By Adnan El-Ghoul
Daily Star staff
January 04, 2005

Interview:

BEIRUT: Minority Christian groups are hoping for a new electoral law that leaves them less dependent in the Parliamentary elections on the country's major sects, as several Christian minorities - the Copts, Assyrians, Syriacs and others - are now represented collectively by a single deputy in Parliament.

The May elections may be an opportunity to exert greater control over their representation, as currently minority delegates compete against one another on a variety of electoral lists chosen by larger sects.

Habib Ifram, the president of the Syriac league, is a leading advocate of reform and hopes to win a seat in the May elections.

"In the Muslim dominated electoral districts of Beirut, we have no control over who will represent the minorities, as different candidates run on competing lists," Ifram said in an interview with The Daily Star.

Since 1992 Ifram has run for Parliament three times with former Beirut MP Tamam Salam without success. He plans to run again in the May elections.

Under the present law, smaller Christian minorities have to maintain an equal distance from the loyalists and the opposition, he said.

"We believe in civil peace and tranquility without which we could never realize our interests to the fullest," he said.

"However, we follow and observe all political trends and discussions concerning the new electoral law without actually holding one view against the other," Ifram said.

In general, small minorities prefer a secular electoral law that does not apportion representation only by sect.

"However," he added, "the small minorities could not exert any pressure on bigger communities even if they wished to do so. Our ultimate quest is preserving law and order because we could not protect our own interests during a civil unrest of any scale as other communities could."

Traditionally, the Syriac community allied with the dominant Sunni leadership in Beirut. "However, we could not find common ground for agreement with (former Prime Minister) Rafik Hariri," he said.

Hariri, according to Ifram, searched only for "employees orbiting around his realm" rather than working in partnership.

"I have been negotiating the terms of alliance with Hariri's movement since 1992 but disagreed on all points," he said, adding, "we disagreed despite the fact that our special interests, as a small Beiruti minority, are very limited and do not clash with other communities' interests."
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Ifram said he believes politicians should pay more attention to what he stands for in his capacity as the president of the Syriac Universal Alliance, the president of the Syriac League and the Secretary General of the Union of Christian Leagues in Lebanon.

"Hariri and other politicians do not take into consideration our community's widespread relations locally, regionally and internationally," he said.

During his visit to Beirut, interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi met with Ifram and discussed issues concerning the Syriac community in Iraq.

"I was the only figure meeting with Allawi outside his scheduled official meetings," Ifram said. "He understands the importance of the Christian minorities on the world scene better than most Lebanese officials do."

In addition to under-representation in parliament, the Syriac minority as well as other small Christian communities do not occupy any important position in state institutions, Ifram said.

In Norway on the other hand, a member of the Syriac community who left Lebanon at the age of 13 became the country's minister of education.

"None of his compatriots in his country of origin had ever participated in a ministerial cabinet," he said, adding, "Under the present sectarian system, it is less likely to ever get hold of any high ranking position."

Concerning the current political tension, Ifram fears the rift in Lebanese society between opposition and loyalist forces may lead to damaging consequences for smaller minorities.

He said that the civil war had devastating consequences for most minorities. They lost their businesses, homes, schools, churches and other community-related establishments."

"The Syriac community would encourage a thoughtful dialogue among all components of the Lebanese society to reach the best possible way to guarantee the peaceful coexistence," he added.

"Widening the present political rift would not benefit any party and might tarnish the image of Lebanon that deserves, instead, our utmost loyalty, sincerity and conviction," Ifram said.

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