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A small, mountainous country, Lebanon was under French mandate until independence in

1943. Its population is a mixture of hristian sects, !unni "uslims, !hia "uslims, #ru$e

and others, ha%in& been a refu&e for the re&ion's persecuted minorities.

(o%ernment structures are di%ided between the %arious &roups. Lebanon has also seen

se%eral lar&e influxes of )alestinian refu&ees, most of whom ha%e limited le&al status.

From 19*+ until the early 199s Lebanon suffered a bloody ci%il war in which re&ionalpowers - particularly Israel, !yria and the )alestine Liberation r&anisation - used the

country as a battlefield for their own conflicts.

AT-A-GLANCE

A country full of promise after civil war between

1975 and 1990, Lebanon was again hit by war in

200

Politics: A power!sharing deal ensures political

representation for all ma"or religious blocs# the

unity government formed in 2009 includes

ministers from across the political spectrum

International: An e$panded multinational %&

 peace'eeping force is being deployed to police a

ceasefire between (srael and )e*bollah in

southern Lebanon

+imeline

!yrian troops mo%ed in shortly after the war started. Israeli troops in%aded in 19*/ and

a&ain in 19/0 before pullin& bac to a self-declared 2security $one2 in the south from

which they withdrew in "ay 0.!yria exerts considerable political clout in Lebanon, althou&h it withdrew its troops in

0+, endin& a 09-year military presence.

his followed the assassination in eirut of former prime minister 5afi 6ariri . Lebanese

&roups then in opposition accused !yria of in%ol%ement7 #amascus denied the char&e.

6u&e pro- and anti-!yria rallies were held in eirut, tri&&erin& the &o%ernment's downfall

and the !yrian pullout. he 6ariri case appeared to ha%e taen a ma8or step forward on 1

"arch 09 when an international court into the illin& opened in the 6a&ue.

y autumn 01, the issuin& of indictments o%er the 6ariri illin& was thou&ht to be

imminent, raisin& fears that if the :-led tribunal accuses the !yrian- and Iranian-baced

militant !hia &roup 6e$bollah of in%ol%ement in his murder, this could spar off a new

round of sectarian conflict.POLITICAL PARTIES

March 14 ! oalition that retained parliamentary

ma"ority in -une 2009 elections# pro!western

members pushed for e$it of .yrian forces# named

after mass demonstrations that followed 'illing

of e$!premier /afi' )ariri

Hezollah ! ro!.yrian .hia political party with

a large armed wing that resisted (srael in the war

of -uly 200 +he %nited .tates consider it to bea terrorist organisation

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A!al ! ro!.yrian .hia political party led by

 parliamentary .pea'er &abih erri# allied with

)e*bollah

"ree Patriotic Mo#e!ent ! Largely hristian

 party led by former army chief 3ichel Aoun# has

ties with )e*bollah

he : has demanded the dismantlin& of all armed &roups in Lebanon, includin&

)alestinian militias and the military win& of 6e$bollah, which controls much of southern

Lebanon.

;hen 6e$bollah militia sei$ed two Israeli soldiers in a raid in <uly 0=, Israel responded

with a 34-day military offensi%e and a blocade. Around 1, Lebanese, most of them

ci%ilians, were illed. he dama&e to ci%ilian infrastructure was wide-ran&in&.

International peaceeepers were drafted in to help police a :-broered ceasefire. ut

6e$bollah's leader has re8ected calls for the mo%ement to disarm and political di%isions in

eirut cloud the issue of what should be done about the &roup's military presence in the

south.

;ith its hi&h literacy rate and traditional mercantile culture, Lebanon has traditionally

been an important commercial hub for the "iddle >ast.

FACTS

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• Full name: he Lebanese 5epublic

• Population: 4.3 million ?:, 01@

• Capital: eirut

• Area: 1,4+0 s m ?4,3= s miles@

• Major language: Arabic

• Major religions: Islam, hristianity

• Life expectancy: *1 years ?men@, *+ years ?women@ ?:@

• Monetary unit: 1 Lebanese pound ?or lira@ B 1 piastres

• Main exports: Foodstuffs and tobacco

• GNI per capita: ! C*,9* ?;orld an, 09@

• Internet omain: .lb

• International ialling coe: D9=1

L!A"!#S

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Presient: "ichel !uleiman

he Lebanese parliament finally elected (eneral "ichel !uleiman as president in "ay

0/ after six months of political stalemate that followed the departure of the pre%ious

president, >mile Lahoud, in :o%ember 0*.

resident .uleiman4s refusal to ta'e sides has

won him respect

he a&reement that pa%ed the way for his election ended some of the worst factional

%iolence since Lebanon's 19*+-199 ci%il war.

