|
||
 |
||
|
||
|
||
| Syria diverts blame onto
Israel after 'odious' Hariri killing by Roueida Mabardi DAMASCUS, Feb 15 (AFP) - Syria went on the defensive Tuesday after the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, who resigned just four months ago in protest at the dominant role of Damascus in his country. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was among the first leaders to condemn the massive Beirut bomb blast that killed Hariri and another 14 people on Monday and brought back memories of the dark days of the Lebanese civil war. The official press condemned the murder as an "odious crime," saying Hariri was a "welcome son" for Syria and accused arch-foe Israel of seeking to sabotage Lebanon's achievements since the 1975-1990 war. "What happened was an attempt to shatter national unity in Lebanon, to sow anarchy and divisions which lead to a climate of civil war," said government newspaper Tishrin. While the opposition to the pro-Syrian government in Beirut openly blamed Syria for the assassination, the official Damascus media in turn pointed a finger at Israel without even reporting the accusations against Syria. Israel "continues to work to sabotage Lebanon's achievements to try to bring anarchy to the country and to be able to continue its occupation of the Shebaa Farms", a disputed strip of land along the Israeli border, said Tishrin. Several Arab analysts stressed that Syria itself was also targeted by Hariri's assassination. "Syria certainly did not need to complicate the situation, just when it is already in the firing line" over UN Resolution 1559, Rauf Ghoneim, a former Egyptian deputy foreign minister, said on the public station, Nile-TV. The UN Security Council adopted the resolution in September calling for an end to foreign interference in Lebanon and the withdrawal of foreign troops, a direct message to Syria which still has 14,000 troops stationed there. Political scientist Gamal Salama, also in Cairo, ruled out any Syrian link because the killing could not serve the interests of Damascus. It could signal "the prelude to action against Syria", said Salama. "Something has been in the pipeline against Syria for a long time. "Nobody knows what or when, but something is being cooked up to target Damascus." The editor-in-chief of Syria's official Ath-Thawra newspaper, Fayez Sayegh, said the attack on Hariri "targeted national unity and civil peace in Lebanon". In the face of the accusations of Syrian involvement, Sayegh insisted that Damascus "always welcomed Hariri as one of its sons and as a major Lebanese figure". Hariri, a Sunni Muslim who was five-times prime minister and a billionaire businessman who spearheaded Lebanon's post-war reconstruction, quit as premier in October. He resigned after Lebanon's parliament in September backed a Damascus-inspired amendment to the constitution to extend the mandate of pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, a move that triggered international concern. The United States stepped up calls for Syria to comply with Resolution 1559 following the murder of Hariri, but Syrian Information Minister Mahdi Dakhlallah suggested that Damascus was not ready to take such action. "The anarchy in Lebanon is perhaps due to the withdrawal of the Syrian army and security agents from most regions of Lebanon at a time when the independence of the country is under threat," he told Al-Jazeera television. Since Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon in May 2000 after 20 years of occupation, Syria has carried out six troop redeployments to cut back numbers from a high of 35,000 soldiers. Syria's military presence in its western neighbour dates back to 1976 when its forces intervened with Arab League backing, a year after Lebanon's civil war broke out. |
||
|
||
 |
||
Copyright 2005 AFP. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
