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Syria and Lebanon to Work on Demarcating Border
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria agreed Thursday to a longtime Lebanese demand to negotiate the demarcation of their border a day after the countries said they would establish full diplomatic relations for the first time.
The agreements are a victory for Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, who traveled to Syria Wednesday in a landmark visit — the first by a Lebanese head of state to Syria in more than three years.
”This announcement is a historic step toward rectifying relations,” said Saad Hariri, who heads the Western-backed, anti-Syrian majority in parliament. ”It is time … for (Syrian) tutelage to end once and for all,” said Hariri, son of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed in a 2005 bomb attack that many in Lebanon blamed on Syria.
The border has been poorly defined since the two countries became independent from French rule in the 1940s. Lebanon’s anti-Syrian factions have long demanded demarcation along with diplomatic ties as recognition by Syria of Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence.
Syria controlled Lebanon for nearly 30 years, after sending its army in as peacekeepers during the 1975-90 civil war. Its direct hold was broken in 2005, when international pressure over the slaying of Hariri.
Even after the withdrawal, some Lebanese accused Damascus of trying to maintain its influence, saying it was encouraging its ally Hezbollah to topple the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. They also accused Syria of being behind a string of assassinations of anti-Syria figures since 2005 to intimidate Beirut and destabilize the country. Syria denies any role in the Hariri killing or the other attacks.
Syria, however, only agreed to relations after its influence in Lebanon was guaranteed by the creation on Tuesday of a unity government in Beirut that gives Damascus-allied Hezbollah a strong say in Lebanese decision-making.
Still, the agreement — along with the unity government — could go a long way to easing three years of continuous crisis in Lebanon, where the power struggle between pro-Western and pro-Syrian factions brought the country to the brink of a new civil war. But the rivalry remains uneasy, and any attempt by either to dominate could spark new unrest.
There have not been any official attempts to define the border before and it was not clear when action would be taken on the agreements. No date was set for the opening of embassies or for a joint committee to begin work on the border.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said at a news conference Thursday that one disputed area under Israeli control would not be demarcated while it remains under Israeli occupation.
Israel seized the area, known as Chebaa Farms, from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war. It is located where the borders of three countries meet. Lebanon and Syria claim it is Lebanese territory. But a U.N.-drawn border between Israel and Lebanon marks it as Syrian land under Israeli occupation.
A joint statement from the Lebanese and Syrian presidents said both sides agreed to review all bilateral agreements in an ”objective” way. Many Lebanese claim that political and economic agreements signed between the two countries during the 1990s were lopsided in Syria’s favor.
The United States, which backs Saniora, welcomed the decision to restore diplomatic ties but pushed for Syria to stay out of Lebanese affairs.
”We have long stood for the normalization of relations between Syria and Lebanon on the basis of equality and respect for Lebanese sovereignty. One of the steps that has long been required is the establishment of a proper embassy for Syria in Lebanon and vice versa,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday.
”Now, if the Syrians will go ahead and demarcate the border between Lebanon and Syria, and respect Lebanon’s sovereignty in other ways, then this will have proved to be a very good step,” she added.
In their statement Thursday, the Lebanese and Syrian presidents also pledged to intensify efforts to determine the fate of their citizens believed to be missing in each other’s countries.
International human rights groups say hundreds of Lebanese have been imprisoned in Syria since Damascus first sent troops into Lebanon in 1976. The Syrian government says it freed the last of the prisoners nearly eight years ago.
Source: NYT
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