Democratic Palestine : 25 (ص 21)
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- Democratic Palestine : 25 (ص 21)
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Lebanon
Cancellation of the Cairo Agreement
On May 2Ist, the Lebanese parlia-
ment ‘unanimously’ passed a resolution
calling for cancellation of the Cairo
agreement signed by the Lebanese
government and the PLO in 1969,
under the auspices of Egypt. However,
a few notes about the nature of this
parliament are in order. Elections were
last held in 1972. Of the 100 deputies
elected at that time, only 85 are still liv-
ing. Of these, only 44 were present at
the session. Together with the speaker
of the house, Hussein Husseini, they
barely constituted the quorum
necessary to pass any resolution. Along
with cancelling the Cairo agreement,
the parliament passed a resolution
cancelling the authorization granted to
the Lebanese government in 1983 to
conclude the May 17th agreement with
‘Israel’.
The very fact that the parliament,
which otherwise so seldom meets, could
convene at this particular time makes it
apparent that a deal had been struck
whereby the two agreements would be
cancelled at the same session. This deal
aimed to equate the Cairo agreement
with the infamous May 17th agreement
of capitulation to ‘Israel’. Equating the
two was an attempt by the ‘humble’
chamber of deputies to indicate that the
price for Lebanese patriots having
abrogated the May 17th agreement was
cancellation of the Cairo agreement.
The Cairo agreement was signed on
November 3, 1969, between the
Lebanese Army’s commander, Emil
Boustani, and the PLO’s chairman,
Yasir Arafat. It was intended to
regulate the Palestinian people’s
military and civilian presence in
Lebanon. The first clause stipulated the
«right of the Palestinians living in
Lebanon to work, residence and
relocation.» The second article stated
that «local committees formed by the
Palestinians in the camps would be
established to safeguard the interests of
these Palestinians, in cooperation with
the local authorities in the domain of
Lebanese sovereignty.» The other
aspect of the accord concerns military
presence, regulating Palestinian
military activities in the camps and in
the South, in cooperation with the
Lebanese authorities. Given the condi-
tions of the civil war in Lebanon,
where Palestinian camps have been
repeatedly attacked by ‘Israel’, the
Lebanese fascists and more recently
other sectarian forces, the civilian
aspect of the accord has no meaning
whatsoever without the military aspect.
REACTIONS
Before discussing the why’s of the
Cairo agreement’s cancellation, a quick
review of the reactions to this may
provide an initial understanding of the
reasons for the cancellation. The
deputies who took it upon themselves to
cancel the Cairo agreement represent
two main trends. The first is the trend
supportive of the Amal movement. The
second is supportive of the Phalangist
Party and Lebanese Forces militia. The
cancellation is thus one result of the
undeclared alliance between these two
trends, based on sectarianism and an-
tagonism to any Palestinian presence
in Lebanon.
The fascist forces were quick to
welcome the ‘historical’ resolution of
the parliament. Phalangist Party
President George Saadeh viewed the
cancellation as a «materialization of the
true Lebanese people’s will...» In turn,
Amal’s reaction was an extension of
their policies and role. Amal President
Nabih Berri justified the parliament’s
decision as «self-defense»! Other Amal
officials voiced their approval of the
decision as a step towards ending
Lebanon’s calamities!
In contrast, the Lebanese patriotic
and progressive forces voiced their op-
position to this decision, in line with
their nationalist policies. The parlia-
ment’s decision came as a shock to
Lebanese patriotic circles. Walid
Jumblatt, president of the Progressive
Socialist Party, said that «cancelling
the Cairo agreement means telling the
Palestinians to throw down their guns
and submit to massacres.» Other na-
tionalist forces responded in a similar
vein, considering the cancellation as a
conspiracy against the Palestinian
people. The Lebanese Communist Par-
ty termed the cancellation a «free gift to
the internal and external enemies who
are betting on the US-Zionist projects
and new Israeli aggression to tip the
balance of forces in their favor.»
WHAT THE
CANCELLATION MEANS
The sectarian alliance that succeeded
in cancelling the agreement had a
number of interrelated motives: First,
they aimed at achieving a political vic-
tory to make up for the consistent
military defeats they have suffered.
This political victory is intended to lay
the groundwork - now a legal ground-
work - for fighting the Palestinian
presence in Lebanon, military and
civilian alike.
Second, by cancelling the accord, the
sectarian alliance hopes to eliminate an
obstacle to a sectarian solution in
Lebanon. The Palestinians are con-
sidered an obstacle because of their
alliance with the Lebanese nationalist
and progressive forces, and_ their
history of participation in the struggle
in Lebanon against the fascist forces,
imperialist domination and Zionist oc-
cupation. At the same time, the
cancellation would pave the way for a
deal. on the regional level, that would
grant the Zionist enemy the security ar-
rangements it desires.
Third, in view of the possibility of
the convening of an international con-
ference on the Middle East, the sec-
tarian forces aim to cut the PLO’s in-
fluence down to size, to prevent it from
attaining an independent and special
role in such a conference. The PLO’s
presence in South Lebanon gives it
military and political weight considered
undesirable by other parties promoting
the conference, i.e., the US, ‘Israel’ and
Arab reaction.
Fourth, the cancellation is a gratuity
offered to the US and ‘Israel’ in an at-
tempt to stop the pressure which the
imperialist-Zionist alliance exerts on
Lebanon to stop the growth of the
Lebanese national resistance in the
South, and the return of greater
numbers of Palestinian fighters who
participate in this resistance struggle.
Fifth, and possibly the main issue, is
that it is not simply an agreement that
has been cancelled. Rather the intent is
to cancel the entire phase that produced
it, namely the phase of the rise of the
Arab national liberation movement in
the region as a whole.
The cancellation of the Cairo
agreement occurred a few weeks after
the unifying Palestinian National >»
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