I was listening to a number of BBC stories on the assassination of Rafik Hariri and something came to mind.
One of the commonly heard lines in the US is "Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East."
It's repeated so often that no one really thinks about it.
Even aside from the Palestinian Territories (possibly a democracy but not yet an independent country) and Iraq (ditto), isn't Lebanon a democracy?
For the last decade and a half, it has had competitive elections and peaceful changes of government. It has a free press and a vibrant political system.
I guess the question about the "Israel=only democracy in the region" line is this: is the canard intentional obfuscation or an assumption based on simple ignorance?
5 comments:
I must admit I am one of those people that never thought about it. I just did a quick search and found some writeups on the USAID web page in support of democracy and governance in Lebanon. From reading their PDF file it sounds like most of their work is targetted at improving transparency and accountability at the municipal level and thus improving the spirit of civil society and the climate for democracy.
To be honest with you, bobo, I'd never thought about it either. I knew Lebanon was a democracy, but for some reason, I never made that connection when I heard the 'only democracy in the ME' line.
Well Lebanon does look like a democracy, from bird's eye view. However a bird's eye view would still show you the 14,000 occupying Syrian troups.
Lebanon is a democracy as long as you're willing to ignore the presence of the occuping force.
The press is free as long as it refrains from openly criticizing the Syrian government.
People have free elections as long as they are ready to accept that the vote counts might be tampered with (if the US has problems with counting its own votes, I don't expect Lebanon to be better).
People are free to live their lives as they wish as long as they refrain from demonstrating anti-Syrian sentiment. Otherwise, they disappear, some have their burnt bodies later found in the trunk of their cars. Others are never seen again.
Sounds like a democracy alright.
(I'm from there btw).
Chic Tex , is it correct that, initially, Syria was invited in? They sound like the guest that overstayed their welcome.
Is anyone trying to redefine the "national Pact?
Chic Tex , is it correct that, initially, Syria was invited in? They sound like the guest that overstayed their welcome.
Is anyone trying to redefine the "national Pact?
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