International Relations Expert Dr. Mehmet Turan Çağlar made important statements on Palestinian and Lebanese politics. He stated that Palestinian refugees or groups are a very important part of Lebanese politics and that this continues today as it was in the past.
Altınbaş University Department of International Relations Faculty Member and Middle East expert, Dr. Mehmet Turan Çağlar stated that in order to better understand the relations between Lebanon, Palestine and Israel at the point reached today, it should be examined with its historical dimension. Dr. Mehmet Turan Çağlar reminded that the process started with the civil war in 1975 and mentioned that the 1948 and 1967 wars also had important effects. He explained that at the end of the Arab-Israeli wars, a large number of Palestinian refugees were forced to go to Lebanon, where they began to create their own sociological reality.Noting that many armed groups joined the clashes between the Phalangists and the Palestinians in 1975, Dr. Çağlar said that these clashes continued until 1990 and more than 100,000 people lost their lives.”Therefore, this civil war is a very serious reference point in Lebanese politics.In 1948, about 100,000 Palestinians who were expelled from their lands migrated to Lebanon.”
Underlining that the 1948 and 1967 wars made Lebanon a very important place for the Palestinians, Dr. Caglar said, “This is important not only militarily but also sociologically. Many people had to go to Lebanon after being displaced.Of course, they went to Jordan, they went to Syria, but Lebanon became an important center.So Palestinian refugees or Palestinian groups are a very, very important part of Lebanese politics. This was also the case in the civil war.They are still important for Lebanese politics.”
“France and Syria were influential in Lebanon for many years”
Referring to France’s influence on Lebanon, Çağlar said: “Together with Syria, they were influential in Lebanon for many years.In 1945, Lebanon became a founding member of the Arab League and later joined the United Nations.Lebanon has long experienced high levels of immigration due to the chaos and political instability in the Middle East.Despite this, it has become a center of attraction with its educated population, political and cultural atmosphere.After 1943, it gained its independence, but it clearly maintained its good relations with France.” Stating that France’s influence there continued in some way, Çağlar said that its good relations with the West after 1943 and the fact that Lebanon is a country with a majority Christian population helped to preserve these relations. Stating that this reinforced Lebanon’s image as the “Paris of the East” for a while, Çağlar said, “That is why it was shown as one of the best examples in the Middle East in economic, cultural or social fields.”
“A solution suitable for the cosmopolitan structure was sought. However, problems arose”
Finally, referring to the cosmopolitan structure of Lebanon, Altınbaş University. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Turan Çağlar explained that the Lebanese government wanted to establish a balance by basing this cosmopolitan structure on a constitutional basis as a solution at that time. Çağlar concluded his words as follows: “What does this mean? You have the Maronites as the majority, then you have the Sunnis as the most populous group coming after them. Then there are the Shiites.But the number of officially recognized religious or ethnic groups is 18. They were of the opinion that if a policy of balance could be pursued among these groups, everyone could protect their own identity, their own self-identity, and in this way we could operate the system.The essence of the system was that these groups should form a political structure that could protect their own identities and operate the system through this political structure.This worked for a while, but in the following processes, different problems started to emerge.”
“The mismatch of the legal structure with the sociological reality is pregnant with new political crises”
“Dr. Çağlar reminded that there has never been a population census in Lebanon since 1932, but there have been significant changes in the country’s population distribution due to natural and unnatural causes such as the arrival of Palestinian refugees to Lebanon, the exodus of the upper class Christian masses during the civil war and the changing birth rates of different groups. As of today, the largest population is estimated to be Shiites, followed by Sunnis and then Christians, although each major group claims to be the most populous group in Lebanon. Caglar argued that this estimate calls into question the political basis of Lebanon, saying, “The Maronites, who legally hold the presidency, are no longer the most populous group in the country. Shiites, the most populous group in terms of population, cannot serve as prime minister or president. The incompatibility of the legal structure with sociological reality paves the way for new political crises. When Lebanon’s internal political and economic fragility is combined with Israeli aggression, Lebanon’s hopelessness about its future increases.”
