Zombie
26th April 2003, 22:51
Naharnet.com
Beirut, 24 April 2003
Rafik Hariri's new Cabinet is a purely Damascene recipe, whose ingredients were dictated by Syria and prompted by regional developments, especially the U.S. accusations against Damascus, Gebran Tueni wrote in An Nahar on Thursday.
"This means that the Cabinet's priorities are Syrian, not Lebanese," Tueni argued. "This might be Syria's first response – using a Lebanese weapon – to the United States."
And this is why Hariri's fifth Cabinet in a decade is dubbed the "war government" or the "confrontation government," he wrote in the front-page editorial.
Customarily, in a confrontation, Lebanon is the battleground, Tueni said, expecting an escalation of the rhetorical war from Beirut as politicians try to upstage each other in displaying allegiance to Syria.
In contrast, Damascus would present itself as the oasis of "flexibility" in the bargaining process, he wrote.
Signs of such flexibility have already emerged from Syria in a prelude to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit for talks on Washington's accusations that Damascus sheltered Iraqi fugitives and possessed chemical weapons, Tueni noted. The government has ousted Iraqi refugees and announced it was leaving the Palestinian issue to the Palestinians to solve, with its focus restricted to recovering the Golan Heights from Israel.
As for the escalation, this was best displayed by Hizbullah's secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah at a recent religious event, where he urged Iraqis to follow the lead of Hizbullah and Hamas in resisting the American presence.
Where Lebanon is concerned, Tueni read in the new Cabinet "more than one message of intransigence" toward Damascus' opponents in Lebanon. And although Syria was behind the lineup, Lebanon should have better explained that such a government would hurt Lebanese interests, would not be in Syria's interest and would not promote better Lebanese-Syrian relations.
The editorial suggested that the "door to dialogue with the opposition has been slammed shut." In these critical times, the Lebanese had expected a broad-based government that would promote national reconciliation, invite back exiles like General Michel Aoun, release war prisoners, especially Samir Geagea and work to "permanently close the dark chapter of war."
When the public was expecting a judicial decision to reopen MTV, it received instead a court order permanently shutting down the station, he noted, ridiculing the authorities' commitment to democracy and public freedoms.
He indicated that Lebanon and Syria, in tilting toward inflexibility were in fact swimming against the current. "In this era, there is no room for intransigents, despots and autocrats – not even for their statues," he said.
He accused the government of falling prey to "intimidation" and of favoring "petty and personal interests over the higher interests of the nation."
Source (http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&F33FE5F7A9F8ED3042256D12003722E3)
.Z.
Beirut, 24 April 2003
Rafik Hariri's new Cabinet is a purely Damascene recipe, whose ingredients were dictated by Syria and prompted by regional developments, especially the U.S. accusations against Damascus, Gebran Tueni wrote in An Nahar on Thursday.
"This means that the Cabinet's priorities are Syrian, not Lebanese," Tueni argued. "This might be Syria's first response – using a Lebanese weapon – to the United States."
And this is why Hariri's fifth Cabinet in a decade is dubbed the "war government" or the "confrontation government," he wrote in the front-page editorial.
Customarily, in a confrontation, Lebanon is the battleground, Tueni said, expecting an escalation of the rhetorical war from Beirut as politicians try to upstage each other in displaying allegiance to Syria.
In contrast, Damascus would present itself as the oasis of "flexibility" in the bargaining process, he wrote.
Signs of such flexibility have already emerged from Syria in a prelude to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit for talks on Washington's accusations that Damascus sheltered Iraqi fugitives and possessed chemical weapons, Tueni noted. The government has ousted Iraqi refugees and announced it was leaving the Palestinian issue to the Palestinians to solve, with its focus restricted to recovering the Golan Heights from Israel.
As for the escalation, this was best displayed by Hizbullah's secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah at a recent religious event, where he urged Iraqis to follow the lead of Hizbullah and Hamas in resisting the American presence.
Where Lebanon is concerned, Tueni read in the new Cabinet "more than one message of intransigence" toward Damascus' opponents in Lebanon. And although Syria was behind the lineup, Lebanon should have better explained that such a government would hurt Lebanese interests, would not be in Syria's interest and would not promote better Lebanese-Syrian relations.
The editorial suggested that the "door to dialogue with the opposition has been slammed shut." In these critical times, the Lebanese had expected a broad-based government that would promote national reconciliation, invite back exiles like General Michel Aoun, release war prisoners, especially Samir Geagea and work to "permanently close the dark chapter of war."
When the public was expecting a judicial decision to reopen MTV, it received instead a court order permanently shutting down the station, he noted, ridiculing the authorities' commitment to democracy and public freedoms.
He indicated that Lebanon and Syria, in tilting toward inflexibility were in fact swimming against the current. "In this era, there is no room for intransigents, despots and autocrats – not even for their statues," he said.
He accused the government of falling prey to "intimidation" and of favoring "petty and personal interests over the higher interests of the nation."
Source (http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&F33FE5F7A9F8ED3042256D12003722E3)
.Z.