We need a script for a fruitful Lebanese-Syrian bilateral relationship
We’re at the dawn of a new relationship between Lebanon and Syria. Our bilateral relationship has undergone many mutations over past decades, but a seeming constant has been the element of danger, as each side has mistrusted the other. At best, the Syrian regime has tolerated Lebanon, treating it like a kid brother. This is our historical experience, and this difficult history shouldn’t be denied as we come to grips with what to do about our relationship with Syria.
Today, we should be frank. The Syrian government despises Lebanese politicians, except for Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and his group, where an element of fear comes into play.
It’s not really important why the Syrians consider Lebanese politicians sectarian, unruly and generally untrustworthy. There might be bombast and chauvinism at play, but we can’t forget that Syrian officials have scratched their heads at bilateral meetings, when they encounter Lebanese politicians who, woefully lack the infrastructure of politics – the files, the numbers, the figures, the policies. We see Syria as overly bureaucratic, they see us as overly chaotic.
Our politicians have also engaged in all forms of kowtowing to Syria, all the way to doing its dirty work; few doubt it’s been an unhealthy relationship.
And in recent years, as discussion of these ties has grown louder, Lebanese have erred in more than one way, whether falling into a fatalism when it comes to Syria, as if the situation will never fundamentally change, or flying away into fantasy, thinking that they can merely wish their neighbor or its regime away. These extreme attitudes hide real developments. In 2004, Bashar Assad’s regime recognized Turkish sovereignty over the Sanjak of Alexandretta, or province of Hatay. Assad is capable of taking historic decisions.
In the last year, we’ve seen official Lebanese-Syrian ties arise, also under Bashar’s regime, after it was long said we’d never see a Syrian Embassy in Lebanon.
When it comes to moving this relationship along, we must go beyond labels and slogans. Both sides need the right attitude, and we certainly need a script, for each state. Syria and Lebanon simply cannot continue without a working guide for their relationship, in a fluid regional environment.
Everyone knows that a period of instability would be dangerous for both countries, but we should remember that a period of prosperity would also be dangerous without a script to work from, as messy fights break out over reaping the benefits.
In either case we need a script, one that absorbs our tragedies and aspires to fruitful bilateral cooperation. For Assad and Saad Hariri, or for our own president and premier-designate, the only perspective to take on the dawn of a new Lebanese-Syrian relationship is one that departs substantially from the disappointments of the past.