Breaking the silence on Arab rights

by Hasan Abu Nimah

Syria has just ended its military and intelligence presence in Lebanon. This, no doubt, is a step in the right direction. It will enable Lebanon to continue to build its political institutions and its struggling economy away from the direct influence of foreign intervention.

A prosperous, democratic and healthy Lebanon is a substantial contribution to renovating the entire region after extended periods of war, political stagnation and regional strife. But by completely fulfilling its obligations under Security Council Resolution 1559, will Syria be free from further international pressure? It is unlikely.

Syria was not an occupier of Lebanon although the extended stay of its military forces and the expansion of its political influence, beyond the expiry of the circumstances which necessitated Syrian military intervention three decades ago, made it look like one. But Syria has been targeted for other reasons.

The war on Iraq was the first stage in a comprehensive plan for the region. Syria was meant to be next, once the Iraq issue was settled and Saddam's regime was removed. Secretary of State Colin Powell wasted no time after the Iraq operation was "officially" over, heading for Damascus with a long list of demands, which the Syrians accepted. They agreed to curb the activities of the Palestinian opposition factions and to offer intelligence cooperation, while stopping former Iraqi officials from seeking refuge in their territory. They also agreed to monitor their border with Iraq to block infiltration of "terrorists" and they made several overtures to start unconditional peace talks with Israel.

That was not enough, and the pressure on Syria continued to mount. The French- and American-sponsored action at the Security Council, precipitating Resolution 1559, was more designed to embarrass and corner Syria than to free Lebanon, at least as far as one of the sponsors was concerned. If the main concern was indeed Lebanon's sovereignty, why did the resolution fail to mention the continued violations of Lebanese territory by Israel?

Of course, the Syrian presence in Lebanon was a vulnerable point, and it would have been wiser if Damascus, in the aftermath of the two wars on Iraq, in 1991 and 2003, had anticipated that it would be targeted. The truth is that Syria has been accused of sponsoring terrorism by the United States, with specific emphasis on an alleged Syrian role in supporting Hizbollah, also a major target of the plan for the region. Resolution 1559 made a specific reference to disarming Hizbollah. It remains to be seen if the demand for the implementation of that part of the resolution will be addressed to Beirut or Damascus, or both.

Either way, Syria will be faced with fresh demands, most likely for American-style "democratisation" and for ending its support for "terrorism". This last item is a veiled formula intended to require Syria to end its hostility towards Israel by ceasing any support for the Palestinian opposition factions on or outside Syrian territory and to accept, at some stage, any Israeli offer to settle its conflict with Syria on terms which do not include ending Israel's occupation of southwest Syria (the Golan Heights).

To tackle such a delicate situation, it is time that the Arabs did something to help Syria and the Palestinians.

An Arab move is required to face the United States, the United Nations and the Europeans, with the emerging contradictions. If Syria was rightly required to respond to UN resolutions and withdraw its forces from Lebanon, Israel should be equally required to implement the 37-year-old Security Council Resolution 242 requiring its withdrawal from Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian occupied lands. Why shouldn't Israel be required to comply with numerous UN resolutions demanding an immediate end to settlement construction and an end to its efforts to Judaise Jerusalem and expel its Arab population?

What is delaying the Arabs, at Arab League level, from initiating an intensive international campaign to raise awareness worldwide that they are the victims not the aggressors; that it is their land that is occupied, colonised and settled by those who pretend to be their victims; and that they have been making one truly generous offer after another to live in peace with Israel while Israel continues to respond with building more settlements and creating more facts on the ground?

Why are the Arabs silent? Why don't they remind the UN secretary general of his primary duty of reporting to the Security Council on the progress of action regarding Security Council Resolution 242 in the same vigorous manner he has been prodding Syria to meet its responsibilities towards 1559? Why do they not remind Kofi Annan that if it was right for his representative Terje Roed-Larsen to shuttle incessantly between Damascus and Beirut to demand instant implementation of the UN rulings (and even to interfere in internal matters such as the Lebanese elections), it should also be right to send him to Israel to demand the same?

Perhaps the extent of contradictions and the double standards are unprecedented. The Palestinians have unilaterally declared a truce and they have been strictly observing it. The Arabs supported that and, as a gesture of goodwill, returned the Jordanian and Egyptian ambassadors to Tel Aviv. The Israeli response was to build more settlements, commit more attacks, killings, arrests and strangulation, and continue with the construction of the apartheid wall. Despite all that, much of the international community levels all the blame at the Palestinians, demanding from them "reform" and "dismantling of terror", instead of blaming Israel.

The Syrians, on the other hand, did everything they were rightly or wrongly required to do, but remain under attack. Their land remains colonised and occupied.

Arab silence can only mean acquiescence, and can only invite more humiliation and harassment. It is time that the Arabs broke the silence.

This article was published in the Wednesday, April 27, 2005 edition of the Jordan Times. It is used here with permission.