Syria found itself increasingly isolated on Tuesday as the United States and France stepped up their pressure for withdrawal of its forces from neighbouring Lebanon.
”The Syrians are out of step with where the region is going and out of step with the aspirations of the people of the region,” the USSsecretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, said at a joint news conference with the French foreign minister, Michel Barnier.
Despite jubilation in Beirut at the unexpected collapse on Monday of the Syrian-backed government led by Omar Harami, there was no sign that Damascus would be allowed any breathing space until it releases its grip on Lebanon.
The US and France — which were at loggerheads over the war in Iraq but see eye to eye on Syria’s involvement in Lebanon — issued a joint statement on Tuesday calling for an international investigation into the killing of Lebanon’s former prime minister Rafik Hariri and for a complete pullout of Syrian troops.
The statement said: ”We fully support the pursuit of an independent, democratic and sovereign Lebanon, free of outside interference and intimidation.”
Protesters waving Lebanese flags returned to central Beirut on Tuesday, vowing to stay there until the Syrians leave. Their numbers, though, were only in the hundreds — unlike the tens of thousands who turned out on Monday as the government toppled
”We want Syria to be out of Lebanon,” said Muhammad al-Arab, who returned to Lebanon a month ago from his studies in the United States. ”I love my country, it’s a beautiful country. But in this country you [can make] no decisions. You belong to Syria.”
The soldiers blocking central streets have also dissipated since Monday, though small groups of soldiers still keep watch on corners and some barricades remain in place.
But the ”Syria Out!” graffiti around the square is still growing and the demonstrators — mainly students — say they are inspired by comparisons with the protests in Kiev last year.
”Now all Lebanese people are making the changes, not the government. They are motivated to go to the streets, to really be active in this liberation … We will do our best to keep people motivated,” said 21-year-old Marwan Mallouf, president of the student council at St Joseph’s University, who, with his friends, has been taking turns sleeping in the tent camp on the square.
”We lived in the [civil] war, we didn’t have electricity for months,” said his friend Touma Assaf (20). ”We can put up with some rude conditions for now.”
Since the blast that killed Hariri a fortnight ago, the pressure on Syria — both from in Lebanon and internationally — has been unprecedented and come from several directions.
Apart from the Lebanese question, Iraq has accused Syria of supporting insurgents, while Israel blamed Islamic Jihad leaders based in Syria for the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv last week.
Syria’s conciliatory response towards Iraq — handing over a half-brother of Saddam Hussein — seemed to many like an admission of guilt.
Though it is unclear whether Syria was involved in killing Hariri, his death has removed old Lebanese taboos on criticising Syria.
”In Lebanon the shock of the assassination was equal to the aftermath of September 11 and Princess Diana’s funeral,” said Nadim Shehadi, director of the Centre for Lebanese Studies at Oxford.
”There was a taboo on opposing Syria, and allies of Syria were allies because of a realisation they had no other option. That has been broken, both among the people and maybe the politicians.”
In a move that further undermined Syria’s position in Lebanon, Rice hinted on Tuesday at the possibility of international security assistance if Syria withdraws its troops. Damascus has long argued its forces are needed in Lebanon to prevent a return to civil war.
Syria’s ambassador to London, Sami Khiyami, told BBC radio on Tuesday that his country stood ready to discuss any withdrawal or redeployment with the Lebanese authorities.
”Anything that will be decided about the presence of Syrian troops or security forces is decided by the Lebanese and Syrian governments together according to the Taif Accord,” he said, referring to the deal that ended Lebanon’s civil war of 1975-90.
Khiyami said Syria ”absolutely respects” UN security council resolution 1559 — sponsored last year by the US and France — which calls for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon.
In the absence of any major ally, Arab diplomats have been trying to find ways to help Syria out of its corner, warning Damascus of the gravity of its situation while exploring ways that it might leave without losing too much face. – Guardian Unlimited Â