Reports: Syria-Hariri Contact Still Cut; Aoun Worried About Days to Come

Al-manar

Mohamad Shmaysani

19/10/2010 It is still not clear how the outcome of the Saudi-Syrian summit in Riyadh last week would unfold in Lebanon.

The Iraqi question has been resolved as outgoing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will form the next government with the consent of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Syria.

The crisis in Lebanon was also on top of the summit’s agenda, and the core problem is the false witnesses in the Rafiq Hariri assassination case and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon which has been under fire over accusations of being politicized.

As much as the summit is being regarded as successful, Syria does not seem satisfied with Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s performance.

Syrian sources told the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar that Hariri “should be committed to the rules of the game and acknowledge that neither he, nor anyone else, can cross the red lines.”

“Syria regards Hezbollah as the wide red line.

 Hariri should respect this line and not try to cross it. He can discuss amending agreements with Syria, seek a seat in parliament, ask for support to change a ministerial portfolio for another, but it is utterly prohibited for him to seek help from Damascus to stab Hezbollah with the same sword he and his team had used to stab Syria with,” the source told Al-Akhbar.

“If Hariri realized this, then he should end his cover up for the STL which is aiming at the resistance, and instead take practical steps to cancel the tribunal which has been proven to be politicized by the United States and Israel…Syria knows that everyone has his own red lines that should be respected; therefore, Syria respects Saudi Arabia’s red lines, and it is ready to respect Hariri’s. The Lebanese Prime Minister should take the initiative and take positive steps towards Syria through some measures vis-à-vis his very close entourage,” he added.

According to Al-Akhbar, official sources in Syria are not bargaining on the existing efforts with regards to the STL. “As much as Syria appreciates Saudi Arabia’s attempts, Damascus, however, does not see light at the end of the tunnel,” the daily said.

Assad was clear during his meeting with King Abdullah when he revealed that Hariri “has not yet taken concrete steps to open a new page with Syria,” a Syrian source told Al-Akhbar.

“Assad expressed the Syrian leadership’s dissatisfaction with Hariri’s constant state of tension during his presence in Damascus. Hariri’s reaction on the Syrian arrest warrants against some of his entourage whom he finances indicated that the Lebanese PM was incapable of letting go of his grudges and therefore too weak to move forward. This is what explains the absence of any serious signs indicating Damascus’s desire to restore contact with Hariri,” the source said.

He added, however, that this does not necessarily mean that all doors have been closed “because Syria’s road map for Hariri’s return to Damascus is clear. He can draw lessons from MP Walid Jumblatt who can read regional and international equations very well and who knows that there are much more in politics than keep on repeating the word truth.”

A much clearer view of the political scene in Lebanon could be possible on Wednesday, when a Cabinet session is due to be held. Discussions would focus on topics ranging from the STL, the Riyadh summit, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s official visit to Lebanon among other issues, particularly the broadcast and rerun of LBC’s talk show “Kalam al-Nas” with Marcel Ghanem last Thursday, which was stigmatized as a clear and blatant attempt to sow sedition mainly between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Lebanon.

President Michel Sleiman, on Friday, contacted his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad before leaving to the Saudi Kingdom and reportedly discussed the “serious” crisis in Lebanon over the STL and the indictment due to be issued sometime in the next couple of months to accuse Hezbollah in the Hariri murder. Al-Akhbar reported that Sleiman told Assad that canceling or keeping the STL will have negative repercussions.

In this context, the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun told Al-Akhbar newspaper that he was very much concerned about what the coming days could bring to Lebanon, although he said he trusted the Lebanese army would be able to deal with any development on the ground.

“Things can deteriorate to clashes or insecurity in some areas. I am sure, on the one hand that Lebanese army will be able to end such actions, and on the other hand, we and our allies are prepared for the worst case scenarios,” Al-Akhbar quoted Aoun as saying.

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