FEATURE-Act now for a new Lebanon, says stage star
Source: Reuters
By Tom Perry BEIRUT, March 14 (Reuters) - Lebanese actor Rafik Ali Ahmed says his country's sectarian politics is like a torn pair of trousers -- it needs to be changed. In his one-man play "Scandal", Ahmed rails against the sectarian splits in state and society which are the cause of Lebanon's history of civil conflict. He has won standing ovations from audiences in Beirut. "At the end of each civil war, we always say: 'Let there be no victor and no vanquished. Come, let's patch up the situation'," said Ahmed, who draws on his own life story in the play. "This system is a torn pair of trousers which are beyond repair. We must change these trousers." "Scandal" has resonated with theatre-goers as Lebanon suffers its worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. Many Lebanese have feared a return to civil conflict. The standoff between rival politicians has sparked lethal street violence between their supporters and opened a rift between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims whose leaders are on opposite sides of the political chasm. "Scandal" echoes a decades-old demand for the abolition of sectarian politics, which critics say has condemned Lebanon to instability since independence in 1943. The system allocates state posts according to sect, guaranteeing representation for the array of religious communities that were lumped together by France when it drew Lebanon's borders in the early 20th Century. But critics say it has done more to divide than unite Lebanese. Mistrustful of each other, the sects have often had closer ties to foreign governments than to each other. "CAR FOR SALE BY MARONITE OWNER" Alliances with foreign states, themselves vying for regional position, have complicated rivalries between Lebanese. The trend has been repeated in the current crisis with Iran and Syria backing one side and Saudi Arabia, the United States and France supporting the other. "I say: 'Behind every Lebanese politician, there is a foreign politician, screwing him and us,'" Ahmed said, speaking at his favourite cafe on Beirut's seafront. His audience, drawn from Lebanon's range of religious communities, is a model of what Lebanese society should look like, united in its call for an end to sectarianism, he said. Lebanese leaders often say they want an end to the system. But no progress has been made towards its abolition -- a goal written into the Taif Accord which ended the civil war in 1990. "Who made the Taif Accord? They were the very same warlords -- the leaders of the sects. It would be stupid for them to abolish sectarianism because it would harm their essential interests," Ahmed said. If Lebanon's politicians, often likened to tribal chiefs, will not change the system, then society must act, he said. "Stop sectarianism before it stops us" is the message of a media campaign by civil society group 05amam. The campaign has depicted sectarianism as both absurd and dangerous. "Car for sale by Maronite owner," reads one spoof advert placed by the group in a newspaper. "Never driven by non-Maronites," it adds. Another touts homes in a building with "all Sunni residents" and a "Beautiful view on Sunni area". "We were overwhelmed by phone calls. People were asking: 'Does this really exist?," activist Khodor Mekkaoui said. "WE ARE GOING BACKWARDS" "I lived in the UK for 15 years. All my Lebanese friends there came from different sects. Not once did we discuss religious background," he said. But in Lebanon sectarianism was now more entrenched, especially with the main Sunni and Shi'ite leaders at political odds, he said. Paul Sawaya, an activist with a group called the Peace Initiative, said it was ultimately up to politicians to act. "It needs more than civil society," said Sawaya, 31. Like many Lebanese, he has decided to leave Lebanon to work abroad. "One of the reasons that made me go is the political deadlock and the feeling that we are going backwards and not seeing bold initiatives to finally build a real state," he said. But Ahmed has not lost hope, encouraged by the popularity of his play to believe that change is possible. "A dream -- why is it a dream? I am asking for my right to live in peace, the most simple of human rights."
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