked for Syria to leave Lebanon, it is also true that the protesters reacted to the sending of troops to Martyr's Square not with violence but with flowers, and this allowed the protesters to deflect the rising tension and gain the moral upper hand in the situation. It helped too that the opposition forces were able to plan and strategize behind the scenes, and played some part in orchestrating the activities that led to the gains that they made in pushing Syrian forces out of Lebanon and forcing Karami to resign (E-Collaborative for Civic Education, 2013; McCarthy, 2005; Follath, 2005; Singh, 2009). On the other hand, from a geopolitical point of view, there are those who push the argument that the US presence in the region, and in particular the presence of US troops that had designs on launching a war with Syria on any credible pretext, also provided some deterrent power to drive the revolution and force Syria to make moves to end its de facto occupation of Lebanon. This camp says that the US was ready to attack Syria for its continued presence in Lebanon, and so Syria had no choice but to remove that pretext for a US invasion and withdraw from Lebanon. In other words, the threat of the use of force of the US to dislodge Syria from Lebanon was instrumental too in providing an environment where the cedar revolution could get underway. To the question therefore of how and what allowed the protesters to succeed in launching the revolution and in achieving what the revolution achieved, it is important to take into consideration not only what was happening internally in the country, but also what was happening from the point of view of the geopolitical maneuverings of Syria, the US and its allies. It can be said, for instance, that the US presence in the region acted as a deterrent against Syria using force to stifle dissent and disperse the massing of the crowds in Martyr's Square (Singh, 2009; McCarthy, 2005). With regard to the success or failure of the revolution, the assessments from various sources are mixed. From one point of view, the revolution was a success, because it resulted in the forced resignation of a prime minister that was known to support Syria, and because it resulted in the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanese soil. The latter can be viewed as a major success, and counts to considering the cedar revolution as a whole to be a wildly successful revolution indeed. On the other hand, other assessments are mixed with regard to what the long-term achievements of the cedar revolution are. Just eight months after the revolution, for instance, the press noted that security was something precarious in the country, and that political figures that lambasted Syria were assassinated too. Feudal politics persisted and was left untouched by the cedar revolution (McCarthy, 2005). The literature notes too, that the tribunal overseeing the prosecution of the officials tagged as being responsible for Hariri's death, subsequently ordered that those same suspects be released. Moreover, by 2009, Lebanese sentiment had turned against the US and in favor of the Hezbollah, in a blow to democratic and western ideals taking root in Lebanon. The conditions have changed to the extent that in effect ,the gains of the Cedar revolution had been effectively wiped out, according to some analyses (Singh, 2009). References E-Collaborative for Civic Education (2013). The Cedar Revolution in Lebanon. Tavaana. Retrieved from http://tavaana.org/en/content/cedar-revolution-lebanon-0 Follath, E. (2005). Lebanon After the Cedar Revolution: Dancing on the Volcano”. Spiegel Online International. Retrieved from http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/lebanon-after-the-cedar-revolution-dancing-on-the-volcano-a-365104.html McCarthy, R. (2005). Lebanon's cedar revolution withers. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/22/syria.lebanon Morley, J. (2005). The Branding of Lebanon's 'Revolution'. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1911-2005Mar2.html Singh, M. (2009). Lebanon's Cedar Revolution ending. Geopolitical Monitor. 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