Martin Chulov, Middle East correspondent | August 15, 2008
SYRIA is to open an embassy in Lebanon for the first time in a move that recognises its unstable neighbour's sovereignty, but fuels fears of resurgent foreign meddling.
The move by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to recognise Lebanon, which was under the tutelage of Damascus until 2005, was immediately welcomed by the US, but treated warily by the Sunni Arab world as a harbinger of Syria again seizing control of the country - this time through the cover of official channels.
New Lebanese President Michel Sleiman agreed to reciprocate by opening a Lebanese embassy in Beirut, in a sign of rapidly strengthening ties between his office and Damascus, which endorsed his appointment in May.
Syria's overlord stance towards Lebanon had long been seen by Western states as a key reason for the fragile nation's perpetual instability. A power-sharing deal brokered in May by the Gulf state of Qatar was aimed at enshrining Lebanese sovereignty following two years of blockades and political imbroglios that stemmed from the 2006 war with Israel.
However, the three months since has led many observers to conclude that the agreement has merely formalised the roles of foreign powers, such as Syria and Iran, in Lebanese affairs.
Before both presidents agreed to post diplomats to each other's capitals, the new Lebanese parliament made its first major decision - to allow militant group and political power-broker Hezbollah to retain control of its arsenal of weapons.
Neighbouring Israel, which has remained threatened by Hezbollah's growing power base and weapons stores for the past two years, immediately claimed the decision meant that any future act by Hezbollah could now be classed as having the approval of the elected Lebanese Government.
The parliamentary decision regarding Hezbollah's weapons was seen as the first test of thenew unity Government's mandate. The elected bloc of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora effectively handed over veto power to the Hezbollah-led opposition in May, on the cusp of what many in the region believe was a return to civil war.
Moves toward diplomatic recognition come as the Sunni Muslim stronghold of Tripoli in northern Lebanon recovered from a terror attack on Wednesday that claimed at least 14 lives, nine of them soldiers. Up to 40 more people were injured when a large roadside bomb destroyed a bus during morning peak hour.
Tripoli has been ravaged by violence since an al-Qa'ida-inspired uprising in July last year, in which a Palestinian refugee camp was overrun by jihadis. About 200 militants were killed in the six weeks of fighting that followed, as well as a similar number of soldiers.
The latest explosion is seen as a fallout from last year's battles. Leader of the government-linked Druze bloc, Walid Jumblatt, last night said Lebanon needed to ensure that regional "forces of darkness" did not push Lebanon back towards a sectarian battleground, or transform it into a new Iraq.
"I call on all parties to unite behind the Lebanese army and security services to face these terrorist activities and to protect north Lebanon and the city of Tripoli," he said.
Parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri said the latest bombing was linked to earlier attacks. "But we will fight this plot against Lebanon, its people and institutions," he said. "We only have the state to protect us and I call on the President to protect the citizens of Tripoli."
Hezbollah issued a statement condemning the explosion in Tripoli.
In the wake of the Qatar deal and the lifting of the Hezbollah blockade, Lebanon is enjoying its first bumper holiday season for four years.
SYRIA is to open an embassy in Lebanon for the first time in a move that recognises its unstable neighbour's sovereignty, but fuels fears of resurgent foreign meddling.
The move by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to recognise Lebanon, which was under the tutelage of Damascus until 2005, was immediately welcomed by the US, but treated warily by the Sunni Arab world as a harbinger of Syria again seizing control of the country - this time through the cover of official channels.
New Lebanese President Michel Sleiman agreed to reciprocate by opening a Lebanese embassy in Beirut, in a sign of rapidly strengthening ties between his office and Damascus, which endorsed his appointment in May.
Syria's overlord stance towards Lebanon had long been seen by Western states as a key reason for the fragile nation's perpetual instability. A power-sharing deal brokered in May by the Gulf state of Qatar was aimed at enshrining Lebanese sovereignty following two years of blockades and political imbroglios that stemmed from the 2006 war with Israel.
However, the three months since has led many observers to conclude that the agreement has merely formalised the roles of foreign powers, such as Syria and Iran, in Lebanese affairs.
Before both presidents agreed to post diplomats to each other's capitals, the new Lebanese parliament made its first major decision - to allow militant group and political power-broker Hezbollah to retain control of its arsenal of weapons.
Neighbouring Israel, which has remained threatened by Hezbollah's growing power base and weapons stores for the past two years, immediately claimed the decision meant that any future act by Hezbollah could now be classed as having the approval of the elected Lebanese Government.
The parliamentary decision regarding Hezbollah's weapons was seen as the first test of thenew unity Government's mandate. The elected bloc of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora effectively handed over veto power to the Hezbollah-led opposition in May, on the cusp of what many in the region believe was a return to civil war.
Moves toward diplomatic recognition come as the Sunni Muslim stronghold of Tripoli in northern Lebanon recovered from a terror attack on Wednesday that claimed at least 14 lives, nine of them soldiers. Up to 40 more people were injured when a large roadside bomb destroyed a bus during morning peak hour.
Tripoli has been ravaged by violence since an al-Qa'ida-inspired uprising in July last year, in which a Palestinian refugee camp was overrun by jihadis. About 200 militants were killed in the six weeks of fighting that followed, as well as a similar number of soldiers.
The latest explosion is seen as a fallout from last year's battles. Leader of the government-linked Druze bloc, Walid Jumblatt, last night said Lebanon needed to ensure that regional "forces of darkness" did not push Lebanon back towards a sectarian battleground, or transform it into a new Iraq.
"I call on all parties to unite behind the Lebanese army and security services to face these terrorist activities and to protect north Lebanon and the city of Tripoli," he said.
Parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri said the latest bombing was linked to earlier attacks. "But we will fight this plot against Lebanon, its people and institutions," he said. "We only have the state to protect us and I call on the President to protect the citizens of Tripoli."
Hezbollah issued a statement condemning the explosion in Tripoli.
In the wake of the Qatar deal and the lifting of the Hezbollah blockade, Lebanon is enjoying its first bumper holiday season for four years.
Source: The Australian
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