BEIRUT: The 1989 Taif Agreement will be under scrutiny during a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the deal, which ended 15 years of bloody civil war. Organized by the Civil Center for National Initiative and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Foundation, “The Taif Agreement 25 Years Later,” conference was launched Wednesday at the Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut.
Lebanese politicians from across the political spectrum, along with Arab and foreign officials, will take part in discussion sessions scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
“Based on our bylaws, we in the Civil Center try to clarify the national position on hot topics, and the Document of National Accord, known as the ‘Taif Agreement,’ is a topic that is still on the table for implementation and evaluation,” said Talal Husseini, head of CCNI.
“It will be, as we hope, a frank heart-to-heart meeting because we all have a common fate,” Husseini added, in a speech he delivered during the launching of the conference.
According to organizers, the conference aims to explain the Lebanese national position on the key 1989 agreement from the perspective of the Lebanese state and its people.
Also among its goals is uncovering the position of the international community and countries that have influence in Lebanon.
Brokered by Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and Syria, the agreement finally brought peace to Lebanon after a civil war that left much of the country in tatters.
But many of its provisions have yet to be implemented, including the abolishment of political sectarianism, balanced development across Lebanon and the drafting of a parliamentary election law ensuring fair representation.
“It is my duty as a Lebanese and I am fulfilling it,” Husseini said in separate remarks to The Daily Star, commenting on the organizing of the conference.
Husseini said that all of the political parties had a desire to determine the national stance on the Taif Agreement, and that this explained their willingness to participate in these discussions.
“Eleven parties are participating, not including civil society groups,” Husseini explained. “We are committed to accepting all opinions, on the condition that talks will be frank.
“If this small step turns out to be on the right track, we will see how to move on to further steps.”
Taking part in the four discussion panels Thursday will be representatives of 11 Lebanese political groups, international officials, religious figures from Lebanon’s various sects and representatives of civil society organizations.
The relevance of the Taif Agreement and whether it could be applied in other regional contexts will be examined Friday.
An assessment of the Taif Agreement and details on how it was prepared and formulated will come next, followed by recommendations and a conclusion.
Among speakers Wednesday were former Speaker Hussein Husseini, known as the “father of the Taif Agreement,” U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly and Achim Vogt, FES’s resident director.
Plumbly highlighted the need for Lebanon to protect the achievements of the Taif Agreement amid regional turmoil.
“If the organizers succeed through this conference in prompting national discussion about what actions are urgently needed now to protect and sustain the resilience Lebanon has shown over the 25 years since Taif, and especially in the three-and-a-half years since the start of the Syrian conflict, they will have done a great service,” he said.
He went on to reiterate the international community’s firm support for Lebanon.
“We will help. We are keenly interested in the success of your efforts to sustain the institutions of state, to maintain stability. But after 25 years we look to you yourselves to come together and take – in a spirit of unity – the decisions necessary to continue to keep Lebanon safe and to set it on course for a still better future.”
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