Organized by the Istanbul Branch of the Center for Economic and Social Research (ESAM), ‘Lebanon’, one of the strategically important countries of the Middle East, was discussed in the ninth seminar of “Turkey and the Geopolitics of the Middle East in the 21st Century”. This week's guest of the series of seminars moderated by Assoc. Dr. Eldar Hasanoğlu was Rize Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of International Relations Faculty Member Dr. Abdulgani Bozkurt. Dr. Bozkurt shared remarkable details about the political structure, historical and cultural aspects of Lebanon and the background of the relations between Lebanon and Turkey.
“CIVIL WAR IN LEBANON CONTINUED FOR 15 YEARS”
Referring to the recent political history of Lebanon, Dr. Abdulgani Bozkurt said, “The Taif Agreement was signed in 1989, which ended the 15-year war in Lebanon. With the Taif Agreement, the weapons of all the militia forces in the country were collected. Only the weapons of the Hezbollah organization were not collected. Why, because the city of Tyre, the stronghold of Hezbollah, is in border point of Lebanon with Israel. Therefore, Hezbollah does not lay down its arms to protect Lebanon against Israel. Hezbollah is increasing its power day by day with the effect of armament. Hassan Nasrallah's son was martyred while he was fighting against Israel. This incident has further increased the public trust in Hezbollah and its prestige over time.”
“DESPITE THE HUGE DIFFERENCES, THERE IS HARMONY IN SOCIAL LIFE”
Saying “When we look at the last 20 years of modern Lebanon, we can see the polarization of two different political alliances, the March 8 and March 14 Movements,” Dr. Abdulgani Bozkurt added, “Today, Lebanese society has learned not to cross each other's borders and to tolerate differences. A small spark can turn into a huge fire in Lebanon. There are camps in social life, the capital Beirut is a city of 2 million people, southern Beirut is like the city of Qom in Iran, there are about 500 thousand Shiites living in this city. In West Beirut, on the other hand, Sunnis are concentrated, and it is possible to compare this place to Istanbul. Christians are dense in East Beirut. This place can be compared to Paris. Businessmen and tradesmen have commercial relations with each other. Despite many different social identities and painful past experiences, social life is generally harmonious.”
“LEBANON IS A COUNTRY THAT EXCLUDED FROM THE ATTENTION OF TURKEY”
Making statements on the relations between Turkey and Lebanon, Dr. Abdulgani Bozkurt said, “Lebanon is not the center of attention of Turkey enough. It is an issue that we cannot understand why, but Lebanon is a country outside of Turkey's interest. When we look at recent history, the Free Movement Agreement signed in 2010 between Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan was a very valuable step. There are almost no groups that Turkey can cooperate with in Lebanon. It seems difficult to develop a harmonious dialogue with Hezbollah, the Future Movement or the parties of the Armenians. There is a party that is considered as the Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, founded by Fethi Yeken, a close friend of Erbakan Hodja. The closest group Turkey is likely to establish relations with is that group, and that group has only 1 deputy. False statements made about the Muslim Brotherhood also cause to miss the opportunity to develop existing contacts in the current situation.”
"ELITES DETERMINE LEBANON'S FOREIGN POLICY"
Dr. Abdulgani Bozkurt said, “Lebanon is a country where elites make decisions and take action in foreign policy. Saad Hariri, son of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005, became rich in Saudi Arabia, so you cannot ignore Saudi Arabia in a political equation involving the Hariri family. Likewise, you cannot keep Iran out of Lebanese politics in the political equation in which Hezbollah is an effective force. Former President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun, formed the army of freedom against Syria and was defeated. When he was defeated against Syria, he fled to France. When you talk about Michel Aaoun, you cannot ignore the influence of France on Lebanon. Since there are too many actors, the course of Lebanese foreign policy cannot be determined.”