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Analysis: Sarkozy invites Assad to Paris
Washington (UPI) Jul 14, 2008 After years of isolation and being shunned by the Europeans and the United States as punishment for a long sundry list of political no-no's, Syrian President Bashar Assad was offered an enticing hand by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, hoping to persuade the Syrian leader to abandon the ways of the past. Indeed, the accusations lobbed at Assad include domestic, regional and international issues, all of which are of concern to the West. Domestically, the Syrian regime in Damascus stands accused of violations of human rights, unlawful arrests and detainment of hundreds of political opponents -- if not more -- of the current regime. Only last week a serious riot erupted among inmates in a detention center holding political dissidents. Bernard Kouchner, France's foreign minister, was expected to raise the subject of human rights in Syria with Assad. The United States, which frowned on Sarkozy's red carpet invitation to Paris, accuses Damascus of being a bad influence on the region, of aiding and abetting terrorists and of gross interference in internal Lebanese political affairs. Additionally, Washington accused Assad and his regime of being responsible for the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, as well as being implicated in the deaths of a number of Lebanese politicians and journalists who held different views from those held by Syria. Assad's invitation to attend the Bastille Day -- July 14 -- national day celebrations is not without controversy, especially among the military and former military. A large number of French officers and soldiers who believe the Syrian president was either responsible for -- or, in the very least, was aware of -- attacks against French forces serving in Lebanon decried the attendance of Assad at the July 14 parade. This is bound to further raise the tension between the French president and the French military establishment. Last month Sarkozy was highly critical of the military, who he called "amateurs" after a military exercise turned into a near-disaster when real bullets ended up inadvertently being substituted for blanks. Among the thousands of troops who will parade on the Champs Elysees representing different regiments of the French army will undoubtedly be some who lost men in Lebanon, either while serving with the U.N. Interim Force in South Lebanon or during deployment with the multinational peacekeeping force in 1983, when 58 French soldiers were killed when a truck filled with explosives was driven by a suicide bomber into the Drakkar building in Beirut. Moments later a similar attack targeted the U.S. Marine barracks at Beirut Airport, killing 241 U.S. service personnel. A group of French veterans criticized Assad's presence at the Bastille Day festivities, accusing Damascus of being behind the attack. Although it is widely believed among Western intelligence services that the twin bombings of the French and U.S. military buildings were carried out by pro-Iranian forces, some sources believe it was done with Syrian acquiescence. A group of former French soldiers who served with UNIFIL said inviting Assad as a guest of honor to watch the annual military parade was a dishonor to the memory of the French soldiers who died in Beirut. Jean-Luc Hemar, head of the association of veterans from Camp Idron in central France, told a French news agency that French soldiers should not file past the Syrian leader during the march down the Champs Elysees. "Drakkar will cast a shadow over the 14th of July," said Hemar, referring to the building in Beirut where the 58 were killed. Hoping to quell the controversy, the Elysee Palace issued a statement saying the 1983 bombing of the Drakkar was carried out by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and that Syria was not responsible. "To blame Syria for Drakkar is a historical mistake," said the Elysee official. The invitation extended to Assad to partake in the July 14 celebrations after years of isolation is a first step aimed at bringing Syria into the fold of the international community and offering Damascus incentives that would help distance Syria from its alliance with Iran. The ball is now squarely in Syria's court; Assad can return to Damascus and pretend life can go on as before, or he can push forward with the changes he had tried to implement at the beginning of his mandate by introducing greater reform in the political system. He has won the backing of France and the European Union; the Syrian president now needs to convince the president of the United States that he can really change. In all probability that remains the toughest assignment. (Claude Salhani is editor of the Middle East Times.) Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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