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Aoun supporters
    General Aoun, a Maronite Christian, has lived in exile in France since 1991 after leading an unsuccessful attempt to drive Syrian forces from Lebanon.

    In 14 December 1997, security forces used tear gas and clubs to disperse Aoun supporters who had gathered at a television station which the authorities had barred from broadcasting an interview with the former army commander. Sixty-three people were detained during the protest, all of whom were released the next day. 10 of those arrested were subsequently charged with fighting with security agents who had ordered the protestors to leave. Their trial began on 18 December 1998 but the hearing was swiftly adjourned while appeals proceeded on two legal technicalities. If convicted the suspects face up to a month in jail or a maximum fine of LL100,000. The government lifted its long standing ban on demonstrations in December 1998, although a rally or demonstration must still receive the prior approval of the Interior Ministry.

    Some 5,500 Lebanese lawyers staged a three-day strike in response to the arrests. A further demonstration was held on 15 December with no arrests reported. In January 1998, the government stated there would be no restrictions on interviews carried on terrestrial television channels. The television interview with General Aoun, his first in seven years, was subsequently broadcast on Murr TV.

    A report in January 1996 stated that supporters of former General Aoun were still active and conducting political activities in Lebanon. Some of Aoun's supporters were reported to have had difficulties with the Lebanese authorities in the past, but there had been no such reports in the previous two years. Well-known pro-Aoun candidates ran during the last elections to the Lebanese Doctors' Association and the Lebanese Engineers Association, including the winner of the poll for the president of the Doctors' Association. Several professional associations have active well-known Aounist members. Former Aoun supporters are reported to have been welcomed into the Lebanese Army and are able to advance.

    Supporters of Aoun took part in the local elections in June 1998. They were among right-wing Christian groups who made strong gains in the ballot.

Lebanese Forces
    The Lebanese Forces [LF] were, during the 1980s, the largest and most powerful Christian militia in Lebanon. The LF was the military arm of the Lebanese Front, a coalition of Maronite leaders, in which the Phalangist Party was dominant. [1,31] The LF, backed by Israel during the 1975-1990 civil war, was accused of political assassinations and numerous sectarian killings during the conflict.

    In 1991, the Lebanese Forces were officially disarmed and became a political party. Following terrorist attacks on Christian targets in Beirut, the LF was banned in March 1994, for having promoted the establishment of a Christian enclave and, hence, the country's partition. Eight top LF members, including leader, Samir Geagea, were charged with the bombing of a Maronite church in Beirut in late February 1994. In July 1996, Geagea was acquitted of charges relating to the bombing, but sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for "maintaining a militia in the guise of a political party" and "dealing with military weapons and explosives". Geagea is currently on trial for the 1987 assassination of Sunni Muslim Prime Minister Rashid Karami. He is the only sectarian militia leader from the civil war to have faced trial. Several former leaders of other militias are in the government or hold high offices although some [including Elias Hobeika who was allegedly linked to the 1982 massacres in the refugee camps and former Druze leader Walid Jumblatt] have been dropped following the formation of the new government in December 1998. Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri has, however remained in his post.

    A car bomb in June 1998 killed 2 former LF members. The 2 men were reported by a government security source to be planning to plant the device in a church in mainly Christian east Beirut, when it prematurely exploded near to the target. A spokesperson for LF supporters said the former militia group had no link to the bombing or its 2 victims. The spokesperson stated:
        "The Lebanese Forces formed a big slice of Lebanese society, around 38,000 people. We can't control everyone and we don't put the incident in the framework of the Lebanese Forces. It was a personal action. Only those two know what they were doing."

