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| Sunday, 27 February 2005 |
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Syria under US pressure Globescan by M. P. Muttiah The Ta'if Agreement, known after the town in Saudi Arabia, where it was signed set a 50-50 balance between Christians and Muslims in the Lebanese Parliament and put forward the powers of the branches of government. Lebanese Government is faced with a no-confidence motion in parliament tomorrow. Opposition leaders have pledged to bring it down in the wake of the assassination of former Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri on February 14. Meanwhile, Syria had said that it was preparing to deploy its troops towards the border. Syrian troops are based on the mountains overlooking mediterranean coast to the west and in the eastern Bekaa valley, which is of militarily strategic importance to Damascus. The Lebanese Defence Minister, Abdul Rahim Murad had said that a decision has been made to withdraw 15,000 Syrian troops. Syria was under intense pressure to withdraw its troops after the assassination of Hariri for which the Lebanese opposition groups headed by Walid Jumblat, the Druze leader and Amine Gemayel, leader of the Kataeb along with Hariri family blamed Damascus and Beirut authorities. The Ta'if Agreement, known after the town in Saudi Arabia, where it was signed set a 50-50 balance between Christians and Muslims in the Lebanese Parliament and put forward the powers of the branches of government. But two major features of the accord have not been implemented. One was a plan to dismantle the sectarian structure of Lebanese politics, which has been long organised around parties belonged to one or other religious factions. Each of the major politicians represents mainly the interests of their own community-Christian Maronites, Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims or Druze. The Ta'if Agreement also envisaged the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanese territory. However, it should be noted that during civil war, Syria's troop deployment was legitimised by the Lebanese Parliament in Ta'if Agreement and supported by the Arab League. Fifteen years later, an estimated 15,000 Syrian troops, down from 35,000 since 1976, stationed in Lebanon and complemented by hundreds of thousands of Syrian workers. Syrian presence in Lebanon helped maintain stability, but its refusal to leave following Israel's withdrawal from South Lebanon came under criticism within Lebanon. More recently, the United States has begun to pressurise Syria to withdraw its troops. Syria, alleged to have brought pressure on Lebanese parliamentarians to vote a constitutional amendment aimed at allowing Lebanon's two-term elected President, Emile Lahoud to contest for a third term in contrary to the constitutional arrangements. The Lebanese National Assembly voted 96-29 to amend the constitution, to allow Emile Lahoud three more years in office. Rafik Hariri, who was then Prime Minister, vehemently opposed this amendment, but finally accepted it, and his party and he voted for it. France, Germany, Britain and Lebanese politicians joined the United States in denouncing Syria's interference. In this context, the Hariri assassination and George Bush's four-day European visit coincided. Bush and the 25-member European Union condemned the killing and demanded Syria to respect the UN resolution and withdraw troops from Lebanon. Was Hariri an enemy of Syria? In fact, it was not so. He had served 10 out of 12 years as the Prime Minister under Syria's aegis. A few days before his assassination, he held a meeting with Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister, Walid Muallum. It was reported that they had discussed Hariri's visit to Damascus. There were other forces that are interested in Syria's exit. The far-right Christians, who are anxious to rouse opinion against Damascus and Israel, which aims to weaken Syria, severe its alliance with Iran and elements of Hizbollah. Syria, continues to demand that Israel return the Golan Heights which was captured in 1967. The United States, instead of pressurising Israel to return Golan Heights, banned US exports, other than food and medicines, severed banking relations, barred Syrian flights to and from the US under Syria Accountability Act. Syria is also under pressure from the European Union. Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller has warned it will be impossible for the EU to conclude an important trade and political agreement signed with Syria last October unless it refrained from interfering in Lebanon. |
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