THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES Tuesday, November 16, 1943. THE LEBANON CRISIS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25384, 16 November 1943, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES Tuesday, November 16, 1943. THE LEBANON CRISIS

The situation that has been created in the Lebanon through the occurrence of dissensions between the populace and the French is one about which, with the information at our command, it is difficult to arrive at any satisfactory conclusions. Obscure as may be the origins of the dispute, which has led to the suspension of the Lebanese Constitution and the arrest of some members of the Government, the events do not seem to reflect credit upon the French in the handling of them. The British belief, as unofficially reported, that the situation is beyond the control of the French National Committee’s delegate to the Lebanon, may be contrasted with the confident statement of the French commander-in-chief that the country is calm “ except for minor incidents.” This soldierly view of a situation which has led to, or was brought about by, the overthrowing of the Government and the declaration of martial law, is simply not acceptable. It will certainly be hoped that the commander-in-chief is correct in declaring that the French and the Lebanese can settle their differences peacefully “if\ left alone”; but obviously it is most desirable that the settlement should be prompt if the French National Committee and its representatives are to negotiate it without assistance. The Lebanon, as the British Minister in North Africa, Mr Macmillan, is said to have urged upon the French Committee, is strategically of very great importance, and conceivably of urgent immediate importance, to the Allies. It would be intolerable if there were any possibility of the disruption of the strategy ! of the offensive against Europe through uncontrollable disturbances in territory for which the French claim sole responsibility; and it is very desirable that there should be no tactlessness in the handling of the Lebanese situation—other than may have already manifested itself which would exacerbate Arab opinion. While the emphatic statement of the Egyptian Prime Minister, Nahas Pasha, to the Wafd Congress is markedly friendly towards the British, it suggests that Arab reaction to the events in the Lebanon is strongly unfavourable to the French. It may be recalled that the French National Committee had given its. definite assurances to the Lebanese that their freedom would be complete. In return for her freedom, -the Lebanon undertook as an ally de facto to place her forces and all necessary facilities at the control of the Allied Powers, and the President, M. Naccache, expressed his determination to co-operate wholeheartedly with the Allies. If there has been any breach of faith by the Lebanese Government in the fulfilment of those undertakings, the French National Committee has so far not revealed the fact. The difference of opinion which led to what appears as the high-handed suspension of the Constitution is explained as being based on conflicting interpretations of the authority of the Lebanese Government under that instrument. That explanation in itself raises the further intriguing question as to the derivation of the authority of the French delegate over “an independent sovereign State.” The Government of Great Britain, which both morally and by declaration is a guarantor of the fulfilment of the pledges of independence given to the Lebanon as early as 1936 by the Government of France, and reaffirmed by the Free French and the French National Committee, has every reason to concern itself anxiously and watchfully with the developments in the crisis.