    Eighteen former members of the Lebanese Forces were charged in July 1998 by Lebanon's military prosecutor, with carrying out a 1996 bus bombing in Syria that killed 11 people. They were also accused of plotting to assassinate Interior Minister Michel al-Murr and the [now former] Electricity and Water Resources Minister Elias Hobeika. Murr and Hobeika are Christian allies of Syria and opponents of the Lebanese Forces. Hobeika is a former LF leader who defected to the pro-Syrian camp. A statement by the Political Council of the Lebanese Forces on 8 July 1998, denounced "acts of violence and sabotage by any individual, group or party", stressing that the LF became a political party in 1991.

    Supporters of the LF made gains in the local elections in June 1998, emerging on the political scene for the first time since the group was officially banned in 1994. In Beirut, LF supporters were included in a candidate list backed by the then Prime Minister Hariri and Parliament Speaker Berri.

Palestinians
    The number of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency [UNWRA] is 352,668. Only those who originally arrived in 1948-49, and their descendants, are allowed to register with UNWRA and receive international aid. The figure is presumed to include many thousands who currently reside outside Lebanon, and it is reported that the actual number now in Lebanon is fewer than 300,000.

    It has been reported that Palestinian refugees are subject to arrest, detention and harassment by the Lebanese security forces, Syrian forces, the various militias and rival Palestinians. However, there were no known reports that members of the various groups that control the camps detained and tortured their Palestinian rivals in 1998.

    Palestinians who arrived in Lebanon in 1949 but did not register at the time, have the right to aid from the Lebanese government but not international aid. Those forced to emigrate to Lebanon after 1949, have no right to government or international aid.

    The Lebanese government does not provide health services to Palestinian refugees, who must rely on UNRWA. UNRWA provides a wide range of social assistance in education, health, emergency relief and other sectors, but services have been reduced as a result of budget cuts. In addition, the PLO has traditionally provided financial support, however, it has considerably reduced its social disbursements to Palestinians in Lebanon since the PLO-Israeli accord in 1993.

    Refugees registered with UNRWA have a residence card and travel document that is shared with their families. Those who have been in Lebanon since 1949 but did not register at the time, have either temporary or permanent residency permits and a travel document. Palestinians that arrived in Lebanon after 1949 have no right to residence or travel documents.

    Most Palestinian refugees live in camps, which fall under the control of one or more of a number of Palestinian factions that operate in Lebanon. The proportion of refugees registered with UNRWA living outside the camps is 48 per cent, with 52 per cent living inside.

    Since 1959, Palestinians living outside the refugee camps, who have residence rights, have been allowed to change their residence and travel freely in Lebanon as long as they notify Lebanese authorities. Those living in camps must obtain permission to change camps.

    The government issues laissez-passers [travel documents] to Palestinians to enable them to travel and work abroad. In response to the expulsion of Palestinians from Libya in 1995, the Lebanese interior ministry issued a decree in September of that year requiring Palestinians residing abroad to obtain entry visas before re-entering the country. The government maintained that the visa requirement is necessary to ensure the validity of Lebanese laissez-passers, as a large number of those documents were forged during the civil war years. The effect was to discourage foreign travel by Palestinians resident in Lebanon. In response to complaints by Palestinian officials over difficulties in re-entering Lebanon, in January 1999 the Lebanese General Public Security Directorate stated that although Palestinians with Lebanese travel documents would still need clearance to travel, the permits to travel would be valid for six months and enable their bearer multiple trips within that period. Previously Palestinians needed exit and re-entry visa for every trip.

    Work permits are very difficult to obtain for Palestinians. The only sectors that do not require work permits are construction and seasonal work. Palestinians are not entitled to social assistance and have no protection from arbitrary dismissal from employment. Unemployment in Palestinian refugee camps is estimated at 40 per cent. The PLO formerly employed as much as 50 per cent of the Palestinian work force, but in recent years it has closed many of its offices in Lebanon.

    The Lebanese government has often stated that it will not accept the permanent settlement of Palestinians. It is feared that the introduction of 300,000 Palestinians, mostly Sunni Muslims, to the voting population would upset the delicate confessional balance in Lebanon. The government has proposed a resettlement solution which would see 25 to 30 per cent of its resident Palestinians go to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 40 per cent to the Gulf States, Iraq, and Syria, and the rest to the United States, Canada and Australia.

