Civil Administration of the Mountain

Civil Administration of the Mountain
الادارة المدنية في الجبل
Al-idara Al-madaniyye fi aj-Jabal
1983–1991
Druze flag
Flag of the Progressive Socialist Party
StatusMilitia controlled territory
Common languagesArabic
Religion
Druzism
Government
• Beyk
Walid Jumblatt
Historical eraLebanese Civil War
• Established
1983
• Disestablished
1991
CurrencyLebanese Pound
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Israeli occupation of South Lebanon
Lebanon
Today part ofLebanon

The Civil Administration of the Mountain, sometimes referred to as Jabal al-Druze, named after the Druze region in Syria, was Walid Jumblatt’s Druze-dominated polity that existed in Lebanon from 1983 until its gradual erosion following the Taif Agreement and the end of the country's civil war. It was one of the wartime state-like territories (known as cantons) which was controlled by the PSP’s armed wing, the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The PLA controlled most of the Chouf district and some parts of Aley and Baabda. It bordered the East Beirut canton to the north, which was controlled by a rival Christian militia, the Lebanese Forces.[1][2][3]

Voice of the Mountain

Although its beginning was in 1983,[4] the broadcasting of the Voice of the Mountain officially began operations on 1 February 1984.[5] It operated from the Chouf Mountains.[6] Ghazi Aridi worked as the director of the station until 1994 when it was closed.[4]

References

  1. ^ Kingston, Paul; Spears, Ian S., eds. (2004). "Rebuilding A House of Many Mansions: The Rise and Fall of Militia Cantons in Lebanon". States-Within-States. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 87. doi:10.1057/9781403981011. ISBN 978-1-349-52777-9.
  2. ^ Barak, The Lebanese Army – A National institution in a divided society (2009), pp. 100-101.
  3. ^ Harik, Judith P. (1993). "Change and Continuity among the Lebanese Druze Community: The Civil Administration of the Mountains, 1983-90". Middle Eastern Studies. 29 (3): 377–398. doi:10.1080/00263209308700957. ISSN 0026-3206. JSTOR 4283575.
  4. ^ a b Ibrahim, Roula (23 September 2012). "Walid Jumblatt and His Two Right Hands". Al Akhbar. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  5. ^ Summary of World Broadcasts: Non-Arab Africa, Eds 8247–8273. British Broadcasting Corporation. Monitoring Service. 1986
  6. ^ Mekhon Shiloaḥ le-ḥeḳer ha-Mizraḥ ha-tikhon ṿe-Afriḳah, and Merkaz Dayan le-ḥeḳer ha-Mizraḥ ha-Tikhon ṿe-Afriḳah (Universiṭat Tel-Aviv). Middle East Contemporary Survey. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1986. p. xxx