As mountin& clashes raised fears of a renewed ci%il war, the ;estern-baced &o%ernment

and the 6e$bollah-led opposition a&reed on (eneral !uleiman - the head of the country's

armed forces - as a compromise candidate.

n tain& office, the new president hailed the openin& of a new phase in Lebanese

history, sayin& that his fellow countrymen had 2refused to succumb to self-destruction2.

(eneral !uleiman stood unopposed for the presidency, and is widely seen as a unifyin&

fi&ure, whose apparent neutrality has earned him the respect of both sides of the political

di%ide. 6e is credited with ha%in& ept the army on the sidelines in times of political

crisis.

6e is a "aronite hristian, and so his election also met the reuirement of Lebanon's

complex power-sharin& system that the presidency should be held by a member of that

sect.

Prime minister$esignateE :a8ib "iati

:a8ib "iati was appointed as Lebanon's prime minister-desi&nate on 0+ <anuary 011.

6e was ased to form a new &o%ernment after winnin& the support of a ma8ority of

members of parliament.

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3r 3i'ati describes himself as a moderate

he wealthy !unni businessman was nominated for the post by the !hia Islamistmo%ement 6e$bollah, followin& the collapse of the national unity &o%ernment headed by

!aad 6ariri.

6e$bollah toppled "r 6ariri after he refused to end co-operation with the : tribunal

in%esti&atin& the assassination of his father, 5afi, in 0+. 6e$bollah members ha%e

reportedly been implicated in the illin&.

A former prime minister, "r "iati is seen as a relati%ely neutral fi&ure who is acceptable

to ey re&ional power broers lie !yria and !audi Arabia.

he ++-year-old telecoms tycoon first entered politics in 199/ and was last elected to

parliament in 09 as an ally of "r 6ariri.

6e describes himself as a moderate who is dedicated to the unity of Lebanon. In an

inter%iew with the , "r "iati insisted that althou&h he needed the %otes of 6e$bollahand its allies, he remained independent.

It is not nown if "r "iati will end the &o%ernment's co-operation with the !pecial

ribunal for Lebanon ?!L@, as demanded by 6e$bollah.

M!"IA

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Lebanon's broadcastin& scene is well-de%eloped, li%ely and di%erse, reflectin& the

country's pluralism and di%isions.

It was the first Arab country to permit pri%ate radio and tele%ision stations. ut the

&o%ernment has a say o%er who may operate stations and whether or not they can

broadcast news. !e%eral stations are owned by leadin& politicians.

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ourting controversy )e*bollah4s Al!3anar +6

200 +6 station put on %. terror list

)ress freedom body 5eporters ;ithout orders says the media ha%e more freedom in

Lebanon than in any other Arab country, but ne%ertheless face 2political and 8udicial

machinations2.

"ost broadcasters were set up after the ci%il war by "uslim and hristian factions.ommercial operators Future and L attract the lion's share of the %iewin& audience.

ae-up of satellite and cable is widespread.

Al-"anar , baced by the militant &roup 6e$bollah, has aroused contro%ersy. A French

court banned the station's satellite channel in 04 on &rounds of anti-!emitism, and it

has also been banned in !pain, (ermany and the nited !tates. he station was tar&eted

by Israeli air raids durin& military operations a&ainst 6e$bollah in 0=.

here are do$ens of pri%ate radio stations. roadcasts from Arabic and 5adio France

Internationale are carried by partner stations.

riticism of officials and policies is carried daily in do$ens of newspapers and hundreds of

periodicals. ;hile there are no censorship laws, restrictions in press laws forbid the

media from defamin& the president or other heads of state and from incitin& sectarianstrife.

y <une 01, Lebanon had around 1 million internet users ?Internetworldstats.com@.

pen:et Initiati%e says Lebanon is one of %ery few countries in the "iddle >ast where it

has found no e%idence of technical filterin&.

T%e press:

• An-:ahar - pri%ate daily

• Al-!afir - pri%ate daily

• Al-Anwar - pri%ate daily

• Al-"ustabal - pro-6ariri daily

• Al-#iyar - pri%ate daily

• L'rient-Le <our - in French

• he #aily !tar - in >n&lish

Tele&ision:

• Lebanese roadcastin& orporation ?L@ - commercial, maret leader and pan-

re&ional broadcaster7 channels comprise L !at, L >urope, L !at America, L !at

Australia and L :a&ham

• Future  - commercial7 channels comprise Future International, Future :ews and

Future !A7 owned by 6ariri family

• ele-Liban - state-run

• Al-"anar ?he eacon@ - pro-6e$bollah

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#aio:

• oice of Lebanon - established commercial station

• 5adio Liban - state-run

• !awt al-(had ?oice of omorrow@ - commercial

•

5adio ne - commercialNe's agency:

• Lebanese :ational :ews A&ency - state-run