army and elements of the Lebanese Army loyal to Hrawi attacked Aoun’s forces, which
still claimed to be the legitimate army. With defeat imminent, Aoun surrendered com-
mand of his troops and took refuge in the French embassy. He later went into exile
in France, where he remained for nearly fifteen years.
The defeat of Aoun essentially ended the civil war that had wracked Lebanon since
- By early 1991, the Lebanese government, still dominated by Syria, had disarmed
most of the sectarian militias and asserted at least some degree of control over most of
the countryside. Two significant limits on the government’s control, however, remained:
the Shiite organization Hizballah refused to disarm and instead grew stronger, building
a state within a state (much as the Palestinians had done previously) in southern and
central Lebanon and in the southern suburbs of Beirut; and Israel continued to control
a self-declared “security zone” in the south inside the Lebanese border. Clashes between
Hizballah and Israel (and its proxy force, the South Lebanon Army) continued for years.
Israel finally and hastily withdrew from the area in 2000. In summer 2006, an all-out
war would erupt between Israel and Hizballah (Hizballah-Israeli War, p. 365).
In political terms, the government’s decision in 1992 to hold elections, the first
in twenty years, stood as the most significant indicator of the end of civil war. The
balloting, held in stages in August, September, and October, brought to office a new
government headed by Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, a billionaire contractor who used
his personal wealth to help rebuild the country. Nabih Berri, whose Amal militia had
participated in the civil war, became Speaker. Despite the modest reforms mandated
by the Taif Accord and subsequent elections, the central government possessed only
limited powers and remained vulnerable to the sectarian conflicts built into the polit-
ical system. Moreover, Syria would retain ultimate veto power until its withdrawal in
2005, and Hizballah would remain the dominant force in southern Lebanon.
Following is the text of the National Reconciliation Charter as approved by mem-
bers of the Lebanese parliament on October 22, 1989, during a conference in Taif,
Saudi Arabia.DOCUMENT
Lebanese National Reconciliation
Charter
OCTOBER22, 1989First. General Principles and Reforms
I. General Principles
A. The Identity of Lebanon: Lebanon is a sovereign and independent homeland, united
in territory, people, and institutions within its border, which is stipulated in the
346 LEBANON AND SYRIA