An Nahar reported on October 5 that: "In light of its statement that it is not a suspect in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Damascus is preparing a counter-campaign in Lebanon through undeclared activities. According to well-informed sources, Syrian President Bashar Assad held meetings away from the spotlight in the past two weeks with Chamber of Deputies Speaker Nabih Berri, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hasan Nasrallah, former Minister Suleiman Franjieh and other former ministers allied with Syria.

"Assad is also expected to meet former heads of governments, ministers and deputies within the framework of a plan that basically seeks to defend Syria after the publication of the final report of the UN investigation commission. According to the sources, the campaign seeks to prevent the use of the report in a way that determines the future of the region on the one hand and leads to attacking the Syrian regime on the other.

"Parallel meetings are taking place in Lebanon. Most of them are also undeclared. They included a meeting between Berri and Nasrallah and meetings between Nasrallah and prominent allies of Syria. Franjieh was also making efforts in more than one direction. Yesterday he met Gen Michel Aoun. This does not mean that Aoun is involved in this pro-Syria activity, but this is an attempt to bring together the forces that criticize the leaders of the current government. Public meetings Nasrallah held with former Prime Minister Salim Hoss and former Prime Minister Omar Karami also appear to fall in the context of preparations for the stage that will follow the publication of German Judge Detlev Mehlis's report on October 21.

"Although no signals have appeared yet regarding the content of the counter-campaign, Damascus allies who are involved in it adopt the Syrian leadership's viewpoint on the report, which is based on the following:

"The Syrian leadership is confident that the final report will not accuse Damascus of involvement in Hariri's assassination. This is why Syrian President Assad traveled to Cairo on September 25 with two types of evidence: the summary of the Arabic minutes of the interviews that Mehlis and his team conducted in Syria with 10 senior Syrian security officials, and information Assad reportedly received from the circles of the UN investigation commission in Lebanon saying that Syria is not a suspect in the assassination.

"The Syrian president sent a special envoy to Riyadh to convey this information to the Saudi officials. He was armed with the support of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The two countries reject the isolation of Syria and urge waiting for the final report of the UN investigation commission.

"The Syrian leadership will resist and confront any attempt to 'politicize' the final report. And at any rate, it will not hand over any of its officers in case 'political suspicions' arose around them. This position converges with leaks from Lebanese sources close to the international investigation commission that the final report will say that Damascus did not cooperate fully during the interrogations in Damascus, and that the commission will express disappointment at this Syrian position.

"Damascus has decided once again to rely on its Lebanese allies after the publication of the report to correct domestic political balances, especially within the government. This is why some of these prominent allies expect the formation of a new government if Mehlis's report proves Damascus's claims to be true. This would also close the file on the demand for the ouster of President Emile Lahhud by force. Some people in this camp are talking about political confusion in the ranks of the ministerial majority team, and they are basically counting on a key role by Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt, who frequently criticizes the American role in Lebanon, and who, in the past few days, stressed to his visitors the need to regain the Arab influence in Lebanon.

"These positions appear in total conflict with what the leaders of the government are saying, at least with regard to what they expect from Mehlis's report. In what appears as a direct response to the Syrian viewpoint, they say that no-one in Lebanon entered Mehlis's investigation's kitchen, including the Lebanese security services that are coordinating with the investigation commission and the army that is providing protection for the international investigators. This shows that the political contradiction, within and outside the government, between the two parties searching for the truth, each based on what it wants from it, has begun to deepen. Political balance within the government will be in its worst shape whether Syria is incriminated or not.

"As a senior official close to the work of the UN investigation commission puts it: the closer the truth gets, the greater the danger around it." - An Nahar, Lebanon

Copyright © 1999-2005 Lebanonwire^®.com. All rights reserved.