Al-Hariri's assassination brought back harrowing memories of Lebanon's civil war, writes Dina Ezzat The assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri -- alarming as it was -- was not the only troubling story this week. From the beginning, there were many problem areas reflected in the news and certainly the opinion pages. The humanitarian tragedy in Darfur persisted and so did the US threats of sanctions against Sudan. The return of the Somali government from its exile in Nairobi to the virtually deserted capital of Mogadishu will apparently be met with many obstacles due to internal and external factors. In Iraq there was uncertainty over the post-elections era and the consequences of the composition of its future government on the ethnic co-existence, and even territorial unity, of the country. The most disturbing stories, however, came from the eastern part of the Arab world. In Palestine the "ceasefire" agreement that was painstakingly produced in Sharm El-Sheikh last week was repeatedly violated. Israel delayed its scheduled withdrawal from Jericho and procrastinated over the release of a few hundred Palestinian prisoners. The Sharm summit itself came under increasing attack as commentators voiced genuine concern that even the very few and unimpressive results the four-way summit produced last week were not materialising. "Sharm El-Sheikh: A beginning with no end", "A fragile truce and a bumpy road", "Sharm El- Sheikh summit is no herald to peace", and "Sharm El-Sheikh happened -- so what?" were some of the headlines of the prominent commentators in major Arab papers this week. Many argued that the summit that brought together the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Palestine with the prime minister of Israel was in fact much ado about nothing. At the end of the day, commentators argued, Sharon was well received and generously treated for very little, if anything, in return. "As usual, Sharon received a hefty price in advance, in Egyptian and all other Arab currencies, and left with a promise to send the commodities he was paid for. But the expected goods soon turned out to be a mere hope if not a mirage," Khaled El-Shami wrote in the daily London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi on Friday. Indeed, as Aicha Sultan argued on the same day in Al-Bayan, a daily of the United Arab Emirates, "Sharon was the only winner in the summit of Sharm El-Sheikh. Every time Israel escalates its aggression against the Palestinians, the US rescue is delivered in a neat Arab parcel." Commentators who were critical of the Israeli failure to make good on its promises made in Sharm El-Sheikh also voiced concern that at the end Israel will only deliver on some and not all of the promises it made. But for some commentators, the trouble with Sharm El-Sheikh or for that matter with Israel's failure to deliver what it promised at the summit, was not just about the increasing imbalance of regional power in favour of Israel. The overall regional scene was what mattered for commentators who argued that the outcome of the Egyptian-hosted summit was a clear indication of Cairo's concern that the region is heading towards some troubling times. The Syrian-Lebanese front was suggested by many writers as the potential scene of drama. Some hoped a crisis could be avoided -- but the majority saw a storm in the making. On Monday morning, the day on which Al- Hariri was assassinated, Ghassan Tweini, the prominent Lebanese commentator and founding editor of the prestigious Lebanese daily An- Nahar, warned the clock was ticking for the region -- particularly for Lebanon. Commenting on the cliché statements warning of the "Lebanisation of Iraq", always perceptive Tweini argued that the more pressing concern was "the Iraqisation of Lebanon". According to Al-Hariri's regular Monday article, those who think that the ghosts of civil war have left Lebanon are much mistaken. "Who knows what will happen next?" Tweini asked. "My worst fear is that there will be a booby- trapped car somewhere." "This is not impossible as some would like to think." Like other opponents of the current Lebanese government, including Al-Hariri himself, Tweini blamed the ruling regime in Beirut not only for mismanaging relations with Damascus in a way that undermined the independence of Lebanon but denying the two countries the chance of developing normal friendly relations. Tweini called on the Lebanese government to resign. And on Tuesday, he broke his one- article-per-week rule to mourn the loss of Al- Hariri. "Martyrdom for the resurrection of Lebanon" was the headline of Tweini's sentimental article. The damage sustained by the loss of Al-Hariri, Tweini wrote, is "irreparable". But he added, it is "a martyrdom" that should help Lebanon to pursue "resurrection from the hell it is living in". The civil war phobia was clear in the writings of Lebanese commentators and news reporters on Tuesday morning. Some argued that "it's happening again." Others recalled the 1977 assassination of Kamal Jumblatt and many looked to the future with fear. "The assassination of Al-Hariri -- where does it lead Lebanon?" was the headline of the Rafiq Khouri article in the opinion page of Tuesday's Al-Anwar of Lebanon. For Khouri the assassination "was a bloody message" sent by those who "want to assassinate Lebanon". The sender is still anonymous, wrote Khouri, but the disturbing consequences are unmistakably clear. "Today, Lebanon is sad and angry. But what about tomorrow?" The answer, as offered by the Lebanese and other Arab papers, was disturbing: ghosts of civil war, foreign intervention, economic failures and political havoc -- not just in Lebanon but for the entire region, especially the eastern part of the Arab world.
