Hayy El-Ramel, Lebanon – As soon as the truckloads of Syrian soldiers had left for home last week, Mariam Mazjoub started dishing out paint to erase the last vestiges of their 29-year presence.
Her children, nephews, nieces and neighbors stuck Lebanese flags on top of the abandoned posts near her home in this tiny Bekaa Valley village, slapped whitewash on the walls and celebrated the departure date in green paint: “Independence 2005, Sunday, April 17.”
“We started dancing in the street even before they turned the corner,” said Mazjoub, her plump face glowing with joy. “We could finally express ourselves, and there was nothing they could do about it.”
Syria ended its three-decade presence in Lebanon on Sunday, leaving behind only a few score troops who will attend a farewell ceremony Tuesday. Now Lebanon has to start sorting out a new relationship with its more powerful neighbor.
Syria leaves behind staunch allies who benefited from its presence. At least until parliamentary elections that are supposed to be held by May 31, its military personnel are free to move at will between the two countries. Last month, only hours after the Syrians evacuated their Beirut intelligence offices, their intelligence chief showed up at the site, as if to signal they could be back anytime they want.
Even if an anti-Syrian government takes power, its leaders are hesitant to do anything to antagonize Damascus, such as entering into peace talks with Israel.
A foretaste of possible instability came in five bombings in March and April in mainly anti- Syrian Christian areas in which two people were killed and 25 were wounded. There have also been several attacks targeting Syrian laborers in the country.
But Syria has to tread carefully too, especially where the U.S., France and Saudi Arabia are concerned. Those governments exerted the most pressure on Syria to pull out and would likely react furiously to any sign it is trying to move back in.
Damascus will have to keep up its “good behavior” in Lebanon, as well as rethink its policies regarding the U.S. presence in Iraq and the Arab-Israeli peace efforts, said Paul Salem, a Lebanese political analyst.
Syrian troops entered Lebanon in the second year of the country’s 1975-90 civil war and numbered about 40,000 soldiers at their peak, along with hundreds of intelligence officers who exercised wide control.
Syria began withdrawing under pressure following the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Opposition leaders accused Lebanon’s pro-Syrian government and Syria of involvement in the killing – a charge both denied.
But the two countries remain linked by a 1991 treaty that calls for close cooperation on security, foreign policy and economy.