South Lebanese Army
    The SLA is a militia force sponsored by the Israelis to police the south Lebanon "security zone". It has some 2,500 members and is supported by approximately 1,000 Israeli troops stationed in the zone. The SLA began as a mainly Christian Phalangist movement but now includes a sizeable number of Shi'ite Muslims. Israeli and SLA forces are locked in a cycle of attack and counterattack with the Iranian-backed Shi'ite Muslim militia, Hizballah, and anti-Arafat Palestinian guerrillas. In south Lebanon, there is an average of two or three attacks daily against Israeli Defense Force or SLA positions with a similar number of IDF/SLA counter attacks.

    Morale among the SLA is reported to be quite low as a result of the difficult guerrilla war with Hizballah, the possibility of withdrawal of Israeli support and protection in the event of peace, and pressure to join the militia against the will of some members.

    Many SLA militiamen have deserted and fled to areas under the control of the Lebanese government. Under Lebanese law, serving in the SLA is a treasonable offence. The Lebanese government's treatment of an individual under this law may depend on the person's social status. In the case of "ordinary people", the government may hardly take any action against such individuals and may even ignore them. However, the government may prosecute "important persons" who have co-operated in any way with the SLA. In the event of an Israeli withdrawal from the "security zone", it is generally accepted that low-ranking militiamen will not face prosecution. In March 1998, Hizballah members of the National Assembly submitted a bill providing for an amnesty for ordinary SLA militiamen.

    Hizballah has declared that forgiveness would be granted to members of the SLA who were forcibly recruited and who deserted in order to repent. It has published a list of former SLA members who have done so. These former militiamen are reported to now be living a normal life in Lebanon.

    Some former SLA militiamen have even joined the Hizballah militia. In November 1997, Hizballah announced the formation of the Lebanese Resistance Brigade, which will allow all Lebanese - including former members of the SLA - to join, regardless of their religious confession.

Opponents of Hizballah
    Hizballah maintains a strong presence among predominantly Shi'ite areas such as West Beirut and the southern suburbs, Ba'albek and the Beka'a Valley in the east, and southern Lebanon. Lebanese government control over Hizballah, which remains legally armed in order to fight against the Israeli occupation forces in the south, is said to be limited. However, Hizballah has been willing to submit to the state authority, especially regarding criminal justice. In January 1998, Hizballah refrained from engaging in a military confrontation when the former Hizballah leader, Tufayli, seized a religious seminary in Ba'albek. The situation was left in the hands of the Lebanese Army.

    There are no Hizballah checkpoints between Tripoli and Beirut, or between Beirut and Tyr in the south. There are also no Hizballah checkpoints in Beirut, not even in the Hizballah's strongholds in Beirut's southern suburbs. Hizballah members do not carry weapons in the streets of Beirut. They would be arrested by Lebanese security forces.

    Since 1992, Hizballah has increasingly turned its attention towards Lebanese parliamentary politics and currently has 6 members in the National Assembly. Hizballah does not harass or threaten people who publicly disagree with its policies. It does not recruit its members by force and does not lack new recruits. The leadership of Hizballah is well aware that there is a large section of the Lebanese population that disagrees with its ideology. There have been no instances where the government has had to provide protection to ordinary citizens because they were afraid of Hizballah. Even regular Hizballah members who leave the party for whatever reasons, would not have problems with the party because ordinary members do not have information that would threaten the organization.

    High ranking party members who were involved in security matters for the organization and later became involved in anti-Hizballah activities may be at risk from Hizballah. This represents an extreme case that would rarely happen, and such an individual could easily provide documents such as identity cards or newspaper articles which prove their rank in the organization.

