塔伊夫协定

The 1989 Taif Agreement (Arabic: اتفاق الطائف, French: Accord de Taëf), officially known as the National Reconciliation Accord (وثيقة الوفاق الوطني), was reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon". Negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia, it was designed to end the 15 year-long Lebanese Civil War, and reassert the Lebanese government's authority in southern Lebanon, which was controlled at the time by the Christian-separatist South Lebanon Army under the occupational hegemony of Israel. Though the agreement set a time frame for withdrawal of Syrian military forces from Lebanon, stipulating that the Syrian occupation end within two years, Syria did not withdraw its forces from the country until 2005. It was signed on 22 October 1989 and ratified by the Lebanese parliament on 5 November 1989.

Overview

The treaty was fathered by the Speaker of the Parliament Hussein El-Husseini and negotiated in Ta'if, Saudi Arabia, by the surviving members of Lebanon's 1972 parliament. The agreement came into effect with the active mediation of Saudi Arabia, discreet participation by the United States, and behind-the-scenes influence from Syria.

The agreement covered political reform, the ending of the Lebanese Civil War, the establishment of special relations between Lebanon and Syria, and a framework for the beginning of complete Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon. Since Rafik Hariri was a former Saudi diplomatic representative, he played a significant role in constructing the Taif Agreement. It is also argued that the Taif Accord reoriented Lebanon toward the Arab world, especially Syria. In other words, the Taif Accord positioned Lebanon as a country with "an Arab identity and belonging." The agreement was finalized and confirmed only after the development of an anti-Saddam Hussein international alliance.……

Political reform

The agreement contained multiple constitutional amendments, which came into force following President Hrawi's signature in September 1990. Among the most major changes:

The ratio of Christians to Muslims in Parliament was reduced from 6:5 to 1:1.

The term duration of the Speaker of the House was increased from one year to four years. (Article 44 of the constitution)

Article 17 of the constitution was amended from "the executive power is vested in the President of the Republic, who exercises with the assistance of his ministers" to "the executive power is vested in the Council of Ministers, who exercise it according to the dispositions of this constitution".

Presidential prerogatives were somewhat curtailed. Among the powers lost were:

Require parliamentary consultations before nominating the Prime Minister.

Cannot dismiss or appoint individual ministers at will (requires approval of the Council).

Introduce laws in Parliament. Instead, he introduces them to the Cabinet, who then vote to transmit it to Parliament.

Disarmament of militias

Hrawi’s government set 30 April 1991 as the final date imposing the surrender of all territory, heavy artillery, and disbandment of militias.

Jbeil-Keserwan

The LF had already agreed to hand over the Keserwan and Jbeil districts in April 1990 to the LAF under General Elie Hayek (Mount Lebanon commander), with the condition that its 10,000 men strong force remain intact.

Metn-Baabda

In 1989/90 the Metn and Baabda areas, which had been the heartland of the Phalange Party and the LF since the 1950s, experienced unprecedented fighting and shelling following Michel Aoun’s offensives against Samir Geagea’s LF. On 13 October 1990, during the Syrian assault on Baabda Palace, Aoun escaped to the French embassy. The LAF under General Elie Hayek began moving South from Kisrawan and East from Beirut into the Metn and Baabda. Following the battle for the Presidential Palace in which 150 of their soldiers were killed the Syrian army executed up to 80 of the defenders.……

East/West Beirut

Following the end of the Elimination War on 13 October 1990, LAF soldiers began dismantling militia positions on the Green Line.……