Recent Political Changes in the Middle East - Coursework Example

 Much has changed in the Middle East since 2009, there have been several protests, and these protests have been both major as well as minor. Countries like Egypt, Tunisia and a few others have suffered the most because of these protests, the civil war in Libya has resulted in a lot of damage, and it has also claimed many a life. The turmoil in the Middle East is just a sign of things which may follow. This paper will shed light upon the condition of Lebanon after 2009, the relationship of the country with its neighbors will also be comprehensively presented in this paper, how the country is expected to far in the near future will also be presented in this paper. Arab Spring when translated means Arab Revolutions is a wave of revolution in the Arab World, the aim of this Arab Spring is to protest against the regime which is being followed in several Arab countries. People have also effectively used social networking websites to take their protest to another level; websites like Facebook and Twitter have been used to raise awareness and to bring down the regime which is being followed in several of these Arab countries. 18 December 2010 was the exact date when the Arab awakening picked up pace, it was in Tunisia that the people first started protesting against the ill-treatment and the corrupt policemen. This wave of unrest picked pace and spread to other Arab countries triggering war like circumstances in several Arab countries. The general elections in Lebanon which took place in 2009 hogged the limelight, the minimum age to vote was 21 that time, the age was to be changed from 21 to 18 but this required a constitutional bill to be passed which did not happen and things remained as they were, completely unchanged. After much ado the government was formed in Lebanon in the year 2009 but the government could not survive for too long, the same government fell in the year 2011 when 11 ministers who formed an integral part of the government withdrew their support. A lot of other significant developments also took place during 2009 and 2011. In February 2009 Lebanon fired two rockets which were aimed towards northern Israel, the two countries have not had the best of relationships in the past and this development made their relationship even worse, they were at loggerheads once again. This event was not the first of its kind, the two countries have been exchanging rocket strikes for quite some time now, this was the third of its kind during 2009. Hezbollah group has been actively involved in such strikes but on that occasion they clearly came forward and denied any such wrong doing, Palestinian militant groups are also very active in Lebanon and it was believed that they were behind this rocket strike which deteriorated the relationship of Lebanon and Israel even further. This was just the tip of the iceberg, the country faced several other major issues in the year 2009, and its relationship with other Arab countries remained the highlight throughout the year. Much has also happened in Syria since 2009, most of the Arab countries have been in real turmoil. Mass protests have been happening in the country since 2009, the country has reported cases of self-immolation which is very shocking to know, and people set themselves on fire when they feel they are incapable of fighting against corruption and incapable of bringing about a positive change in their society. Several deaths also took place in the country, the no of deaths is still unknown, and this only goes to show the extent of destruction in the country. The mass protest in the country forced the security forces to put their force to work and the same resulted in deaths of many innocent people who wanted a positive change in their country. Emergency law was into effect in Syria which was later lifted when the situation only got worse; the lifting of the emergency law did absolutely nothing to restore the peace in the country, after a few days about 100 people were killed which also marked the biggest bloodshed in the entire history of Syria. The funeral proceedings of those who died did not go on smoothly, men with sniper rifles interrupted the proceedings which only meant more chaos in the country. Several more changes took place in the country, the border with Jordan was completely closed to prevent any sort of infiltration, phone lines were cut in the country bringing the communication system to a standstill and the killings of innocent people did not halt, more people were killed for protesting and trying to bring about a change in their country. “Syria and Iran have both been supporting Hezbollah; the warfare against Israel is the most important purpose of supporting Hezbollah.” (Mehdi Khalaji) Hezbollah has been complexly supported by both Syria as well as Lebanon. “Hezbollah has conducted several strikes against Israeli forces in Lebanon.” (Robert Pape) Predicting the Future Israel and Lebanon have always had a fragile relationship, it is very normal for Lebanon to anticipate an attack from Israel, in which case the country should be in a position to retaliate, it would cause a lot of damage, many soldiers and people are ought to die. Israel is expected to become aggressive in the near future; appropriate measures should be taken to damage limitation, Hezbollah is another factor which could directly impact on the stability of Lebanon, he has a parallel army, the no of people are unknown and its ultimate capacity and power are also unknown which is quite a challenging situation, it is very important for Lebanon to sort out its internal factors first rather than trying to sort out its external factors, disarming Hezbollah should be its priority, once this happens the country would become a lot more stable and will surely grow in the near future. Hezbollah can easily cause domestic instability and such instability will have serious ramifications on the overall growth of the country, such instability is also likely to take away several lives, it has happened in the past and it may happen in the future also. “Many people agree that ending sectarianism is the fairest way forward for Lebanon, but it is a step that must be taken with great caution and planning. Lebanon is experiencing stability right now, and significant economic gains along with it. But the country has only been at peace for about a year now and nothing guarantees that it will stay that way.” (Two Issues for the Future) Conclusion The political tension which was a very long standing problem was brought to an end by signing the Doha agreement; the agreement brought the turmoil to an abrupt end. It was very important to put an end to the devastation. “The agreement brought about several important changes, the introduction of the speaker in the parliament was the first important step, a national unity government was also formed after the Doha agreement.” (The Doha Agreement) The agreement also prohibited the people from adopting violent ways; it was an agreement which was introduced to put an end to the violence in the country. “An international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the slaying of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri opened in the Netherlands on Sunday with officials observing a moment of silence.” (Special Court Opens) The Prime Minster was murdered in cold blood and the investigation is still on. “In late 2005, an investigation team approved by the United Nations and headed by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis found, after seven months of research, that Syrian security forces and high-ranking Lebanese officials were in fact responsible for the Hariri murder.” (New Evidence Points to Hezbollah) “The UN was in complete support of the agreement;” (UN Hails) Other major international bodies also supported this agreement. “Countries like Germany, United States and others also supported this agreement.” (Doha Agreement) The country has been experiencing growth after the Doha agreement; President Michel Sleiman has been doing his bit to improve the condition of the country. People still gather in numbers but for non-political reasons, they have started celebrating various festivals and this goes to show that the people are living in complete harmony. The Doha agreement brought about several desirable changes and should have been introduced much earlier, it could have saved many lives, better late than never. Works Cited “Doha Agreement.” US Welcomes Doha Agreement. n.p., Web. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/21/content_8223072.htm (accessed 20 July 2011) Mehdi Khalaji, "Iran's Shadow Government in Lebanon" (PolicyWatch 1124, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, July 19, 2006), available at www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2489 (accessed 20 July 2011) “New Evidence Points to Hezbollah.” Breakthrough in Tribunal Investigation. n.p., Web. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,626412,00.html (accessed 20 July 2011) Robert Pape, Dying to Win (New York: Random House, 2005), 265-81. “Special Court Opens.” Hariri Assassination. n.p., Web. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2009/03/01/hariri-tribunal.html (accessed 20 July 2011) “Two Issues for the Future.” Sectarianism. n.p., Web. http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/03/12/855/ (accessed 20 July 2011) The Doha Agreement. Lebanon Now. n.p., Web. http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=44023 (accessed 20 July 2011) UN Hails. Doha Agreement on Lebanon. n.p., Web. http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/56911.html (accessed 20 July 2011) Read More