A Special Tribute to Aoun… and a Bad One for Lebanon
We have no intention of evaluating the visit of MP Michel Aoun to Syria, and the soundness of the comparison he made between the regime which spread the red carpet for him in Damascus and the German regime visited by Charles De Gaulle after the fall of Nazism (against which the war was being waged) and the establishment of a new democratic government in Germany on its ruins.
Such evaluation and comparison are left to Aoun”s supporters and to the Christian popular base which will voice its opinion of his choices in a few months, if circumstances permit. When we speak of a Christian popular base, we do not mean to give Aoun”s choices or the support he enjoys a sectarian character, but merely repeat the slogan he himself raises these days, as he considers himself to be the spokesperson and protector of the Christians, not only in Lebanon but in the Orient as a whole.
Nevertheless, what matters to us is the negative impact left by the special and exceptional welcome the Lebanese MP received in Syria on the form being sought for normal relations between Lebanon and Syria, relations which Aoun”s visit was said to aim at returning to the right track. Such relations are usually forged, as in all other countries, between representatives of the state and its symbols. However, when a political figure, from any level, intends to visit a country, the tribute they receive there should not exceed that granted to representatives of the state themselves. A recent example would be the tour made by candidate Barack Obama in a number of European countries on the eve of US elections. Would it have been possible for Obama to be welcomed on Downing Street or at the Elysée Palace in a manner exceeding the tribute normally granted to President George Bush, who is still in power at the White House? If that were indeed the case, then it would be natural to consider this a form of interference in the domestic affairs of other countries, especially if the politician receiving such an exceptional welcome is a major figure of the Opposition in their own country. To illustrate what we mean, there is nothing better than to imagine the Lebanese President organizing a crowded welcome for one of the figures of the Syrian Opposition scattered abroad, not to say allowing one of them to "seek asylum" in Lebanon. What would be Syria”s reaction in such a case? How would Damascus describe such an action by Lebanon, if it were to happen, God forbid?!
Normalized relations between countries have certain recognized standards, and there is no need to discover them anew, at a time when the Lebanese and Syrians claim to be preparing to open embassies between their countries and to close the chapter of past mistakes. Such standards do not include the tribute granted to a Lebanese MP and party leader, regardless of the size of the party he represents, exceeding that granted to the President of the Republic himself, who visited that same country a short while ago. However, when such a transgression does take place, the question which should naturally arise, and which perhaps Aoun should have been the first to ask, being preoccupied with "preserving sovereignty" the most, is the following: Is this the kind of normal behavior that would indicate good intentions in building relations based on mutual respect between Lebanon and Syria?
Syria may have its own goals behind the nature of the greeting it granted Michel Aoun. It is returning to its embrace a man who once waged a war against it and was defeated. He is now recording yet another defeat by acknowledging that his previous scheme has failed, and that the natural relationship between Syria and Lebanon is not one of "rivalry" (although he used terms of enmity and "head-smashing" in his previous wars) but should be based on friendship and on respecting the particularities of each country. However, Aoun the twice-defeated adds a third defeat, one of greater impact on relations between the two countries, when he agrees to play the role that has been ascribed to him, and accepts to be treated in Damascus as if he were the effective President of Lebanon, despite the fact that there is a President residing at the Baabda palace.