Syria complies with UN 1559, quits Lebanon

Some factions haven’t abandoned Syria yet still hoping they might be rewarded

BEIRUT - Elias Shartouni

March 2005

While Syrian President Bashar Assad announced before the Syrian National Assembly his country’s abiding by UN resolution 1559, which calls for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and the disbanding of militias, Syria’s Lebanese cronies were announcing their refusal of the international resolution and their determination to go by the 1989 Taef Agreement.

Under international pressure spearheaded by the United States and France, coupled with Arab warning of diplomatic isolation, Syria finally announced the withdrawal of all of its security forces – including its intelligence – from Lebanon.

“Syria was hoping to withdraw in two stages, the first one before Lebanese parliamentary elections in May to the Bekaa valley and the second one after the elections,” said Hussein Dalloul, a journalist.

“The reason behind the intended delay was to influence these elections in order to secure a continuity of renewing the current majority of politicians who are loyal to Syria,” he added.

But the world demanded that Syria evicts as soon as possible, and Syria – the symbol of defiance as its loyalists describe it – complied overnight.

Another tactic, according to Lebanese observers, was Syria’s intent to provoke a civil war in Lebanon. “Assad warned of a new May 17 Agreement in reference to the 1983 Lebanese-Israeli peace accord,” said Dalloul.

“This means that Assad wanted to convey a message that if Syria leaves, the Lebanese would be divided over the Israeli issue and that of resistance and would go into a civil war.”

According to Dalloul, the opposition led by Chouf MP Walid Jumblatt proved to be wise and intelligent. “The opposition repeated time and again its support of Hizbullah, the only issue that could cause internal rift in Lebanon,” he argued. “Even Nasrallah himself was reiterating what the Syrians were saying, by provoking the opposition and warning them that his party will never disarm or abide by the Lebanese rules and regulations.”

The opposition, however, succeeded in defusing the Syrian-made Hizbullah ticking bomb.

Next came the attempt of pro-Syrian officials to re-install the resigned and unpopular Omar Karami, according to observers. “They hoped this would mislead the opposition and make it target this step instead of focusing on Syrian withdrawal,” said Tony Karam, one of the activists who has been protesting the Syrian existence in Lebanon and “the rule of the Lebanese military and intelligence officers” since the killing of former premier Rafik Hariri on Feb. 14.

Karam said that the Lebanese from different background were all willing to sacrifice and forget their difference about “minor political issues” in order to see the Syrians out of Lebanon.

“We don’t want to waste our time by arguing about Hizbullah, the Taef or the history of the Lebanese civil war,” he added.

Karam predicted that the opposition would not maintain its coherence after the Syrian withdrawal. “But this is the essence of democracy. Parties change alliances in accordance with their agendas.”

According to an activist from the Leftist Democratic Movement who asked his name remain anonymous, “leftists like me had to sacrifice a bit of their principle for the greater cause, which is Syrian withdrawal.”

In normal circumstances, “we wouldn’t have been cooperating with factions we deem sectarian, but in politics, there are priorities.”

The anonymous activists called on all Lebanese parties to join the opposition in writing Lebanese history especially those parties “who have a history in liberating Lebanon,” he said in reference to the Lebanese Communist Party, which has so far opted for a low profile and sided mostly with the pro-Syrian government.

“Like most other factions who have stayed loyal to Syria, they are still hoping that their loyalty to the Syrians would give them a seat or two in Parliament, but that will change once the Syrians are out.”

Syrian troops had almost evicted all of Lebanon by the time of print.