Despite a glowing visit, Lebanon's new president will find progress delayed on the substantive issues presented to Syria, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus When Michel Suleiman finally went to Damascus he was given every sign of cordiality a visiting dignitary could expect. Three years of acrimony seems to have dissipated as the Syrians fawned over Lebanon's new president, making sure he felt at home. But sweet- talking aside, Damascus wasn't ready yet to give in to the demands of Lebanon's parliamentary majority. Damascus, the majority claimed, ruled Lebanon by proxy from 1976, when Syrian forces were first deployed in the country, until 2005, when they pulled out weeks after the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri. The Lebanese majority, also known as the 14 March forces (reference to a massive demonstration they organised on 14 March 2005), didn't spare an occasion to malign Damascus. Sunnis loyal to Saad Al-Hariri, Druze loyal to Walid Jumblatt, and Christians loyal to Amin Gemayel and Samir Geagea called for Syria to draw its borders with Lebanon, exchange ambassadors, release Lebanese detainees, and review various bilateral agreements. Initially, the Syrian government refused to make any substantial adjustment in relations between the two countries. In the first few months after the Syrian withdrawal, Syrian officials and media repeated old mantras. All is well, they said. Syria and Lebanon are "one nation in two countries", they insisted. And, more pointedly, "fraternal bonds" between Damascus and Beirut obviate the need for diplomatic representation. Speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly, Charles Kamlah, head of the research department at the official newspaper Tishrin, said, "for all the occasional ups and downs, no one can deny the historic nature of the ties between Syria and Lebanon... The two countries share the same history and geography. The two nations are bound together by mutual interests, marriage and economic needs." Since Muslim conquests and up to 1920, Syria and Lebanon were one country. Then French occupation authorities decided to form Greater Lebanon, annexing four Syrian provinces in the process. After Lebanon gained its independence, Lebanese politicians agreed on an unwritten pact in 1943. The Sunnis gave up their demands for unity with Syria in return for the Christians giving up their demand for a special relationship with France. A system of factional quotas was devised for the parliament and top government posts. Although Lebanon became independent, its relations with Syria remained embedded in tradition. The two countries had one customs department serving both until 1951. Other vestiges of extraordinary bonds include: citizens of both countries need only to show an ID to move across borders back and forth -- no passports or visas required; the borders are not entirely defined and many families own property straddling the borders; the two countries are joined by customs agreements and preferential trade deals; there were no embassies. Following Al-Hariri's assassination, Lebanon's parliamentary majority put its feet down, calling for an end to all special ties with Syria. Syria ignored them for three years, relenting only recently and after Arab and international pressures reached an unbearable peak. During the Union for the Mediterranean talks in Paris in July 2008, President Bashar Al-Assad finally announced his intention to exchange ambassadors with Lebanon. Then he invited the Lebanese president to visit Damascus. Although Suleiman was received with utmost courtesy, most issues Suleiman brought to the table have been sent to committees to examine them at their leisure. No timetable has been set for the end of the committees' work. The Committee for the Drawing of Borders has been given a partial task. The Syrians say that the borders at Shebaa Farms, currently under Israeli occupation, need not be discussed until Israel pulls out. So the committee will only be looking into borders from the north down to Shebaa Farms. The question of missing persons on both sides has been referred to the Joint Judicial Committee. The Lebanese say that there are more than 600 Lebanese prisoners in Syria. The Syrians countered that there are more than 1,000 missing Syrians in Lebanon. The missing Syrians were either in buried mass graves, were handed to Israel or thrown in the sea, Syria's foreign minister said, pointing the finger -- many believe -- at Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. As for existing cooperation agreements, which many Lebanese claim to be tilted in Syria's favour, all that appears achieved is that the two countries have agreed to reconsider these agreements "in a manner commensurate with developments and the interests of both nations". Suleiman is going to get his embassy -- for now at least. Everything else is in the hands of committees.