    Recruits for military operations are volunteers. They pass through a strict screening process to weed out any possible double agents. A party member is not necessarily a military man. Military people represent a small fraction of Hizballah membership. Recruitment for the Islamic Resistance, Hizballah's military wing, requires strong ideological beliefs and commitment, as well as rigorous military training. The principal ideological beliefs are sacrifice to the cause of liberation of Lebanese territory, and martyrdom. The Islamic Resistance leadership must be totally convinced of the person's trustworthiness, something that cannot be ascertained in a short period of time.

Military Service Evaders
    Military service is compulsory for males at 18 years of age and lasts 12 months. Lebanese are not required to perform their military service after the age of 29. Exemptions are granted to those who have physical disabilities, those with brothers who have died during military service and those who are the only son in the family. Students, including those resident abroad, can obtain deferments. A conscript who fails to report for service would receive a prison sentence of 12 months if caught by the authorities.

    Following the civil war the Lebanese Army has been rebuilt into a non-sectarian force. It has successfully incorporated the various former militia members, including former Aoun supporters who have been welcomed and are able to advance. The Lebanese Army is reported to have emerged in recent years as a unified, competent fighting force.

My Lebanon is Just Like Yours
    It lives in my mind, my heart and my spirit. It lives in my humor and sadness. It thrives in my family, my friends, my countrymen, my memory. Lebanon is in the air that I breathe every day. It is the moon climbing slowly from behind the hills to crawl into the sky, shimmering softly on the calm Mediterranean .It is the sun burning red and orange as sinks gracefully on the horizon. It is a row of pine trees along a mountain road and a little stone house set back in a quiet little village. My Lebanon is just like yours in the long hot summer days beating us down to sleep in the shade of the afternoon. It is in the feasts, lunches and dinners stretched out along long tables with friends and drink. It is the heart thumping rhythm of the derbakkeh and the whirling dance of the dabkeh. It is the smoke that curls from the argileh as you sip your coffee brewed fresh from a large boiling pot. Lebanon is the sheikh in his mansion and the priest in his church. It is the Mouezzin calling Muslims to prayer at dawn the voice ringing through the crisp air. It is the Church bell tolling loud and clear from the hilltop. Lebanon is the farmer leading his oxen to plow. It is the goatherd whistling and calling to his flock and the stone flung with the aim of a hunter walking beyond him in the valley. Lebanon is the shahrour and the bilbol singing, the fig tree lending its fruit and the grapes sweetening your mouth like cold wet honey.

    My Lebanon is just like yours and the neighbors who welcome you into their hearts and their homes. It is in the old woman sitting cross-legged before her sajj baking the mouthwatering man2oush and markouk. It is the men sitting before the Saraya under a eucalyptus tree playing tric-trac each wiser than the next and both content in their rivalry. It is in Beirut on a busy day with the people walking and the cars honking. It is in the crowded restaurants and cafes and the beaches. It is the fun of being alive. My Lebanon is just like yours when the snow falls on sannine, faraya and Bcharre. It is the white laden branches of the cedars in winter that have stood before time itself knew of them. It is the olive tree that was planted by the grandfather of my grandfather and the sindianeh under which he sat and told me. Lebanon is Fairuz and the songs of the loves and dreams of all of us. It is the stars on a clear autumn night flickering like the lights of the fishing boats in the bay.

    My Lebanon is all of that and more. It is beyond any enemy and their devices. It is above any politician and his manipulations. It is bigger than any scheme or any plot. My Lebanon is invincible, it is unconquerable and unwavering. My Lebanon is beyond the traitors and the thieves, it is beyond the cowards and the knaves. My Lebanon cannot be bombed nor beat, nor bowed .My Lebanon is made of things that cannot be broken, of dreams that cannot be erased , of passion that cannot be withheld. My Lebanon is as free as the hawk that flies on a hot summer day and as tough as the pillars of ba3albek. My Lebanon is powerful and proud, tolerant and forgiving, beautiful and stern. My Lebanon is made of the immortal. My Lebanon is just like yours.

