Arab Perspective: Don't punish everyone for the crimes of a few

The Lebanese people want to know the truth that will help them overcome this difficult period ... this is because the current Lebanese security system is one of despotism and when this is the case anywhere in the world, the people end up suffering both politically and physically".

These are the words of Sulaiman Taqi Al Deen of Al Safeer (Lebanon) who states that it is the right of Detlev Mehlis the prosecutor in charge of the UN investigation to conclude that Syrian security leaders were responsible for the death of Rafik Hariri.

Al Deen says this should be the case even if the evidence of Syria's involvement is weak and reduced to one undisclosed witness.

He says one of the most important things pointed out by the Mehlis report is that there are other crimes connected or intertwined with Hariri's murder that need similar investigation by Lebanese authorities.

What is important now, he concludes, is a guarantee that the Lebanese people will not pay the price for the "politicisation of Hariri's case".

Abdul Bari Atwan of Al Quds Al Arabi (London) says the Syrian regime faces the most dangerous period of its history.

Syria has two options. The first one is the Saddam option, which calls for Syria not to cooperate with the UN or hand in the people mentioned in the report.

The second is the Gaddafi option, under which Syria will yield to international pressure (which is inherently American) and hand in its suspects. Syria will also disable its nuclear and chemical projects and completely change its policies.

The problem facing the Syrian regime is that Syria is not Libya and its leader, Bashar Al Assad, is not Muammar Gaddafi. What's more, Syria has a strategic geographic location in the heart of the Middle East.

According to Atwan, three things need to be noted in the Mehlis report. Firstly, it does not mention Gazi Kanaan.

Secondly, it appears that Arab leaders have no privacy or dignity because the report shows that all of President Emile Lahoud's phone calls (and those of his senior advisors) were recorded by "someone" in Washington or Tel Aviv.

Thirdly, the report links the Palestinians directly or indirectly with the murder of Rafik Hariri for political reasons in both Syria and Lebanon.

Sa'ad Mehio of Al Khaleej (UAE) says if the Syrians refuse to cooperate with the international investigation committee, the "tough" Syrian leadership will "explode three mines in Lebanon: President Lahoud's mine and with it the entire Lebanese political order, the Palestinian refugee camps and the Hezbollah armoury.

A possible fourth mine could be Sunni-Shia friction".

Political safety

If the Syrian regime decides to give in to international pressure, this will turn the above mines into "bouquets of flowers" and will lead Lebanon to political and possibly even economic safety.

The writer concludes, "Lebanon's fate for the next few days and weeks will be dependent on Syria's fate".

Having said that, a turn of events is possible. Syria could prompt the US and France to launch "preemptive strikes" on its land through Lebanon. Anything is possible, says Mehio.

Bandar Ayid Al Thufairi of Al Seyassah (Kuwait) views the UN report in a positive light. He says anyone who has followed the work of the international investigation has to acknowledge Mehlis's skills and intelligence.

"We could go along with the school of thought that advocates that this report did not reveal anything new and most of it was leaked to the press at various times, but this would be ignoring the fact that this report is now part of a legal document that bears the signature of the world's top international organisation," says Al Thufairi.

Al Thufairi concludes, "Now we have to wait to see the Syrian regime raising its hands in surrender and saying: Come take what you want for the investigation and whatever country you want but please leave us some ... to finish the journey according to your conditions like in Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine."

In terms of the world reaction to the Mehlis report, most of the Arabic press condemned the US response. Al Ahram (Egypt) called the recent American threats against Syria "unfair" and "a direct threat to this region's stability".

The editorial says threats to punish Syria, in whatever way America chooses, are damaging not just to a few Syrian officials but to the entire Syrian nation.

Moreover, the paper states this region is already filled with tensions and disturbances and does not need a new catastrophe to make things worse.

If the Syrians are punished or attacked, the level of hatred for America would only increase in the Arab and Muslim world, says Al Ahram.

Punishing Syria will appear as "an offensive act for the benefit of Israel and an attempt to seek revenge for Syria's position against the US-led war in Iraq".

The editorial says punishing a country's people because of accusations against a few of its government officials is both "irrational and destructive".

The investigation into Hariri's death must be completed in detail and with fairness. Punishment should be imposed on whoever the investigation finds guilty and not on the Syrian people.