As the Cedar revolution marks its fifth anniversary, the political terrain in Lebanon remains fragile, Omayma Abdel-Latif reports from Beirut For the past five years, the most common way for March 14 supporters to discredit their political rivals have been to portray them as Syrian allies or stooges in Lebanon. It was not much of a surprise, therefore, that when Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri mentioned Syria in his speech commemorating the fifth anniversary of his father's assassination Sunday, he was booed by his own audience. Al-Hariri had a lot of explaining to do regarding his visit to Damascus last December. The majority of Al-Hariri's Sunni supporters still cannot swallow his visit and the new page in relations with Syria it inaugurated. After all, for five years animosity towards Syria has been the sole mobilising factor of March 14 supporters. They were told over and over that it was Syria who killed Rafik Al-Hariri and that was behind a series of assassinations that took place in Lebanon from 2005 until 2008. Lebanese analyst Nicola Nassif said it was not "easy for Al-Hariri to be booed by his audience while explaining his vision on Syrian-Lebanese relations. He also did not expect that this audience would applaud reconciliation with Syria overnight. Many did not hide their disappointment at the visit, but more importantly at the fact that their leader did not bother to prepare them for such a grand event." Mohamed Shatah, Al-Hariri's foreign affairs advisor, explained the people's reaction by noting, "the Syrian question is a very sensitive one". "On a popular level, the relationship undoubtedly has been very difficult," said Shatah. He dismissed that improving relations with Syria was the result of Saudi- Syrian reconciliation alone. "This step was important, but most importantly the Lebanese-Syrian climates improved when Syria showed willingness to address a number of pending issues like opening up an embassy and establishing diplomatic ties, and also the fact that the international tribunal has become a fact of life." The booing of Al-Hariri also reflects what could be called a leadership-people divide. Sectarian and political polarisation is still high among the popular bases. Resistance to the policy choices of Al-Hariri or Druze leader Walid Jumblatt is unlikely, however, to develop into a movement able to challenge their leadership. "Even if their supporters object to their policies, this does not mean they would abandon them," explained Jonney Munayer, political analyst of the daily Ad-Diyar newspaper. Meanwhile, Lebanese newspapers are awash with reports about Jumblatt's imminent trip to Damascus. Leaks by Jumblatt's close circles reveal that preparations for the visit are in full swing. Although no date had been set, reports suggest it could be before the end of February. Jumblatt's meeting with Hizbullah Secretary- General Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday was said to have touched on his Damascus visit. Nasrallah is believed to be playing a mediating role between Jumblatt and Damascus. As on previous occasions, Syria was at the heart of speeches commemorating the anniversary of Rafik Al-Hariri's killing -- an event that marked the onset of what became known as the cedar revolution. This time, however, the tone was different. The head of the Phalanges Party, one of two Christian parties that remain in the March 14 alliance, expressed support for "Al-Hariri in seeking to improve relations between Syria and Lebanon." "We believe that we should build bridges with Syria because it is our conviction that Lebanon's stability and security are a reflection of Syria's stability and security," leader Amin Gemayel told the audience. But he demanded that Syria takes "concrete and clear steps" towards addressing pending issues in the relationship. Al-Hariri finally explained the reasons behind his visit. "It was a result of a window of opportunity for the larger Arab reconciliation efforts exerted by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia." Having had a monopoly over the meaning of Lebanon's interests for the past five years, Al-Hariri now identified Lebanon's interest to be in "Arab solidarity" and not in the "the game of axes", referring to the divide between so-called "moderate" regional powers (Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia) and those engaged in "resistance" (Syria, Iran and Hizbullah). Al-Hariri explained his recent policy shifts as part of the "Lebanon first" agenda. Hizbullah's Nawaf Al-Musawi, an MP of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, hoped that Saudi-Iranian rapprochement would have a similar impact in Lebanon as Syrian-Saudi rapprochement. Hizbullah continues to fear a return to sectarian strife. " [Avoiding] this is our responsibility as much as it is Al-Hariri's responsibility," said Al-Musawi, adding that for Hizbullah "the US threat to Lebanon of planting the seeds of sectarian strife is greater than Israeli military threats."
