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The Syrian Presence in Lebanon
By Sahar Kassaimah
02/05/2001
The 11th anniversary of Lebanon's destructive civil war that began
April 13, 1975, and ended in 1990, came amid worries about the escalation of tension between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon. This tension is serving to remind the world about the pain and suffering that Lebanon endured during its civil war. Could it lead to another internal confrontation between Lebanese Christians and Muslims? Or will it end with the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon?
The situation has worsened since the return of Maronite Christian Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir from his tour to the United States and Canada where he spearheaded a campaign to end the Syrian presence in Lebanon. Backed by Christian opposition and leftist groups, Sfeir has led the anti-Syrian protest in Beirut, calling for the withdrawal of the 35,000 Syrian troops from the country. Protestors vowed to demonstrate in Beirut to mark the anniversary of the outbreak of the war and to call for the restoration of Lebanon's sovereignty. A massive reception of about 150,000 Christians took to the streets to greet Sfeir and support his calls for Syria's pullout.
Syrian troops entered Lebanon in 1976, during the civil war, to support Christian militias who were then losing their fight against Palestinian refugees and leftists. The Christians later turned against Syria and welcomed an Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The present crisis over Syria's presence in the country started after Israel began withdrawing its troops last May from South Lebanon, after 22 years of occupation.
The death of Syrian ruler Hafez Assad in June 2000 provided an excellent opportunity for Lebanese Christians to mount their pressure for Syria's departure, taking advantage of the new president Bashar Assad's being busy with economic and social reforms, and with consolidating his power at home.
In an interview with the French newspaper La Croix, Sfeir said, "Our country is not considered to be totally independent or sovereign…. Decision-making is not in our hands but in Syrian hands. If this country wants to control its future ... and for the Lebanese to regain their liberty, the Syrian troops must leave.
"Without the unity of the Lebanese, Israel would not have withdrawn from our land. The Lebanese must show the same unity for the Syrians to withdraw," he added, telling
Reuters that the Israeli pullout had removed all pretexts for the Syrian army to remain in the country.
Although it is too soon, it appears that Sfeir has forgotten Syria's role in backing the country in its war against Israel. It seems that he has also forgotten who welcomed the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the first place.
Sfeir has condemned the Lebanese government for saying it could not decide whether or not to deploy forces in the south until United Nation experts could confirm Israel's withdrawal. He is backed by Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, who has recently turned from being a close ally of Damascus to a critic of its presence in the country.
In the meantime, Michel Aoun, who led a war in 1989 to evict the Syrian troops, also condemned the Lebanese government and its calls for dialogue with the Christian opposition. "We read about calls for dialogue take place with an agent regime which works to spread sedition," said Aoun in a statement.
"Those claiming there is need for time to prepare solutions are only working to waste time," he added.
Syria's Muslim allies in Lebanon have since called for counter-protests to back Syria, taking the line of the government which says that the presence of Syrian troops' is necessary and accusing Sfeir of seeking partition for the country. However, demonstrations by Christian and Muslim parties to mark the start of the war were later canceled after security forces banned the protests.
Lebanon's leading Sunni and Shi'ite clerics dedicated prayers defying Christian calls to end Syria's presence in the country. They believe that the Syrian troops should not leave until Israel no longer poses a threat, and the country has reached a final peace settlement with them. "The demand by some that the Syrian army leave Lebanon is the cause for this state of division," said Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Kabbani, the highest Sunni religious authority.
"We don't understand the insistence of some parties on this demand which has provoked a state of anxiety and instability in the country," Kabbani added. "Preserving national unity cannot be achieved through proposing slogans that lead to destabilizing national unity and division among Lebanese..."
Sheikh Abdel Amir Kabalan, vice-president of the Higher Shi'ite council, said that Syria "deserves loyalty and gratitude" rather than demands for withdrawal. "The Syrian presence is still a Lebanese need and necessity that should not be a point of dispute," he remarked at Friday prayer.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nassrallah delivered a speech in which he supported Syria's presence in Lebanon, and stated that those opposing it do not represent a majority and that discussions of Syrian-Lebanese relations should be between the two governments only. "I tell all Lebanese, and especially the Christians, we seek coexistence. But the old wounds are still there; the language of the civil war persists. We cannot risk a Syrian pullout. We will destroy our country," he said in a religious festival that drew 300,000 Shi'ites.
Supported by Syria, Hezbollah was the main force behind the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon, and afterwards took control of the south. Analysts predict that they may be able to add three to five parliamentary seats to their current nine seats in the upcoming elections. It seems that the Christians are concerned about their presence in the south and their political involvement.
President Emile Lahoud has warned both Christians and Muslims not to turn their division over the Syrian presence into violent confrontation. "The state will not allow any adventure to take the country to days which the Lebanese strongly and firmly rejected," said Lahoud, referring to the 1975-1990 civil war. In a statement released in Beirut, he said, "The recent stances (the statement by the Patriarch on the need of the pullout of the Syrian forces from Lebanon) do not represent the actual national dialogue atmosphere; rather, these stances dealt with the Lebanese conditions from a very narrow perspective lacking objectivity and encouraging sectarianism in a way that does not serve the supreme national interests."
He also explained that the Syrian presence in Lebanon is both temporary and legal, and asserted that it is not within the language of "logic and reason" to blame Syria while turning a blind eye to Israeli crimes against Lebanon that have resulted in the killing of thousands of victims, the destroying of Beirut and the South as well as the infrastructure, the frightening of foreign investments from Lebanon, and the damaging of tourism seasons at losses estimated at billions of U.S. dollars.
Could this tension actually lead to another civil war in Lebanon between the Christians and Muslims? Or will it end by the withdrawal of the Syrian troops?
When asked about a Syrian pullout, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa said last August that Syria would consider pulling its troops out of Lebanon if Beirut asks. "The facts that some people say that the Syrian army should leave Lebanon is not reason enough to leave," said al-Sharaa to the
al-Jazeera Qatari satellite channel. "There is a Lebanese government, a president and a parliament. When they decide that there is no further need for the presence of Syrian forces, Syria will certainly take that position into consideration," he added.
Consequently, the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon is not predicted to take place - at least not now - for those reasons.
It is too early to predict whether the tension will lead the country into another civil war, and we can only hope that the two sides of the conflict will be responsible and control their anger in order to protect the region and country from a useless battle.
The questions that are raised are: Is there any connection between the timing of the Christian campaign against Syria's presence in Lebanon, and Israeli and American pressure on Syria and Lebanon to stop Hezbollah's resistance against Israel, particularly following Sfeir's tour to the U.S. and Canada? And is there any connection between the campaign and the Israeli raid against Syrian troops in Lebanon or the continuing Palestinian uprising?
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