The Lebanese Government Intends to Sell the Country to Qatar

Vartan Tashjian

The attached is my translation of the article Vartan Tashjian penned in Darperag21 online journal, on April 15, 2023. Vahe H. Apelian

 

While Lebanon is fighting against its economic crisis that has plagued the country for the past 4 years, the government announced a bold plan which, according to the prime minister and a number of ministers, is the only way to return the country to the path of normalization. The announced plan is to sell the entire country to Qatar. It still is not clear, by what legal procedure this proposal, in the absence of a president, will be discussed, let alone approved and implemented, certainly if the Lord wills.

Senior government officials claim that it is the only way to save Lebanon from total financial ruin. Qatar will take over all of Lebanon's resources, including its famous Mediterranean coast, historical sites and the Lebanese's greatest source of pride, its national cuisine, without exception (yes, hummus included).

"The reality is that we did everything we could to overcome the financial crisis of our country, but we did not succeed," Lebanese Prime Minister Nejib Hariri said at today's press conference. "So, we figured why not sell the whole country to someone who knows how to handle money in an orderly way?" Said Hariri (or Mikati).

According to multiple sources, Qatar has expressed interest in this deal, citing Lebanon's excellent location and rich cultural heritage as its main attractions. The same sources say that Qatar's interest in the deal is emboldened by the claims that France is ready to provide political patronage to this project, ensuring that during the implementation, no Lebanese faction will object and the sale will proceed in an orderly manner, without civil strife.

Critics of the government's plan express concern about the loss of Lebanese national identity and cultural heritage, as well as the possibility of exploitation by Qatar.

The Shia community is the most concerned about the proposed sale. They believe they risk losing their national identity (the monied in Qatar are Sunni Muslims). Consequently, they are waiting to hear what will their spiritual leader in Iran say about the possible sale during his customary sermon after worship, on Fridays.

The Sunnis refrain from commenting on the plan for now. Their main concern remains the following. After the deal with Qatar, U.S who is a strategic ally of Qatar, may push Saudi Arabia out of its traditional influential positions in Lebanon. There is also a hypothesis circulating that Saudi Arabia would have probably paid a higher price, had Lebanon turned to them. "Our government made a big mistake by not putting the country up for an open auction," said former Minister of Economy who preferred not to be named.

The Qataris have assured the country's Christians that the deal would not mean that Christian holy places or churches in Lebanon will become their property. "We will simply exploit those places and sites for commercial purposes, as you used to do," a high-ranking Qatari leader has assured the high-ranking member of the Council of Patriarchs of Lebanon, who could not contain his heart’s content and express his satisfaction on this occasion with a nose-to-nose salute.

An interesting detail was recorded with the 6th or 8th largest community of Lebanon, the Armenians. The joint position of their spiritual and political leadership has been in favor of the deal citing that the current situation in Armenia is very tense, they will warmly welcome this deal and wait for its immediate implementation. The same sources also reported that they were unable to find out the relevance of Armenia with the possible sale of Lebanon, the Lebanese Armenians advocate.

The harshest criticisms have come from the Lebanese human rights defenders, who point to the thousands of human rights violations recorded in Qatar during the preparations for the FIFA World Cup games They express fear that Qataris may treat the Lebanese as they treated the foreign workers, that is, work them day and night without fair pay, remain indifferent to the workers’ needs, and silence righteous complaints, and "if necessary", use beatings and violence, etc. 

The Qataris have declined to comment on these allegations. The everyday Lebanese citizens have responded to these allegations with a sad smile and have said "Let us try and this one too and find out."

Summarizing the approach, the high-ranking Lebanese officials have assured the public that the freedom, independence and sovereignty of Lebanon will not be violated and will remain intact and unshakable, and its traditions and customs will be preserved with slight Qatari undertones. "Rest assured, we will still be Lebanese at heart," has said Nejib Hariri or Hariri to Nejib. "But for now, we'll just have a little more money in the treasury," until the next bankruptcy. 

But the Lebanese political leaders remain stubbornly silent about their shares of the impeding possible sale of Lebanon.