May 27th, 2008 by Amanda

Just over a week ago Lebanon witnessed violence unseen since the civil war as Hizbullah took control of many parts of the capital. To end the stalemate, both the Siniora government and Shiite leader Hassan Nasrallah met for peace talks in Doha, Qatar, upon which they reached an agreement. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace provides intriguing analysis on the political deal in Lebanon in a teleconference with Marina Ottaway and Paul Salem.

Four days after the factions made a settlement, the election of President Michel Suleiman (something that is widely seen as a victory for Hizbullah) brought a sense of relief for most Lebanese who welcome the filling of the presidential post as a considerable step forward in the creating peace in the country. The Council On Foreign Relations engaged in the topic by interviewing Michael Young at The Daily Star. Although Young does not necessarily see the compromise in Qatar as a win for Hizbullah, he posits that Sunday’s election “will inevitably lead to a new alignment of political parties by next year.”

In a speech at the Presidential swearing in ceremony on Sunday, Nasrallah affirmed his group would not abuse its newfound gains of government control, including its recent acquisition in Doha of the right to veto any cabinet decision. The developments in Lebanon have incited a fury of commentary on the blogosphere and opinion pages.

While Nicholas Blanford at The Daily Star optimistically considers the “potential for compromises if both sides show a degree of flexibility,”Abu Muqawama reacts negatively to Nasrallah’s speech, referring to it as “dumb.” A regular blogger responds, opining that “it looks like they feel they [Hizbullah] can do what ever they want to the Lebanese government and get away with it.”

Visit Bitterlemmons Internaitonal for more in-depth analysis. UPDATE: For a great synopsis of the broader Middle East media response on the Doha agreement, read this BBC report.

Posted in Arab League, Elections, Hezbollah, Islamist movements, Lebanon, Political Parties, Qatar |