The Syrian crisis, the effects on Lebanon and Isis terrorism were yesterday at the center of a conference organized by SIOI (Italian Society for International Organization), the school of future democrats. The debate was attended by journalist and blogger Matteo Bressan, RaiNews 24 journalist Laura Tangherlini, strategic analyst Alessandro Politi and the President of SIOI – former Foreign Minister – Franco Frattini. The theme around which the interventions of the experts were articulated is that of the collateral effects of the Syrian crisis which has produced heavy consequences in the Middle East area - Lebanon in primis. Among others, the causes of the humanitarian emergency and the relative role of Hezbollah were examined. The occasion for the analysis of this situation arises from the publication of the book signed by the same rapporteurs Tangherlini and Bressan, entitled "Lebanon in the abyss of the Syrian crisis" with an introduction by Alessandro Politi.
Introducing the discussion was President Franco Frattini, who recalled that in a few days it will be 4 years since the Syrian crisis exploded, claiming about 300 victims and millions of displaced persons and refugees. "The various crises of the Middle East until yesterday separated with differentiated claims, today become a single claim under the aegis of the unification of the Islamic world through the caliphates - of which that of Al Baghdadi is only the most famous and the best financed” – underlines Frattini immediately. Precisely the financing of terrorist groups is a central point in understanding these events. Trafficking in drugs, weapons, human beings, obscure financial movements that end up in the hands of terrorists, but also and above all countries and organizations that openly finance jihadist and radicalist movements. These are the main sources from which the fundamentalists draw to finance the seizure of power in the whole area that extends from Syria to Algeria.
“Among the causes of this exponential growth of the crises in the Levant, there are certainly the underestimation and misunderstanding of the phenomena that were brewing. As foreign minister – continues Frattini – speaking with the King of Jordan, I proposed a sort of Marshall Plan for the Mediterranean, for an amount of 6 billion euros financed by the EU – which, however, he did not consider it appropriate to pay. Another cause is the policy of supplying arms to the Syrian rebels which easily ended up in the hands of jihadists, who today call themselves ISIS. Finally, the humanitarian emergency that is being experienced in Lebanon is of the utmost gravity. Lebanon found itself having to welcome more than a million refugees from neighboring Syria, in a political situation that was unstable to say the least."
One of the two authors of the book, Matteo Bressan, taking the floor immediately wanted to underline how Lebanon was already fertile ground for the growth of the problems we are talking about today. "Lebanon, in fact, has been going through a political crisis that has lasted for two years: it is a country that does not yet have a President of the Republic and in the last ten months it has not even had a government" - recalled Bressan. Furthermore, “it is clear that there has been agreement from other Middle Eastern countries to stabilize this political instability.
In closing, Bressan draws attention to the role that the Lebanese situation has had and could have with the progress of the Islamic State. “The relations between Hezbollah's Lebanon and Assad's Syria are evident above all in the suspicious convoys crossing the border between the two countries. Some argue that the transports contain Assad's chemical arsenal left over from that secured by the international community. Others that the same is now in the hands of Isis fundamentalists.” Be that as it may, it is clear that a similar situation makes the untying of the Middle Eastern knots even more complicated.
The strategic analyst Alessandro Politi – author of the introduction to the book by the two young journalists – focuses his speech around the work of ISIS, highlighting how Italy is not included in the plans of the caliphate at all. Indeed, the concrete aspirations of ISIS include only Syria, Iraq and Iran – not Lebanon, not Saudi Arabia, not Israel. “The real problems for Italy could only arise from an eventual takeover of Algeria by ISIS – comments Politi. In fact, a large part of our gas comes from there, so it would be a problem if the source ended up in the hands of terrorists.”
In conclusion, the other author of the book on the Lebanese situation intervenes, the RaiNews24 journalist Laura Tangherlini. Her work has focused on the humanitarian part of the crisis and around the problems relating to the social integration of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. “Those who have managed to enter Lebanon are unlikely to be able to settle legally in the social fabric of the Lebanese communities – comments the journalist. Often there is a phenomenon of aggregation of Syrian refugees in areas inhabited by the poor Lebanese. Thus a war between the poor is unleashed which makes the solution worse and worse”. Furthermore, Tanghrlini points out that there are no refugee camps, so the displaced emigrants find themselves living in spontaneous tent cities, warehouses and hijacked farmhouses. The absence of accommodation facilities for refugees is caused by the fear of repeating the situations that led to the outbreak of the twenty-year civil war that has devastated Lebanon. "Finally - concludes the journalist - the neutral position with respect to the Syrian civil war taken by the Lebanese government does not adapt to the need for the establishment of refugee camps."
Another problem is that of resettlements: only 38 refugees have been sorted to other countries such as Germany, Spain and England – Russia and Japan have not provided data”.
