Gun attack on Syrian workers may be linked to Hariri visit

SHOTS WERE fired yesterday at a bus carrying Syrian workers in northern Lebanon, killing one and giving rise to speculation that the attack was intended to undermine prime minister Saad Hariri’s efforts to mend relations with Damascus.

On Saturday and Sunday, Mr Hariri had eight hours of talks in the Syrian capital with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who went out of his way to make the Lebanese leader feel at ease.

Mr Assad not only welcomed Mr Hariri on arrival but also drove him in his own vehicle, received him at home and put him up at the presidential guest palace usually reserved for heads of state and monarchs.

Mr Hariri had taken the road to Damascus because he had no other choice. Syria is Lebanon’s only contiguous neighbour other than Israel, and its gateway for trade with the Arab hinterland. Washington, which had attempted to replace Damascus as Beirut’s chief political partner, is too distant and too preoccupied with what it considers to be more pressing global matters to give serious attention to Lebanon’s problems.

In the past, Syria has resolved many disputes between Lebanon’s fractious factions. The country enjoys close ties with the Lebanese opposition, led by Hizbullah, and with Iran. The Syrian journey was difficult for Mr Hariri, because he had accused Damascus of having instigated or been involved in the 2005 assassination of his father, former premier Rafiq Hariri.

The anti-Syrian coalition of Sunni, Maronite Christian and Druze parties which Saad Hariri heads was founded as a protest against the murder, and aimed to force Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon. Damascus denied complicity, but pulled out its forces 10 weeks after the murder.

Mr Hariri has suspended judgment on the murder until the international tribunal created to investigate the killing and try suspects reaches a verdict.

He also said he was going to Damascus to offer condolences to Mr Assad over the death of his brother, Majd al-Assad. Lebanon’s president Michel Suleiman, who has visited Syria on numerous occasions since taking office in 2008, preceded Mr Hariri to Damascus to present his respects.

Mr Hariri was encouraged to make the trip by the recent rapprochement between Syria and Saudi Arabia, formalised by a visit by Saudi King Abdullah to Damascus.

In recent months, US-Syrian and US-French relations have warmed, making it easier for Mr Hariri, who enjoys the backing of Washington and Paris, to meet Mr Assad. The opening of diplomatic relations for the first time since independence of the two countries in the 1940s is also aiding normalisation.

The two men made agreements on demarcation of the border and on increasing trade and economic co-operation. Syria pressed Mr Hariri to defend Hizbullah’s right to retain its weapons, and called for national unity and communal consensus on the Lebanese political scene.

Syrian presidential adviser Bouthaina Shaaban said the talks dispelled “past differences” and broke the ice between the two sides. Both leaders spoke of strengthening “strategic ties”.