Taif Agreement Totally Explained

Everything about The Taif Agreement totally explained

The Taif Agreement (Arabic: اتفاقية الطائف) (also "National Reconciliation Accord," or "Document of National Accord") was an agreement reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon." Negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia, it was designed to end the decades-long Lebanese civil war, politically accommodate the demographic shift to a Muslim majority, reassert Lebanese authority in South Lebanon (then occupied by Israel), and legitimize the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. It was signed on October 22, 1989 and ratified on November 4, 1989.

Overview

The treaty was negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia by the surviving members of Lebanon's 1972 parliament; fathered by Parliament Speaker President Hussein El-Husseini. The agreement covered political reform, the ending of the Lebanese Civil War, the establishment of special relations between Lebanon and Syria, and a framework for the beginning of complete Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon.
   The agreement restructured the National Pact political system in Lebanon by transferring some of the power away from the Maronite Christian community, which had been given a privileged status in Lebanon under French colonial rule. Prior to Taif, the Sunni Muslim Prime Minister was appointed by and responsible to the Maronite President. After Taif the Prime Minister was responsible to the legislature, as in a traditional parliamentary system. At the time of the Taif negotiations, a Maronite Christian Prime Minister, General Michel Aoun, had controversially been appointed by President Amine Gemayel, contrary to the National Pact.
   The agreement also provided for the disarmament of all national and non national militias. All have disarmed apart from the Shiite Hezbollah and the non-Lebanese Fatah and Hamas, PFLP-GC. The Hezbollah was allowed to stay armed in its capacity as a "resistance force" rather than a militia, fighting Israel in the south, a privilege obtained, according to Magnus Ranstorp, in part by using its leverage as holder of a number of Western hostages, Hezbollah remained armed and in control of the area after Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. Although the Taif Agreement identified the abolition of political sectarianism as a national priority, it provided no timeframe for doing so. The Chamber of Deputies was increased in size to 128 members, shared equally between Christians and Muslims, rather than elected by universal suffrage that would have provided a Muslim majority (excluding the expatriate community, a majority of which is Christian). A cabinet was established similarly divided equally between Christians and Muslims.
   The agreement was ratified on November 4, 1989. Parliament met on the following day at Qoleiat air base in North Lebanon and elected President Rene Mouawad 409 days after Amine Gemayel vacated this position upon the expiration of his term in 1988. Mouawad was unable to occupy the Presidential Palace which was still in use by General Michel Aoun. Mouawad was assassinated 17 days later in a car bombing in Beirut on November 22 as his motorcade returned from Lebanese independence day ceremonies. He was succeeded by Elias Hrawi, who remained in office until 1998.

United States action and the Cedar Revolution

On May 11, 2004, President of the United States George W. Bush signed an Executive Order implementing sanctions on Syria pursuant to the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003. United States sanctions against Syria were threatened, since (in part) "Syria maintains a military presence in Lebanon inconsistent with the spirit of the 1989 Taif Accords". United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 was adopted by the United Nations Security Council on September 2, 2004, echoing many elements of the Taif Agreement.
   After the Cedar Revolution's mass demonstrations calling for Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon in February, 2005, the Syrian deputy foreign minister Waleed Al-Mualem said "the important withdrawals that have been carried out so far and will be carried out later will be done in agreement with Lebanon against the backdrop of the Taif Agreement and the mechanisms it entails." A White House spokesman emphasised UN Security Council Resolution 1559 in a February 25, press briefing.
   During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict the Lebanese Cabinet agreed in an extraordinary session to adhere to the Taif Accord when dealing with international negotiators. However, Energy Minister Mohammad Fneish, a member of Hezbollah argued that the ongoing military crisis had surpassed the Taif Accord and UN Security Council Resolution 1559, so the accord is no longer a document of national agreement. Iran's significant role in the region shouldn't be ignored, he added.
   The 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict came to an end with a ceasefire under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. Paragraph 3 of this resolution specifies that the Security Council ť "Emphasizes the importance of the extension of the control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory in accordance with the provisions of resolution 1559 (2004) and resolution 1680 (2006), and of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, for it to exercise its full sovereignty, so that there will be no weapons without the consent of the Government of Lebanon and no authority other than that of the Government of Lebanon"

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