By LJ970Thursday January 27, 2011MIDDLE EAST WAR AND PEACE
How much of a banned terrorist organization is too much? That is, effectively, the question the Canadian government has posed about Lebanon
In Gaza, the Conservative government has maintained they will have no truck or trade with a government of Hamas, which it has listed as a banned terror entity. But there’s no black and whitein Lebanon, where the political system is based on sectarian power-sharing and shifting alliances of factions.
So the Canadian government put out a statement Wednesday urging all factions in Lebanon to work together, but also warning it won’t work with the new government if Hezbollah – also a banned terror group – is on top.
With the turmoil in Egypt and Tunisia, the power shift in Lebanon has attracted less attention, though it has also seen angry street protests. Some fear it will have dramatic impact, bringing Lebanon under direct control of Hezbollah, and indirectly, Iran. Because it’s Lebanon, it’s a murky question: some think it’s a much more minor shift. Canada is still gauging whether the new government is a little Hezbollah, or a lot.
The Foreign Affairs Department issued a statement noting that Hezbollah is banned in Canada, and said the government will have “full contact” with non-Hezbollah members of the cabinet, but none with Hezbollah officials. “It will be difficult for Canada to work with a new government if Hezbollah plays a leading role,” it said.
That fear is alive because the fallen, Western-supported government of Saad Hariri is being replaced by Hezbollah-backed prime minister-designate Najib Mikati. The question is whether he’ll be a Hezbollah proxy or another balancer of competing factions.
