As if confirmation was needed, it is now amply clear that the war in Syria has reached its tiny, chronically unstable neighbour. Friday’s car bomb blast in the Ashrafiyeh neighbourhood of east Beirut killed internal intelligence chief General Wissam Al Hassan and at least seven others and injured up to 80. The Lebanese cabinet held an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss the situation.
Former Lebanese premier, Sa’ad Hariri, and senior politicians like Walid Junblatt have accused Syrian President Bashar Al Assad of being behind the huge blast. But they, and others, would do well to counsel calm and focus instead by carrying out a thorough investigation into the crime before pointing fingers. There is enough tension and violence in the region already and Lebanon’s delicate peace must not be allowed to be threatened by events such as these.
Sadly, though, the track record of Lebanese security services, when it comes to investigating political crimes, is pathetic. But this should not be used as an excuse by anti-government protesters to take the law in their own hands.
Al Hassan certainly had attributes that would not endear him to the regime in Damascus. In August, he uncovered an alleged bomb plot that led to the arrest and indictment of a pro-Syrian Lebanese politician. And, given its well-documented ruthlessness, the Al Assad regime is indeed capable of carrying out an attack like this. But the question that needs to be asked is what would it gain from such an act at a time when the biggest challenge to its survival comes from domestic opponents in Syria? Who benefits from instability and lack of security in the region?
Lebanese society is dangerously polarised between supporters and opponents of the Syrian regime. But, now more than ever, it is crucial that Lebanon stays out of regional politics. Otherwise, it risks being sucked into a vortex of violence, the results of which the country knows only too well from past experiences.