History Overview
    After World War I, France was given a League of Nations mandate over Lebanon and its neighbor Syria, which together had previously been a single political unit in the Ottoman Empire. France divided them in 1920 into separate colonial administrations, drawing a border that separated predominantly Muslim Syria from the kaleidoscope of religious communities in Lebanon where Maronite Christians were then dominant. After 20 years of the French mandate regime, Lebanon's independence was proclaimed on Nov. 26, 1941, but full independence came in stages. Under an agreement between representatives of Lebanon and the French National Committee of Liberation, most of the powers exercised by France were transferred to the Lebanese government on Jan. 1, 1944. The evacuation of French troops was completed in 1946.

According to the National Pact, different religious communities are represented in the government by having a Maronite Christian president, a Sunni Muslim prime minister, and a Shi'ite National Assembly speaker. The arrangement worked for two decades. Civil war broke out in 1958, with Muslim factions led by Kamal Jumblat and Saeb Salam rising in insurrection against the Lebanese government headed by President Camille Chamoun, a Maronite Christian favoring close ties to the West. At Chamoun's request, President Eisenhower on July 15 sent U.S. troops to reestablish the government's authority.

Clan warfare between various religious factions in Lebanon goes back centuries. The hodgepodge includes Maronite Christians, who since independence have dominated the government; Sunni Muslims, who have prospered in business and shared political power; the Druze, who hold a faith incorporating aspects of Islam and Gnosticism; and Shi'ite Muslims.

A new—and bloodier—Lebanese civil war that broke out in 1975 resulted in the addition of still another ingredient in the brew—the Syrians. In the fighting between Lebanese factions, 40,000 Lebanese were estimated to have been killed and 100,000 wounded between March 1975 and Nov. 1976. At that point, a Syrian-dominated Arab Deterrent Force intervened and brought large-scale fighting to a halt.

Palestinian guerrillas staging raids on Israel from Lebanese territory drew punitive Israeli raids on Lebanon, and two large-scale Israeli invasions, in 1978 and again in 1982. The Israelis withdrew in June 1978 after the UN Security Council created a 6,000-man peacekeeping force for the area, called UNIFIL. As they departed, the Israelis turned their strongholds over to a Christian militia that they had organized, instead of to the UN force.

The second Israeli invasion came on June 6, 1982, and this time it was total. It was in response to an assassination attempt by Palestinian terrorists on the Israeli ambassador in London. As a stronghold of the PLO, Lebanon became the Israelis' target. Israel's government had complained that Lebanon had countenanced the presence of these militant Palestinians. A U.S. envoy negotiated the dispersal of most of the PLO to other Arab nations and Israel pulled back some of its forces. The violence seemed to have come to an end when, on Sept. 14, Bashir Gemayel, the 34-year-old president-elect, was killed by a bomb that destroyed the headquarters of his Christian Phalangist Party.

The day after Gemayel's assassination, Israeli troops moved into West Beirut in force. On Sept. 17 it was revealed that Christian militiamen had massacred hundreds of Palestinians in two refugee camps, but Israel denied responsibility. On Sept. 20, Amin Gemayel, older brother of Bashir Gemayel, was elected president by the Parliament.

The massacre in the refugee camps prompted the return of a multinational peacekeeping force. Its mandate was to support the central Lebanese government, but it soon found itself drawn into the struggle for power between different Lebanese factions. During their stay in Lebanon, 260 U.S. Marines and about 60 French soldiers were killed, most of them in suicide bombings of the Marine and French army compounds on Oct. 23, 1983. The multinational force left in the spring of 1984.

Political Association
    The Constitution provides for freedom of association and this is generally respected by the Government.

    In general the government does not interfere with the establishment of private organizations. Persons forming an organization are required to notify the Interior Ministry, which is responsible for issuing permits for the formation of associations. In April 1997, the Lebanese Bar Association criticized the practice of issuing permits but did not provide any examples of groups that had been denied a permit during 1997.

