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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |||
| Many Syrians want troop withdrawal from Lebanon | |||
| 2005-02-20 | |||
This is not yet the opinion of the Syrian government, which has spent the week denying it has any responsibility for Monday's assassination and reaffirming its close ties to 'brotherly' Lebanon. But some intellectuals and people on the street feel the Syrian presence in Lebanon has become too troublesome to sustain. "Syria should withdraw its army and intelligence agents from Lebanon immediately, today rather than tomorrow," said Michel Kilo, a prominent Syrian writer. "The dangers (of this presence) go beyond Lebanon and have come to threaten Syria itself," Kilo warned. "The Syrian people and the Syrian government are the ones suffering as a result." "We have nothing to do with what happened in Lebanon, and I am confident of that," said a Syrian engineer, Toufic Razzouk. "But I am for the withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon according to (Lebanese) demands." Many Lebanese accuse Syria of heavy-handed interference in their country, calling the shots on affairs big and small. In September, Syria was seen as single-handedly engineering the extension of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud's term by three years. The move required an amendment to Lebanon's constitution. It also defied a UN Security Council resolution calling for presidential elections to be held and for Syria to withdraw its troops. Subsequently, Lebanese opponents of Damascus became bolder in their calls for Syria to leave, and Hariri's assassination produced the widest movement ever seen in Lebanon to get the Syrians out. Following the assassination, US President George W. Bush recalled his ambassador to Syria. On Thursday, Bush said he would work with his European allies to put pressure on Syria to pull out from Lebanon. Analysts say Syria regards Lebanon as a strategic card in the Arab-Israeli dispute and one that is too important to drop. Syria cannot afford to let Lebanon sign a separate peace deal with Israel, as that would make Syria the only Arab country to remain technically at war with Israel. Syria backs the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and uses it to put pressure on Israel across its northern border.
Kilo, the writer, said Syria should find a way to safeguard its security interests in Lebanon, but without a military and intelligence presence. "We need normal diplomatic relations with Lebanon like those between any two countries," Kilo said. Syria has long argued that its historically close ties with Lebanon renders diplomatic relations unnecessary. "(The Syrian government) says we entered Lebanon to render the Lebanese a service. That service has long been accomplished." But some Syrians support their government's position on Lebanon. George Obeid, the owner of a gadget shop in the Qassaa neighbourhood of Damascus, said Syria is ready to leave Lebanon immediately if the Lebanese government requested it. "We are there to safeguard Lebanese and Syrian security," he said. ÂÂ
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 This was in the Khaleej Times. How very odd. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-02-20 7:57:01 PM |