The Daily Star - Anti-sectarian platform declares ‘New Order’ - May 05, 2011

By Wassim Mroueh

The Daily Star

BEIRUT: A range of activists who have taken part in recent anti-sectarian protests in the country formally announced their platform Wednesday, toward forming a movement they say should make sacrifices to free a political system “hijacked by sectarianism.” The 32-page platform of the New Order Movement was distributed during a seminar held by the movement at the UNESCO Palace in Beirut, entitled “Toppling the Sectarian System in Lebanon: A Road Map to Establishing the Secular State.” In attendance were representatives from most of the groups and civil organizations that have taken part in recent demonstrations and marches, calling for abolishing the sectarian system. The movement’s demands an annulment of the Constitution, because it has cemented divisions in the country, and for replacing it with a “republican, civil and national constitution.” As part of their agenda, the movement seeks a complete separation of sects from the state, a ban on the establishment of sectarian parties, and an electoral law that adopts proportional representation and large voting districts. Speaking at the event were Nasri Sayegh, the deputy editor-in-chief of Lebanon’s As-Safir newspaper, Dr. Ugarit Younan, an advocate of non-violence education in Lebanon, and Doreid Awdeh, the founder of the movement. Sayegh said that toppling the sectarian system would “revive the parliamentary system in Lebanon and accountability, which is an indispensable part of our political system that has been hijacked by sectarianism.” Sayegh said there was no pre-determined path to bringing down the sectarian system in Lebanon. “Each step will determine the path,” he said. In his discussion of the history of political sectarianism in the country, Sayegh said that prior to Lebanon’s independence, sectarianism was “temporarily” incorporated into the Constitution, on the condition that it would not jeopardize the national interest. “It’s a lie,” he added, “What’s in the text was cemented in people’s spirits.” Sayegh said that the movement should employ all means possible to topple the sectarian system, including action on the ground. “This is a fierce [sectarian] system; sacrifices should be made, even if this leads to bloodshed.” Meanwhile, Younan said that every Lebanese should ask himself whether he or she is “truly non-sectarian,” adding that “unwillingly, sectarianism becomes part of our personality.” She noted that a draft law she helped write on an optional civil personal status law, which would allow civil procedures in areas such as marriage and inheritance, would be discussed by joint parliamentary committees Thursday. For his part, Awdeh said that the most important result of recent anti-sectarian demonstrations was that it put the issue of secular political reform back into the spotlight. “The movement re-imposed the abolishing of political sectarianism on the agenda of politicians,” he said. While saying that 20,000 people have taken part in the demonstrations, Awdeh voiced his belief that 100,000 people endorsed the movement’s aims. “One hundred thousand Lebanese can change the formula, if we know how to mobilize the silent majority,” he said.