History of Lebanon
Syrian Occupation (1991 AD - 2000 AD)
Proxy Regime
The Syrian status quo imposed what became known as the “Taef Accord”. The Arab-League-brokered “Taif Agreement” called for political reforms and for disarming all militias in Lebanon.
On the other hand, it legitimized the Syrian army’s occupation of Lebanon and mentioned only a partial redeployment of the Syrian troops upon the request of the (pro-Syrian) government in Lebanon.
The Syrian-appointed government in Lebanon exiled the Lebanese Premier to France and 'legitimized' the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. Syria took drastic measures to enforce its martial and political presence in Lebanon by occupying more than 90% of Lebanese territory, including the capital, airport, harbors and all major cities.
Syria disarmed most Lebanese militia except for those affiliated with it, such as Hezbollah, Amal and the radical Palestinian militias. The Lebanese army was restrained from performing any major activities and was directed to internal security functions.
The puppet regime of Lebanon amended the Lebanese constitution to allow for the election and renewal of Syrian-imposed presidents in Lebanon. It also drew several agreements with the Syrian regime giving Syria the rights to use Lebanese natural resources and abuse the free-market benefits in Lebanon.
The Lebanese community, especially university students, engineers, physicians, lawyers and workers, started a peaceful revolution to implement the UN Security Council Resolution 520 which calls for Syrian pullout of Lebanon.
Syrian Persecution
90% of the Lebanese population eligible to vote boycotted the Syrian-arranged parliamentary elections that resulted in the puppet parliament of 1992.
This Lebanese popular refusal to legitimize the Syrian occupation of Lebanon was answered by Syrian measures aiming to change the ethnic and religious demography of Lebanon.
Syrians forced their proxy government to naturalize around half of a million Syrians and Palestinians, and granted them the night to vote. That was equivalent to 20% of the population of Lebanon at the time.
This act was rejected by the highest Lebanese judiciary council in 2003, yet around half of a million non-Lebanese people still lived around the world, falsely holding Lebanese citizenship.
Meanwhile, Syrian troops in Lebanon kept protecting 1.5 million illegal Syrian workers, about half the population of Lebanon, which forced more than 35% of the Lebanese to leave their country in search for work.
Israeli Pullout and Hizballah
In the 1990's, with Syria occupying 90% of Lebanon and Israel occupying the remaining 10%, Hezbollah guerrilla gained some popularity as a means of resistance against one of the two occupiers, fighting against the Israeli occupation of Lebanon (for Details).
In May 2000, Israel pulled out of South Lebanon per the UN resolution 425 in respect to the Lebanese international borders. Hezbollah militia refused to disarm and enroll in the civilian social and political life after the Israeli withdrawal, which deprived it from most of its Lebanese popularity.
It occupied the Southern territories that were evacuated by the Israelis, while the Syrian regime prevented the Lebanese army from deploying in these territories. Post Israeli pullout, more national, regional and international voices pressured the Syrian regime to pull its troops out of Lebanon .
The Syrian Baath regime tried to cause conflicts with the United Nations and Israel over the ‘Shebaa Farmland’ in order to keep tension between Lebanon and Israel and to distract the international community from its occupation of Lebanon (for Details).
Some radical and terrorist Palestinian groups who are protected by the Syrian army continued to practice their authority over Palestinian camps in Lebanon and terrorize Lebanese civilians while the Lebanese security lacked any power of control over them.
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