Syria and Saudi Arabia seek to calm tensions in Lebanon
Rita Daou
BEIRUT, Rita Daou- Syria and Saudi Arabia have stepped up efforts to ease a political crisis in Lebanon over a UN probe into the murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, Information Minister Tareq Mitri said on Thursday.
"Saudi Arabia and Syria have reminded all the Lebanese political forces that they still see themselves as guarantors of stability and strongly encouraged them to put an end to their inflammatory rhetoric and to calm down," Information Minister Tareq Mitri told reporters.
The Saudi and Syrian push came amid a face-off between Hezbollah and Prime Minister Saad Hariri's coalition that has raised fears of sectarian violence similar to the one that brought the country close to civil war in May 2008.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a key supporter of Hezbollah along with Iran, contacted Prime Minister Saad Hariri on late Wednesday to discuss developments, Hariri's office said.
Meanwhile, the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, whose country backs Hariri's camp, met the same evening with a Hezbollah delegation.
Officials said the Saudi and Syrian efforts were clear signs that both countries were keen on calming tensions in Beirut over reports that the UN-backed tribunal probing the 2005 assassination of Rafiq Hariri -- Saad Hariri's father -- was set to implicate the powerful Hezbollah in the murder.
There are fears that if the court indicts Hezbollah members, this could lead to a Sunni-Shiite conflict similar to the one that brought the country close to another civil war in May 2008.
A Lebanese official said that while the mediation appears to have cooled tempers for now, it was not clear whether calm would prevail once the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) issues its indictments, possibly by the year's end.
"It is still premature to know if Saudi-Syrian understanding can hold the situation after the indictment," said the official, who asked not to be named.
"We are talking about stability holding with the support of Syria and Saudi Arabia in the immediate future."
Hariri's killing along with 22 others sparked an international outcry and forced Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon following a 29-year presence.
But in a stunning about-face earlier this month, Saad Hariri said he had been wrong to blame Damascus for his father's death.
That was interpreted as a sign of his alliance's weakness in the face of Syria's bid to regain influence over its smaller neighbour.
Hezbollah has made clear that it would not stand idle should any of its members be indicted by the STL and in recent weeks has upped its campaign to discredit the court.
The Shiite movement's deputy chief, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said in an interview published on Thursday by the Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai that Hezbollah had not uttered its "last word" and was giving time for Saudi efforts to "redress the wrongful course" of the UN probe.
He added that Hezbollah in coming weeks would take a definitive stand as concerns the tribunal, which it accuses of being part of an Israeli plot.
"We are in a test period and in light of the results of Saudi mediation we will take a clear-cut position on the tribunal," Qassem said.
In late 2005, Lebanon asked the United Nations to establish a tribunal of international character to try those allegedly responsible for the February 14, 2005 attack that killed Hariri and the others.
Pursuant to a Security Council resolution the following year, the STL was created following negotiations between the two parties.
The tribunal, based in The Netherlands, formally began operation in 2009.
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a key supporter of Hezbollah along with Iran, contacted Prime Minister Saad Hariri on late Wednesday to discuss developments, Hariri's office said.
Meanwhile, the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, whose country backs Hariri's camp, met the same evening with a Hezbollah delegation.
Officials said the Saudi and Syrian efforts were clear signs that both countries were keen on calming tensions in Beirut over reports that the UN-backed tribunal probing the 2005 assassination of Rafiq Hariri -- Saad Hariri's father -- was set to implicate the powerful Hezbollah in the murder.
There are fears that if the court indicts Hezbollah members, this could lead to a Sunni-Shiite conflict similar to the one that brought the country close to another civil war in May 2008.
A Lebanese official said that while the mediation appears to have cooled tempers for now, it was not clear whether calm would prevail once the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) issues its indictments, possibly by the year's end.
"It is still premature to know if Saudi-Syrian understanding can hold the situation after the indictment," said the official, who asked not to be named.
"We are talking about stability holding with the support of Syria and Saudi Arabia in the immediate future."
Hariri's killing along with 22 others sparked an international outcry and forced Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon following a 29-year presence.
But in a stunning about-face earlier this month, Saad Hariri said he had been wrong to blame Damascus for his father's death.
That was interpreted as a sign of his alliance's weakness in the face of Syria's bid to regain influence over its smaller neighbour.
Hezbollah has made clear that it would not stand idle should any of its members be indicted by the STL and in recent weeks has upped its campaign to discredit the court.
The Shiite movement's deputy chief, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said in an interview published on Thursday by the Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai that Hezbollah had not uttered its "last word" and was giving time for Saudi efforts to "redress the wrongful course" of the UN probe.
He added that Hezbollah in coming weeks would take a definitive stand as concerns the tribunal, which it accuses of being part of an Israeli plot.
"We are in a test period and in light of the results of Saudi mediation we will take a clear-cut position on the tribunal," Qassem said.
In late 2005, Lebanon asked the United Nations to establish a tribunal of international character to try those allegedly responsible for the February 14, 2005 attack that killed Hariri and the others.
Pursuant to a Security Council resolution the following year, the STL was created following negotiations between the two parties.
The tribunal, based in The Netherlands, formally began operation in 2009.
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