DATE=4/27/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=LEBANON - SYRIA
NUMBER=5-46214
BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB
DATELINE=BEIRUT
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
/// EDS: THIS IS THE SECOND IN A SERIES OF FIVE
BACKGROUND REPORTS ABOUT LEBANON ///
INTRO: A military court in Lebanon recently sentenced
nearly one-dozen students to several weeks each in
jail for demonstrating against the presence of 35-
thousand Syrian forces in Lebanon. The demonstration
comes amid calls by some Lebanese for Syria to
withdraw its forces once Israeli ends its 22-year
occupation of south Lebanon. But as V-O-A Middle East
Correspondent Scott Bobb reports, other Lebanese,
including the government, say they do not want a
Syrian withdrawal.
TEXT: Walking down the street of a Lebanese city, a
visitor often is struck by the numerous posters of
foreign leaders on walls or at military checkpoints.
These include spiritual leaders from Iran. But the
portrait most frequently seen is that of Syrian
President Hafez al-Assad.
The history of Lebanon and Syria is closely linked,
and Syria has maintained troops in Lebanon since the
mid-1970s. The Syrian government is widely credited
with helping to end the Lebanese civil war nearly 10
years ago, by sending thousands of troops to restore
order and disarm the various factional militias.
As Israel prepares to withdraw its troops from south
Lebanon, however, a debate has arisen in Lebanese
society over whether any foreign government should
maintain a military presence in the country. And that
includes Syria.
The issue was thrown dramatically into the public
arena recently by a column in the influential Beirut
newspaper, An-Nahar. The author of the column,
publisher Gibran Tueni, told V-O-A he feels that after
decades of foreign intervention, Lebanese want to be
left alone.
/// TUENI ACT ONE ///
Yes, we have a problem with the Israelis
occupying the south of Lebanon, but after we
finish with that problem, after we liberate our
territory in the south and the Bekaa, we should
talk about the other problem we have in Lebanon,
which is the Syrian presence, because we need to
have a normal relationship with Syria.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Tueni's article set off a storm of controversy.
Critics, including many government leaders, said it
was part of an Israeli tactic to undermine Lebanese
and Syrian unity.
The withdrawal of Syrian forces is strongly backed by
one of the major Christian parties -- the National
Liberal Party -- whose leader, Dory Chamoun, says
there is no justification for Syrian military
presence once Israel has withdrawn.
/// CHAMOUN ACT ///
We know very well that their (the Syrians')
excuse over here, their real excuse, is not a
military one. The military side is only a
cover-up on the political side. Syria does not
believe that Lebanon should be an independent
country. Syria wants Lebanon to be part of the
larger Syria.
/// END ACT ///
/// OPT /// Another Christian-dominated party, the
Kataeb, or Phalange, appears to have a more moderate
stance. Its vice-president, Karim Pakradouni, says
the issue is premature.
/// OPT // PAKRADOUNI ACT - IN FRENCH - FADE UNDER
///
Mr. Pakroudini says he believes it is a bit early to
bring up the problem of the Syrian presence in
Lebanon. First it is necessary to end the Israeli
occupation, he says, and once this problem is ended,
negotiations or agreement on the Syrian presence will
be much easier. /// END OPT ///
However, some important segments of society do not
agree. These include the Hezbollah Movement, which is
supported by Iran and has close ties to the Syrian
government.
Hezbollah in the early 1980's launched the resistance
that included attacks against Israeli troops and their
ally, a Christian militia called the South Lebanon
Army. Israeli casualties in these attacks are the
main reason for the Israeli government's decision to
withdraw unilaterally from south Lebanon, with or
without a peace agreement with Syria and Lebanon.
The leader of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah,
calls Israel's withdrawal a victory and says Syria
contributed to it.
/// NASRULLAH ACT - IN ARABIC - FADE UNDER //
Sheikh Nasrallah told the Gezeira television network
this week that Syria helped Hezbollah. As a result,
he says Hezbollah will support Syria. But, he says,
at the same time, the topic is up for discussion.
Lebanese political analysts say the issue has hit a
nerve among many Lebanese. Some believe it is time
for Lebanon to begin a new phase of recovery from the
civil war, without any outside intervention.
Yet others say people are being fooled by what they
say is an Israeli ploy to drive a wedge between
Lebanon and Syria.
A political science professor at the University of
Beirut, Nihar Hamzeh, says, it is really not
necessary for Irael to press for a Syrian withdrawal.
/// HAMZEH ACT ///
Israel need not necessarily to work hard on
pushing such elements to call for a Syrian
withdrawal from Lebanon. It would leave it
basically to the controversy, or the
contradictions that prevail within Lebanon's
political spectrum.
/// END ACT ///
/// OPT ///
Some believe a Syrian withdrawal would be dangerous,
because it could lead once again to military clashes
in Lebanon.
Political analyst Paul Salem says the issue comes at a
precarious time.
/// SALEM ACT ///
Whereas in a sense it is a very local and
domestic issue relating to our relations to our
neighbors in Syria, it has other interpretations
and other effects that go way beyond our
relations as two nations. Hence, it is a very,
very volatile issue. And I don't think it can
be dealt with in a productive and calm way in
the current atmosphere of rising escalation
between Syria and Israel.
/// END ACT ///
The Hizbollah representative in the assembly from the
Bekaa District, Sayed Amar Moussawi, is more matter-
of-fact.
/// MOUSSAWI ARABIC ACT WITH TRANSLATION ///
External interventions in Lebanese politics is
nothing new, and we assume they will probably
continue. Lebanon has bilateral agreements with
Syria, a friendship treaty, and we expect that
any relations between Lebanon and Syria will
remain the same, even after the withdrawal of
Israeli troops.
/// END ACT //
/// END OPT ///
Nevertheless, many Lebanese are worried that the lack
of peace between Israel and Syria will keep Lebanon at
war. And the most severe repercussion from this, they
say, will be that foreign investment, which Lebanon
desperately needs to rebuild its economy after decades
of war, will not be forthcoming. (Signed)
NEB/SB/JWH/ENE/gm
27-Apr-2000 13:09 PM EDT (27-Apr-2000 1709 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
