Analysis: Lebanon kills two birds with one stone

Lebanese officials seem all but disappointed with their achievement of hosting the Ninth Francophone Summit here. They have been successful in registering several political victories during the Francophone week.

The inauguration of the pumping of the Wazzani river water in South Lebanon, despite Israeli threats of launching a military offensive, was held two days prior to the start of the summit.

During the inauguration of the Wazzani pumping, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri spoke about the wisdom behind the timing without giving any details in an implicit sign that the Lebanon had realised that any Israeli retaliation would be almost impossible a few days prior to the French President Jacques Chirac's arrival to the Lebanese capital for a four-day stay.

In another equally important step, the surprising presence of Hezbollah's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah during the opening session had several connotations in that it reiterated the Lebanese stance of denouncing the U.S. understanding of terrorism.

"Backed up by their good relations with the French leadership, the Lebanese grasped the opportunity to offset the Israeli-American hegemony over several issues in the Middle East," according to the Lebanese political commentator Fares Asmar.

Behind the Phoenicia-Intercon-tinental Hotel's closed doors, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud reportedly raised the issue of terrorism before the congregation of 51 representatives of French-speaking nations.

The Lebanese position on terrorism has been made earlier: the international community should differentiate between terrorism as an act of violence and resistance as an act of defending a people's land against occupation.

On several occasions, Lebanese officials have asked the international community, through the United Nations, to draft a clear definition of terrorism. Other points raised during the morning's closed session included economic cooperation and cultural exchanges between the Francophone countries.

Peace in the Middle East, the situation in the Occupied Territories and the American threat of a military operation against Iraq were also on the list of deliberations. No details have been released about the outcome of discussions but final resolutions are expected to appear in the summit's concluding statement.

On the sidelines of the summit's proceedings, a few other political topics have also come to the forefront as the Lebanese Christian opposition attempted to divert attention towards the Syrian presence in the country.

For this purpose, young activists especially from among the rank and file of the pro-Michel Aoun Free Patriotic Movement, organised a couple of demonstrations which failed to gather more than 100 people.

During these demonstrations, Aounists held banners calling for the end "of Syrian Occupation of Lebanon and the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 520 which stipulates the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon."

The Lebanese Defence Minister Khalil Hrawi, however, dismissed such protests saying the opposition "was trying to grab some attention through such slogan shouting."

In an interview aired by the Beirut-based Free Lebanon radio yesterday, Hrawi warned the opposition of the consequences of taking the debate over the Syrian presence to the streets saying that dialogue should come first.

Apart from international diplomacy and domestic issues, Lebanese officials have been optimistic as the summit promised the nearing of the Paris II Conference which is expected to raise funds to help Lebanon curb its $30 billion debt.

"With an apparent success in international diplomacy and the increasing hope of the holding of Paris II soon, the Lebanese government must be now sitting and congratulating itself," Asmar told Gulf News.

"Achievements of such a magnitude overshadow the opposition's domestic concerns and leaves no room for talks about timetables for the Syrian withdrawal, much to the misfortune of some opposition figures."