    The Ministry of Interior also scrutinizes requests to establish political movements or parties, and to some extent monitors their activities. The army Intelligence Service monitors the movement and activities of members of opposition groups. Persons opposed to government policies have been subject to arbitrary arrest and detention.

    Opposition groups, including right-wing Christian groups who oppose Syria's presence in Lebanon, made strong gains in the local elections in May and June 1998. Many analysts in Beirut are reported to believe that the municipal and mayoral elections have brought all Lebanese, even hard-line opposition groups, back to the country's post-war political arena. In October 1998, candidates in the Presidential election included Dory Chamoun, a hard-line opponent of the government, and Boutros Harb, who announced his candidacy with an implicit message to Syria to stay out of Lebanon's internal affairs.

    All workers, except government employees, may establish and join unions and have a legal right to strike. Worker representatives must be chosen from those employed within the bargaining unit. Forty-two per cent of the 900,000 active labour force are members of 160 labour unions and associations. The major umbrella organization, the General Confederation of Labour, embraces 22 of the unions and 200,000 workers.

    In general the government does not control or restrict unions. However, in 1997 the International Labour Organization [ILO] voiced heavy criticism of the Lebanese government's policies towards the General Confederation of Labour. The government has been accused of "undue interference" in the union's internal affairs, "excessively close government regulation of union elections", and the unlawful arrest of labour activists. The criticism came after security forces surrounded the Confederation's headquarters in late April, destroyed union property and arrested its re-elected president, Ilyas Abu Rizq. Subsequently, in what has been described as "a sham election organized by a breakaway faction", the defeated candidate, Ghanim Zughbi, was elected president. Abu Rizq has since launched an "independent GLC", which led to him being charged with usurpation of political authority and disseminating false information. His case is pending. In July 1998 elections were held in the GLC for the chairmanship following the resignation of Ghanim Zughbi.

Freedom of Assembly
    Although the Constitution provides for freedom of assembly, the Government restricts this right. A rally or demonstration must receive the prior approval of the Interior Ministry. In 1996 the Government banned all rallies apart from during parliamentary elections. However, even while this ban was in force, various political factions, both opposition groups and supporters of the Prime Minister held rallies without obtaining government permission. In January 1998, some 4,000 people defied the ban on demonstrations to protest against the government's proposed budget in front of parliament. It was the largest public demonstration in Beirut since 1991. No arrests were reported. In December 1998 the Government lifted the decree banning demonstrations.

    On 14 December 1997, 63 supporters of the exiled Christian leader General Aoun were detained following a demonstration against the Government's decision to bar the television broadcast of an interview with him. All were released by 16 December 1997, but 10 face proceedings in the military courts for attacking security forces and 23 are to be tried in civilian courts for causing riots and violating a ban on demonstrations. The 10 charged with fighting with security agents were brought trial on 18 December 1998 but the hearing was swiftly adjourned while appeals proceeded on two legal technicalities. If convicted the suspects face up to a month in jail or a maximum fine of LL100,000. Fresh demonstrations were held on 15 December 1997, with no further detentions being reported.

Freedom of Speech and of the Press
    The Constitution provides for freedom of the press, but in practice this right is partially limited by the Government. During 1996, freedom of the press declined as a result of Government prosecution of several newspapers, and the passing of a new media law to regulate radio and television broadcasting.

    Lebanon has a strong heritage of freedom of opinion, speech and press. Dozens of newspapers are published in Beirut and they are recognized as amongst the freest in the Arab world. The various factions print their own newspapers and also own radio stations. Daily criticism of government policies and leaders continues despite repeated attempts to restrict press freedom through prosecution. The law prohibits attacks on the dignity of the Head of State or foreign leaders, and offending journalists may be tried by the specialist Publications Court. Najah Wakim, a Maronite MP for Beirut, has routinely made allegations of corruption and authoritarian excesses on the part of senior government figures.

