BEIRUT (IPS) — Small countries right next to one another, Syria and Lebanon seem light years apart. The two countries have shared a rocky relationship for decades, characterized mainly by Syrian dominance. Once again this relationship appears to be put to the test as reports of Syrian deployment on Lebanon’s borders abound.

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman review honor guards in Damascus in this August 13 file photo. Reuters/Arij Nakad

Both were together under French mandate for more than 20 years, and achieved independence in 1943. Since then, Syria has considered its neighbor an artificial creation — an accident of history born of the whims of colonial countries.
Syrian troops entered Lebanon as peacekeepers in 1976, in the midst of the 15-year civil war. They stayed on after the war ended in 1990, with the signing of the Taef Agreement which divided power equally between Muslims and Christians. Syria ended up in effect occupying the country for some 30 years until 2005. They had to leave after former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in a powerful bomb blast on Feb. 14 that year, that was widely blamed on the Damascus regime.

In recent months, much changed in the strained relationship between the two countries, at least on the surface. A landmark summit between President Michel Suleiman and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in Damascus Aug. 14 concluded with an agreement to establish diplomatic relations. For the first time in Lebanon’s history, a Lebanese president was officially received by a Syrian president on the Damascus airport tarmac. Previously, Lebanon’s heads of state had to drive to the Syrian capital and await reception in the corridors of the presidential Syrian palaces. The summit was followed by a decision to establish an embassy in Damascus.

But these changes have not ended Syria’s influence in Lebanon, they only heralded a change in appearances. Damascus still pulls its weight around the Land of the Cedars. Following a week-long civil conflict in May, an agreement was reached in Doha on May 21 only after the Syrian Socialist National Party (SSNP) and the Shi’a Hizbullah and Amal acquired veto power in a unity cabinet. An agreement was also reached over the presidency, which had been vacant for six months, with the election of Suleiman, a consensus figure approved by Syria.

Syrian sway in Lebanon was also seen in a surprising statement by Suleiman that “the international community must open up to Syria, following the example set by France, as it plays a fundamental role at the regional level.” The announcement was made following a meeting with U.S. officials in Baabda, the presidential palace.

Matters of crucial importance remained hanging in the air, with the Syrian-Lebanese Higher Council playing an integral role in solving the issues. “The Syrian Lebanese Higher Council is at the center of the architectural agreements linking Syria to Lebanon, dubbed the Fraternity, Cooperation and Coordination treaty. The council plays a diplomatic role, which is in contradiction to the establishment of diplomatic ties,” said lawyer and constitutionalist Majed Fayad.

The Syrian Lebanese Higher Council, which is comprised of the Syrian and Lebanese presidents, prime ministers and speakers of the house, breaches the principle of separation of power. In addition, the Fraternity, Cooperation and Coordination treaty between the two countries ties Lebanon’s fate to Syria’s, especially in matters of security, defense and foreign policy.

Other vital matters that need to be addressed by both countries include weapons supply to Hizbullah from Syria, the demarcation of Syrian borders with Lebanon, and the return of Lebanese detainees in Syrian prisons, thought by some to correspond to 600 missing persons.

Oussama Safa, managing director of the Lebanese Centre for Political Studies, interpreted Suleiman’s visit to Syria as a partial success. “It was Fawzi Salloukh (Lebanon’s foreign minister) who dampened the excitement related to the detainee issue by admitting to only 100 or so Lebanese prisoners in Syrian jails. There is a lack of seriousness from the political establishment in opening the detainees file.”

In a country where political assassinations and ethnic cleansing prevailed during 15 years of civil war, the detainee file is viewed by many as a Pandora’s box, especially if Syria chooses to retaliate by unveiling embarrassing truths such as the details of massacres committed by the Lebanese leadership during the war, or the location of mass graves.

“The drawing of the border between the two countries, especially in the area of the Shebaa farm, is unlikely to occur as long as Israel occupies the Golan Heights,” said Safa. The ownership of the Shebaa farm, a land currently occupied by Israel, has long been disputed. Syria has made clear numerous times that it links the matter of the occupation of the Golan to drawing its borders with Lebanon in the disputed area.

More pressing concerns will have to be addressed, however, by the Lebanese government as tensions mount between Lebanon and its Syrian neighbor. On Sep. 22, Syrian troops were reported to have deployed about 10,000 special forces in the northern region along the border between Lebanon and Syria, according to AFP. This military presence has been further beefed up, according to pan-Arab daily al-Hayat, quoting eyewitnesses saying that Syria had deployed tanks along the border facing the northern Bekaa town of al-Qaa. They added that the deployment was dovetailed with the digging of trenches and setting up of encampments. The relative quiet that had characterized Syrian-Lebanese relations in recent months has certainly taken an unexpected turn, as belligerence appears, once again, on the rise.

 

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman review honor guards in Damascus in this August 13 file photo.                     REUTERS/Arij Nakad