Lebanon’s former head of General Security Jamil al-Sayyed, who spent four years in jail because of his alleged role in the killing of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri, has launched a campaign to end the power-sharing arrangement between Shi’ites, Sunnis and Druze. This would effectively pave the way for Hezbollah to take control, turning the secular, pro-Western state into a religious proxy of Iran.

Al-Sayyed is presenting his proposal as turning Lebanon into a fully-fledged federal state and as a way of avoiding the current political stalemate.

“The current crises taking place in Lebanon – the last of which is failure to elect a new president after failing to form a government for nearly a year without foreign intervention, and after the sectarian power struggle and power-sharing struggle around various areas in the state – prove that the Constitution of Taif, which was implemented during the Syrian presence [in Lebanon ] between 1990- 2005, is non-applicable unless there is a guardianship or external or regional consensus,” Sayyed said in a statement.

However, this proposal is more about edging out Sunni and Druze from the political and military elite in the country, according to The Israel Project Director of Research David Harris.

“Al-Sayyed and his friends in Hezbollah believe the Shi’ites to be the largest population bloc in Lebanon today but Taif and other constitutional laws ensure that all religious groupings are respected in Lebanon and minorities have rights. Canceling Taif would end those guarantees and effectively hand the state over to an internationally-designated terrorist organization that does Iran’s bidding in Syria, in Lebanon, against Israel and around the world.”

The former security chief has a track record of pro-Iranian, pro-Syrian and anti-Western activity.

[Photo: Sahar Ahmed / Wiki Commons]