INTERVIEW: Time for a strong state, says Lebanon's Gagea

Cairo - A day after Syria and Lebanon signed an agreement to create formal diplomatic ties for the first time ever, Samir Geagea, head of a major Lebanese Christian party and an implacable opponent of Syria - called for a strong state to ward off Syrian influence, and also the disarmament of Hezbollah. In an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur in Cairo, the 56- year-old head of the Lebanese Forces party called on Syria to prove its good intentions in Lebanon by securing the border and developing normal diplomatic relations - in contrast to Syria's long-standing attempts to manipulate Lebanon's volatile political and ethnic mix. 'The decision to establish the ties is a positive step,' he said. 'But other issues - like the list of Lebanese prisoners still held in Syrian jails, or the military bases of Palestinian factions loyal to Syria, and the demarcation of borders between two countries - should follow.' Syrian troops had occupied Lebanon since the civil war which raged from 1975 until 1990. The troops left only in 2005, following massive public demonstrations - sparked by the assassination of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri - that became known as the Cedar Revolution. Geagea, a Maronite Christian from the northern town of Bsharri who led troops in the civil war, spent 11 years in solitary confinement during the Syrian occupation as a result of his opposition to Syrian rule. He was released in 2005, following Syria's departure. Since 1991 Damascus and Beirut have been tied by a treaty of 'friendship and cooperation,' although Syria has been repeatedly accused of meddling in Lebanon's politics, most recently for a troop deployment along the northern border in September. According to Geagea, this deployment, which Syria says was intended to curb smuggling, is nothing but an attempt to 'terrorize the people of Lebanon before the parliamentary elections ... because they are loyal to the anti-Syrian majority.' Lebanon is due to hold parliamentary elections in May 2009. The Western-backed anti-Syrian majority has high support in the north of the country. In the meantime, the solution to the spectre of Syrian intervention in Lebanon was, said Geagea, a strong state and firm borders. In the weeks running up to Wednesday's ceremony, Lebanon had witnessed a number of attacks which Geagea, and others, blamed on Damascus. On October 12 members of the group Fatah al-Islam were arrested in Tripoli in connection with a bomb attack in September - an event, Geagea said, which was financed by Syria to 'spark chaos in Lebanon.' 'There will be no sovereignty for Lebanon without clear and effective borders,' he stressed. 'It is time to have a strong Lebanese state that can defend itself, and the weapons should be in the hands of the Lebanese government,' he added in a pointed reference to the continued military dominance of Hezbollah, regarded as the strongest fighting force in the country. In 2006 Israel invaded Lebanon in a 33-day war in an attempt to de-fang the Islamist movement which is widely regarded as funded and trained by Iran. Hezbollah's weapons became an even more divisive issue in May 2008, when the group took control of large parts of Beirut in the worst political crisis since the end of the civil war. Geagea expressed scepticism over Syria's real motives for establishing formal political ties. 'Future relations between Lebanon and Syria depend on Syria,' he said. 'After all, Lebanon never tried to control Syria.'