Under the title “Lebanon’s Last Chance as the Repercussions of the Crisis Approach in Ukraine,” businessman Bahaa Hariri wrote in Arab News an article that stated:
Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine will have ramifications that will reverberate around the world for years to come. In the West, the immediate concern remains the impact of the invasion on oil and gas markets.
In countries like Lebanon, the impact of the war on agricultural supply chains could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, given that wheat reserves will only suffice for six weeks to two months.
He added, “The Lebanese today face a bleak future, and if the crisis continues in Ukraine, food prices will rise significantly, given that Lebanon imports more than 60 percent of its wheat from Ukraine.”
Hariri continued, “The May elections remain the last chance for Lebanon to vote for a government that is ready to implement concrete policies to alleviate the pain of our people, and maintaining the status quo or not taking any step can not be considered a good option.”
And if the Lebanese people allow sectarian politics to continue, the country will be vulnerable to manipulation, political interference, and attempts to create more chaos from the outside as well as from the political elites at home.
Unfortunately, Lebanon’s political establishment has coalesced, intent on maintaining its tenuous grip on power, and there is worrying speculation that the elections may be postponed.
Bahaa Hariri added in his article:
My father, Rafik Hariri, was an ardent supporter of Lebanon and the Lebanese people. He rose to prominence in the aftermath of the civil war with a single agenda to rebuild Lebanon and set our nation on the path to prosperity.
He fought for a Lebanon free from the sectarian restrictions that led to the civil war and wanted to build a state that worked for everyone, not just the elites.
In the end, he paid the ultimate price, but his vision of a better and more prosperous Lebanon highlights a potential path to prosperity and back to the Lebanon my father died trying to build.
Hariri added: In order to preserve his legacy, I was one of the first supporters of “Sawa for Lebanon,” a new political party that struggles to end the sectarian grip on Lebanese politics and is ready to implement the much-needed reforms in our judicial, political and economic system, and I hope that my colleagues can In Sawa get a chance for a fresh start.
He added: As the repercussions of what Russia started in Ukraine are approaching from Lebanon, the clock is ticking, and I hope that the Lebanese will wake up to this stark reality.
There is no good reason to support the old sectarian parties that have done nothing in recent years to improve the tragic situation in Lebanon, and if people do not act now to support parties like Sawa for Lebanon, Lebanon may not be left.
To conclude the article with the phrase: I pray to God that they act before the crisis in Ukraine reaches our shores.