LEBANON: Christians Step Uneasily Closer to Syria

• by Mona Alami (beirut)
• Friday, December 26, 2008
• Inter Press Service

In 1989, during Lebanon's tumultuous civil war, Gen. Aoun, then the army chief, was hailed by many Lebanese and by most Christians for his courage. As bombs rained on Beirut -- the western part of which was occupied by Syrians -- the population applauded Aoun's staunch stance, and supported him in his war of liberation against Syrian domination.

Gen Aoun, who had been appointed in 1988 by then president Amine Gemayel as head of an interim cabinet, had vowed to free Lebanon. Unfortunately, regional politics following a deal between the United States and then Syrian president Hafez Al-Assad allowed the Damascus regime a free rein in Lebanon.

Aoun was forced into exile after being defeated in a Syrian offensive in 1990 that ended 15 years of internal conflict. He only returned in May 2005, a month after former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated, and Syria was forced to end its 29 years of military domination. The assassination was of Hariri was largely blamed on Syria.

The image of Aoun walking down the streets of the Syrian capital applauded by Syrian Christians Dec. 5 appeared odd to many political pundits. Syria, a country dominated by the Alawite community, a prominent sect of Shia Islam, is founded on the Baa'th ideology that promotes secularism. 'Aoun's reception in Syria was unlike any other in terms of the importance it was given by Syrian authorities,' Nabil Bou Mounsef, political analyst with the Arabic daily An Nahar told IPS.

Accompanied by Syrian officials, Gen. Aoun toured ancient Christian pilgrimage sites, visiting the Sayddat Al-Salam (Lady of Peace) and The Church of the Virgin Lady of the Girdle in the Homs area in central Syria.

Members of March 14, the anti-Syrian and pro-Western parliamentary majority in Lebanon, strongly criticised Aoun's visit. The group comprises the Christian Lebanese Forces and Kataeb movements (both political rivals of the FPM) as well as the Sunni Future movement and the Druze Progressive Socialist Party.

The Kataeb declared that Gen. Aoun's visit to Damascus following a trip to Tehran was aimed at reviving the Syrian-Iranian alliance and was 'nothing but a translation of the alliance' between the FPM and Hezbollah. The FPM is currently allied with Shia parties Amal and Hezbollah, known for their Iranian allegiance.

At a dinner organised by the FPM earlier this week, Aoun declared that his visit was integral to purifying the Lebanese and Syrian conscience. 'The Lebanese need to remove their mourning clothes and honour their dead without remaining prisoners of their past. All wars come to an end, and men have to learn the proper conclusions.'

'Aoun's willingness to open a new page with Syria is not necessarily wrong, but its timing is inadequate in the absence of tangible goodwill measures from the Syrians,' says Bou Mounsef. Syria has refused to tackle essential issues such as the Lebanese missing persons file in Syria, estimated in the hundreds, and the demarcation of the Syrian-Lebanese border. Assad did, however, promise Aoun during his visit to pardon 50 Lebanese prisoners facing criminal charges.

Bou Mounsef adds that the big public reception to Aoun dwarfed that for Lebanese President Michel Suleiman on his first official visit to Syria in August. 'Gen. Aoun is a popular leader and was received in Syria as such,' says Simon Abi Ramia from the Free Patriotic movement.

Aoun's opponents have hinted that his visit may have been linked to the upcoming 2009 elections. Aoun is reported to be facing tensions with his allies in the Amal party over representation in the southern districts such as Jezzine and Marjayoun-Hasbaya which have a mixed Christian and Shia population.

But his supporters insist that the Syria visit was not about this. 'General Aoun has not and will not discuss matters infringing on Lebanon's sovereignty. This argument has been used by his adversaries to gain popularity,' says Abi Ramia.

Abou Mounsef and many Lebanese Christians are finding the visit difficult to digest. 'The repercussions of the change in Aoun's stance towards Syria will be pinpointed in the 2009 elections when Christians cast their votes,' says Bou Mounsef. Abu Ramia on the other hand is counting on a positive evolution of the Christian consciousness, that has long been based on a natural animosity to Syria.

© Inter Press Service (2008) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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