28 June - 4 July 2001
Issue No.540
|
Al-Ahram Weekly Online 28 June - 4 July 2001 Issue No.540 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Seeking stability
Lebanon is grappling with a stunted economy, an intricate domestic political scene and an aggressive enemy to the south. Lebanese Premier Rafiq Al-Hariri spoke to Nevine Khalil
After two years out of office, Lebanon's Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri returned to power late last year with a landslide victory. The top item on this prominent businessman and politician's agenda has been reviving the Lebanese economy. In Cairo on Monday for a two-day visit, Hariri met with President Hosni Mubarak and co-chaired the meeting of the joint Egyptian-Lebanese cooperation commission with his Egyptian counterpart Atef Ebeid. He also talked with leading businessmen in Egypt. In an exclusive interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, Al-Hariri discussed current affairs in the region.
photos: Abdel-Wahab El-Seheiti
What is the significance of the recent Syrian redeployment? Do you view it as an implementation of the 1990 Taif agreement [which ended the Lebanese civil war]?
The Syrian Army in Lebanon has a mission to accomplish. This [redeployment] is part of this mission, meaning that now the Lebanese are more capable of [taking security issues in their own hands].
How many Syrian troops remain in Lebanon of the 35,000 which were posted there?
Nobody talks about the numbers of armies -- 35,000 is the magic figure we have been hearing about since 1973 or 1975, but nobody really talks about numbers.
Is it true that Syria had decided to redeploy its troops last year, but postponed implementation to show that it would not succumb to pressure from certain Christian Lebanese quarters?
This is partially true. There was a plan to redeploy, but due to pressure on the part of [some] Lebanese, the Syrians and Lebanese agreed together to delay until the political situation was more favourable. As Lebanese, we cannot give the impression that the Syrians are not welcome in our country. Syria will always be our neighbour.
Is there a link between Syrian redeployment and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's recent visit to the region?
There is no link whatsoever. It is purely and strictly an agreement between our two governments.
You were quoted as saying that Syrian redeployment reflected "close coordination" between the two armies, and that Syria had completed its mission in Lebanon. So do you believe they should pull out completely?
I said their mission was "almost complete." It all depends on the situation in the region, and the peace process is part of it. If you look at Lebanon 10 years ago, the Syrian army was [deployed] almost everywhere. Now, you can barely see them anywhere.
Your description "barely see" [the presence of Syrian troops], indicates that there has been a big reduction in troops inside Lebanon.
Not necessarily. What it means is that day-to-day security is now handled by the Lebanese security forces.
When do you expect to send Lebanese forces to south Lebanon?
This is something else. It's related to the whole Middle East question, because it is a way to bring the Israelis to the negotiating table. Our southern borders are secure, but the Israelis want us to secure their border.
Lebanon is being blamed for not doing enough to convince the UN that Shabaa Farms [the contested territory in southeast Lebanon currently held by Israel] comes under the umbrella of UN Security Council Resolution 425, according to which Israel withdrew from south Lebanon. What is your response?
But we have tried. We met with Kofi Annan and Security Council members to make our case, and we always call for Israeli withdrawal from there.
Wasn't it a gamble to risk relations with Hizbullah and Syria by condemning the Hizbullah operation in Shabaa Farms last February?
We have talked about this issue too much already, and there is no need to come back to it. This is behind us, and I don't want to go there again.
Does that mean that next time you would not condemn operations against Israel?
We'll talk about it when it comes.
How would you describe your relations with Lebanese President Emile Lahhoud, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Hizbullah Secretary- General Hassan Nasrallah now?
My relationship with the president is excellent, and also with the speaker. As head of the government I should have good relations with everyone to serve the country well. Hizbullah is a political party which exists on the political scene of the country, so my relationship with them is handled issue by issue.
Your government's main concern is rebuilding and reviving the Lebanese economy, do you think that is possible without a political settlement with Israel?
There is more than a possibility. We are a nation with a long history, but what is Israel? It is a very small country which you can barely see on the map. The whole world economy is facing problems, not just us -- although we have more severe problems. Our problems are huge, but things are moving in the right direction since my government took power seven months ago.
Israel might be small, but it is backed by a superpower.
Yes, in the case of a war. But nobody wants to go to war, so we should forget Israel and develop our country. We should not sit day and night saying we cannot do this because we have a conflict with Israel. The conflict should not stop a country -- like Egypt, for example -- to issue new laws encouraging investment, tourism and industry.
I do not believe the idea that peace [with Israel] will bring milk and honey. I don't believe it at all. Peace is good because it can give us a push forward, but it will not change our lives from black to white -- and I'm not saying our lives are black.
But not signing a peace agreement with Israel could be a pretext to block aid to countries in the region.
I don't think that even if there is peace, aid will flow [considerably]. We have seen what took place in other countries, like Egypt, when they made peace with Israel. Economic life [in Egypt] only started changing when Egypt decided to take steps to change its economy. Aid helped, but it could not replace Egyptian [initiative].
So what is stopping Lebanon from reviving its economy?
We are doing a lot. I just don't believe that we have to wait for peace. I believe the complete opposite.
How would you describe your relations with the US?
They are not bad, but we know very well that the Americans support Israel all the time. We try to tell them to look at the region as a whole, and not only see Israel. There are also the Arabs. They should look after their interests; otherwise stability in the region will not continue.
The joint Egyptian-Lebanese commission has met five times so far, but we have not seen any real progress. Why is that?
As I said at the commission's meeting [on Monday] we have very good political ties, but there is no [connection] whatsoever between our political and economic relations. Lebanon buys $7 billion worth of goods from abroad every year, and only imports a small amount, $120 million, from Egypt.
The reason is the bureaucratic obstacles in both countries. Some things are really ridiculous. For example, we issue invoices in Lebanon and the Egyptians recheck the prices, and vice versa; the Egyptians check the goods in the laboratories and we check them again. We have to take a political decision to eliminate all this, with clear instructions that goods should flow between the two countries with no restrictions whatsoever.
I am willing to do this. Make a list and I'm ready to sign it and have it approved by the Lebanese cabinet, but it has to be done simultaneously on both sides. We can achieve this in one week.
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
Recommend this page