Lebanon on verge of losing the only hope it had- Military Power

 

Financial crisis in Lebanon is not hidden to anyone. The country is in deep waters and despite international forums coming up to support the nation, people are suffering and the tragedy has taken the whole nation by storm. There was not just one issue that the country suffered with over the years.

Starting from the civil unrest to crisis situation with Israel or exponential increase in terrorism related incidents, the country has been grippled with numerous internal matters. From the Arab Spring till now, there has been a rise in the violence in the country and formations of smaller militant groups to the large ones, which are funded by the powerful country in the region, has further worsened the situation.

Things became more complicated with last year’s Beirut port explosion that had killed over 200 people. Following the incident, the top leadership has resigned from power leading the country to a dark hole. Financial situation was no exception to all the trouble that the country was going through.

All through this, the only institution that stayed by the country was the military establishment. But given the impact on the economy of the country, the military is also up for collapse. At present, the status of the financial collapse of the country can be ranked among the worst nations by the world bank.

The data clearly indicates that given the collapse, there is a very difficult chance of receiving the military back at its feet. Most senior level officials confirm that they have been asked to continue with tehri security jobs and still have not been paid to work risking their lives during the protests.

The Lebanese army is backed by the United States and its operational abilities are seriously hampered after the financial meltdown. The administration is resorting to either delay the pay or completely cancel the salaries of the soldiers, which has affected the morale of the country.

This is a huge deal for a country like Lebanon as the military is only one the few things that unite the nation. With such high level pressure on the administration and difference in opinion with the general public, there is only the military that could be relied on and now, even that is in grave danger.

This is the first time since the early alarms that the military itself has raised concerns about non-payment and threat to their institutional functioning. The Army Chief Joseph Aoun stressed on the concerns of the soldiers on Wednesday saying soldiers are suffering and hungry as the rest of the Lebanon population.

“There is no doubt that there is great resentment among the ranks of the military,” further added the official. He also criticized the political figures who instead of taking responsibility for the situation, are focusing on infighting.

The Lebanese army chief, with no one to rely on, visited Paris to plead for assistance and hence France conducted a fundraising conference yesterday while also warning that the military may no longer be able to function in full force if the financial troubles continue to grow.