The Hindu : International : Fears of civil strife in Lebanon

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 16, 2005

International

International

Fears of civil strife in Lebanon

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA, FEB. 15. Lebanon's army has been put on high alert following the assassination of the former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Monday.

Shops, schools and public institutions have been closed across the country after a three-day official mourning was declared.

The Opposition figures have blamed Syria for Hariri's death in the car bombing. They cited his opposition to the presence of 14,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon as the motive. They also reiterated its call for the pull out of the forces.

Israel and the U.S. too have been insisting on the removal of the troops. Analysts point out that Israel is uncomfortable with the positioning of Syrian forces and Shia fighters of the pro-Iran Hezbollah group in Lebanon. The Hezbollah played a key role in ending Israel's 18-year occupation of part of Lebanon in 2000. With Israel occupying the disputed Golan Heights, not far from the Syrian capital, Damascus sees the presence of its forces in Lebanon as deterring Tel Aviv from taking military action.

Syria has denied any involvement in the attack and has called the assassination a "horrible, criminal act."

An Islamist group claimed responsibility for the attack. Al-Jazeera television showed a group An-Nosra wal Jihad fi Bilad al-Sham as saying on videotape that Hariri was killed "because of his relations with the Saudi authorities."

Ties with Saudis

Hariri, who was a billionaire, was known for having close business ties with the Saudi royal family. He was a frequent visitor to the Kingdom, which has supported Lebanon financially.

Inside Lebanon, the killing has raised fears about the return of civil strife in the multi-religious Arab nation. Political assassinations inside Lebanon were frequent in the past. On March 16, 1977 Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt was assassinated in his stronghold of Chouf, southeast of Beirut. Five years later, president-elect Bashir Gemayel was killed in a bomb attack, eight days before he was due to take office.

A bomb planted under the seat in a helicopter on June 1, 1987 killed Prime minister Rashid Karami, brother of current Premier Omar Karami. President Rene Mouawad was assassinated in November 1989, only 17 days after taking office in an attack in west Beirut.

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