LILIT HARUTYUNYAN
The new configuration of Lebanese politics after Rafik Hariri : Fuad Siniora , Saad Hariri and Najib Mikati
On 14 February 2005 , Rafik Hariri was assassinated and the immediate question from the perspective of the Hariri network was the future of the “ Mustakbal ( Future ) movement ”. Saad Hariri became the knot that held together all the strings of power of the Hariri network – personal wealth , the Saudi alliance and “ Sunni leadership ”. Saad Hariri had previously been in charge of parts of the Hariri business empire and nothing in his professional experience marked him out for political leadership . This is further evidence that the neoliberal project of the new contractor bourgeoisie was being mediated by the familiar confessional , clientelist and dynastic dynamics of Lebanese politics .
Saad Hariri became the head of the coalition that was fighting to put Syria out of Lebanon and which had received a boost with Rafik Hariri ’ s assassination . Rafik Hariri had been reluctant to join the opposition against Syria , which included many traditionally anti-Syrian Christians , Walid Jumblatt ’ s Druze as well as a growing secular “ Democratic Left ”, which was fed up with Syrian authoritarianism . Within the confessional logic of Lebanese politics , the fact that Hariri brought “ the Sunnis ” into the opposition camp was significant . The anti-Syrian opposition formed the 14 March coalition , named after the rally staged on that day in 2005 . The 8 March coalition brought together the Shia movements Hezbollah and Amal and the predominantly Christian supporters of Michel Aoun ( who had opposed Syrian influence in Lebanon during the 1990s ). Under the leadership of Saad Hariri , the 14 March coalition achieved the resignation of pro-Syrian Prime Minister Omar Karami , leading to the appointment of Najib Mikati as the interim head of government to oversee the elections in May 2005 . The 14 March coalition achieved their goal of forcing the withdrawal of Syrian troops in April-May 2005 .
Internal confessionalism linked up with the wider agendas of regional and global powers . The USA and France came together to presume Syria ’ s guilt in the Hariri assassination . The two countries had fallen out over the Iraq War in 2003 but there had been a rapprochement when French President Jacques Chirac led the way in putting together UN Security Council Resolution 1559 in September 2004 . 48 The resolution called for Syrian noninterference in Lebanon ’ s presidential elections and the disarmament of all the militias ( mainly Hezbollah ) in Lebanon . Saudi Arabia also joined the international coalition on Lebanon . Through the initiative of these major states , the UN International Independent Investigation Commission ( UNIIIC ) was established by the UN Security Council on 7 April 2005 to investigate
48
International Crisis Group , Syria after Lebanon , Lebanon after Syria , Brussels : ICG , 2005 , 9 .
17