Ghassan Tueni: No Peace Talks Before Syrian Implementation of 1559

Naharnet

The secrecy that clouded the recent "redistribution" of Syrian security outposts in Lebanon underscores the lack of transparency that shrouds Damascus' foreign policy, according to Ghassan Tueni. He wondered why the media, especially the official media, has been unable to explain what the function of these "security outposts" was, where they've gone and whether they would be replaced by Lebanese counterparts. The veteran columnist wondered if the ambiguity was intentional to avoid an admission the move was a concession to the U.N. Security Council under Resolution 1559. But he rejected attempts to draw Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir into the maneuver by suggesting the redeployment was a "gift" to the Maronite prelate. Recent developments were not a unique example of Syrian attempts to deny the impact of U.N. resolutions. When Israel withdrew from Lebanon on May 25, 2000, it failed to give any credit to Resolution 425, which was adopted in March 1978. Instead, the credit went to the "Islamic Resistance," which did not exist back in the 1970s. "Between 1978 and 1982, the only resistance was that of the Palestinians," Tueni insisted. The "genuine resistance" came later and was carried out by Lebanese suicide operatives from the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and the Communist Party. The "National Resistance" turned into the "Islamic Resistance" much later, he recalled, describing the phenomenon as a product of years of deprivation and occupation in the south. As for more recent developments, Syria is desperate to revive peace negotiations with Israel, but igniting a civil war in Lebanon is no longer a viable pressure tool it can use against the Unites States, thanks to Resolution 1559. But it is President Lahoud who needs to abandon his "office mentality" and rein in "infantile" ministers in a cabinet sowing the seeds of a new civil war, while oblivious to the fact that Lebanon can no longer be used as a pressure tool to indefinitely postponed negotiations. According to Tueni, a "sovereign" Lebanon, enjoying "freedom of decision" can help bring a successful peace settlement for Syria. Syria, he said, needs to understand that "Lebanon is mature, and does not need guardianship." It is time for Syria to understand what some "friends among the big powers have advised: "There will be no peace negotiations before the implementation of 1559."