Albania hosts MWL chief for Eid sermon at largest mosque in the Balkans    Saudi Arabia launches pavilion at Bologna International Book Fair 2025    Rare Kaaba interior coverings showcased at Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah    Haramain High-Speed Railway transports over 1.2 million passengers during Ramadan    Marine Le Pen sentenced to prison, barred from office over EU funds embezzlement    UK returns over 24,000 migrants as Starmer scraps Rwanda deportation plan    Missing US soldiers' armored vehicle recovered from Lithuanian swamp    Myanmar declares seven days of national mourning after devastating earthquake    Saudi Transport Authority says passengers can ride for free if taxi meters are off    Ministry of Education forms 425 community partnerships with SR653 million impact    Defense, interior, and national guard ministers extend Eid greetings, praise efforts of military and security personnel    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Elon Musk's xAI acquires X in all-stock deal    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    100 Thieves claim Marvel Rivals Invitational NA crown as 2025 scene heats up    T1 CEO confirms Gumayusi's return for LCK Spring after lineup shakeup    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Saudi Arabia hold Japan to goalless draw in Saitama to stay in World Cup hunt    NewJeans announces hiatus after setback in court battle    George Foreman, heavyweight champion and cultural icon, dies at 76    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



The European Sanctions and Sykes-Picot
Published in AL HAYAT on 25 - 05 - 2011

The establishment of diplomatic relations between Syria and Lebanon and the exchange of diplomatic representation at the level of ambassadors in Damascus and Beirut, was perceived as a sign for the beginning of a new stage between the two countries. Indeed, the Syrian recognition of the Lebanese state, which reached its peak with the approval of the dispatch of an ambassador to Beirut, meant – among other things – the approval of all the stipulations of the Sykes-Picot agreement and the establishment of Greater Lebanon at the beginning of last century, as well as the removal of areas which were affiliated with Syria and their annexation to Lebanon. Consequently, this delayed recognition implied a new Syrian approach toward the Lebanese state, but also toward the nature of the relations that should exist between both countries.
However, ever since a Syrian ambassador was appointed to Beirut and a Lebanese ambassador to Damascus, this approach failed to surface and Syria's vision of the land of the cedars remained unchanged. Even the Syrian behavior shifted in accordance with the military withdrawal in 2005, and nothing more. Therefore, at the level of the Syrian strategy, Lebanon remained the position from which Damascus addressed the world, whether it is the neighboring region or the Western powers.
It is for this reason that Damascus summoned back the Sykes-Picot agreement and the colonial goals in its response to the American and European sanctions imposed on Syrian officials, as it placed these sanctions in the context of the foreign ambitions and the pressures exerted on Damascus which is standing in the face of these plans. The Syrian talk about the connection between the sanctions and Sykes-Picot, and the confirmation that Damascus could harm European interests, pointed to the attempt to connect Lebanon to the protests witnessed in Syria. And regardless of the causal link between these sanctions and the excessive and bloody oppression targeting the protests in Syria, the attempts to link Lebanon to them is a mere exportation of the problem, in order to shift the attention away from the domestic turmoil and render the land of the cedars part of this problem.
Damascus accused Lebanese sides of funding and arming the elements shooting during the demonstrations in Syria. Identical and quasi-official accusations were also made to these sides of continuing to dispatch armed men - especially during the bloody confrontations in Tal Kalakh - thus linking the “armed men” in this town to the Lebanese twin Wadi Khaled. Although no one believed that the “Islamic Emirate of Tel Kalakh” was established to communicate with a similar “Emirate” on the Lebanese border and in North Lebanon, the greater goal behind this association is to render the Lebanese state – via the army – a party in the Syrian domestic problem. At this level, the Lebanese northern region offers the necessary elements to secure such a goal, as the experience of the Nahr al-Barid Palestinian refugees' camp and the “Emirate” of Shaker al-Absi in it confirmed the existence of these elements and the implication of the Lebanese army in a bloody battle whose repercussions it has yet to absorb.
There might be Lebanese figures and small parties that lived off the Syrian influence and are willing to carry out whatever they are ordered to do to maintain their acquisitions, including the detonation of the security situation and the shifting of the Arab and international attention toward the Lebanese situation and away from the Syrian domestic arena. However, the stalemate affecting the formation of the Lebanese government conveys what is much more dangerous, as it is affecting the role of the constitutional institutions and its replacement with a new equation consecrating drastic change in the nature of the Lebanese system that is one of consensus among the country's components and sects. This is at the heart of the Syrian domestic problem, which is prompting the slogans heard in the protests and the demands of the opposition parties and figures.


Clic here to read the story from its source.