    Since 1991, there has been very little press criticism of Syria, though it is not clear whether this is enforced by the Syrians or is self-censorship. The 1991 security agreement between Lebanon and Syria banned the publication of any information deemed to endanger the security of either state.

    Television flourished during the civil war years, with the various militias setting up their own stations. Some 50 channels were established. The government sought to regulate this unlicensed network with the passing of the 1994 Media Law. Only 5 television stations received licenses, three of which are owned by or closely associated to prominent government figures. In July 1998, facing mounting protests, the government granted licenses to several additional radio and television stations. The decision raised the number of licensed television and radio stations to 25.

    A Government ban on the transmission of political programs on satellite television in January 1998, was later lifted in October 1998. Interviews on terrestrial television do not face restriction. On 11 January 1998, the first television interview in seven years with exiled Christian leader General Aoun was broadcast in Lebanon. The Government originally decided in December 1997 to impose censorship over the broadcast, but this was overturned by its later decision to remove all restrictions from terrestrial television.

    Lebanon has a strong tradition of academic freedom and a flourishing private educational system due to inadequate public schools and a preference for sectarian affiliation. Students exercise the right to form campus associations and the Government usually does not interfere with student groups.

Freedom of Religion
    There is considerable freedom of worship. There is no state religion nor any restrictions on particular religious groups. The various denominations publish their own material and operate private schools.

    As a result of the civil war much of the Lebanese population now lives within their religious or confessional group in particular areas of the country. This process of confessional "compartmentalization" is reported to have continued even after the end of the war in 1990. Consequently, the various confessions have little reason to mix and the tolerance of other religions has been affected.

Freedom from Racial Discrimination
    Discrimination based on race is illegal, and is not widespread.

Freedom of Movement/Internal Flight
    In general, travel to most areas of Lebanon outside the Israeli controlled "security zone" has become quite routine, now that the militia checkpoints have been removed. There are still a few Lebanese and Syrian army checkpoints throughout the country but these do not restrict the movement of the various confessional groups. Since 1992, checkpoints between Tripoli, Beirut and Tyr have been mainly in place to signal a presence. They are reported to be more involved in assisting traffic than checking passengers' identity or searching vehicles. A free flow of individuals has been reported, even to previously difficult areas, with Christians visiting Ba'albek for the first time and Muslims traveling to the famous cedars of Mount Lebanon. There is also a free flow of Christians and Muslims across the "green line", which divided Beirut into confessional enclaves during the war.

    At the crossing points between the "security zone" and the rest of south Lebanon the Lebanese Armed Forces, Israeli army and SLA maintain tight restrictions on the movement of people and goods.

    Over 600,000 Lebanese were displaced during the civil war. Efforts to return and settle those displaced are ongoing, but the process has been slowed by tight budgetary constraints, shattered infrastructure, lack of schools and economic opportunities and the fear that physical security is still incomplete in some parts of the country.

    The Lebanese government was praised by the United Nations for its handling of the July 1993 crises which saw 350,000 southern residents flee from Israeli bombardments, and flood into Beirut and its southern suburbs, and Saïda. According to the UN's report, the government reacted "quickly and resolutely" to the emergency, responding well to both the immediate needs of those displaced and assisting in the repair of damaged houses and villages.

    The Lebanese have always been free to travel abroad and providing a Lebanese or Palestinian has valid papers, there is no legal obstacle to them re-entering Lebanon. In response to complaints by Palestinian officials over difficulties in re-entering Lebanon, in January 1999 the Lebanese General Public Security Directorate stated that although Palestinians with Lebanese travel documents would still need clearance to travel, the permits to travel would be valid for six months and enable their bearer multiple trips within that period. Previously Palestinians needed exit and re-entry visa for every trip. Although travel to Israel is prohibited by law, many Lebanese go there via the Israeli occupied territory in southern Lebanon.