DAMASCUS, 12 October 2007 — Syrian President Bashar Assad slammed Lebanese who he said had chosen to side with Israel and submit themselves to foreigners instead of taking the Arab path and that of resistance. In an interview published yesterday, Bashar said of the neighboring nation where it was powerbroker for nearly three decades: “It is impossible to build a relationship with some parties who in Lebanon ... are close to Israel, submit themselves to foreign countries and do not believe in Lebanon.”
He told the Tunisian daily Al-Shuruk, in an interview reprinted in official Syrian media: “Most of the forces who hold power in Lebanon have adopted this position which rebounds on Syrian-Lebanese relations.” Lebanon has been in crisis for months since pro-Syrian ministers pulled out of the government of Western-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
Meanwhile, Palestinians try to rebuild lives in devastated Lebanon camp. Pointing to a dusty and fraying backpack, the middle-aged man bitterly shows what is left of what was once his life in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr Al-Bared, in northern Lebanon. “This is all we have: my daughter’s school bag,” he fumed yesterday, striding out of the camp entrance heavily guarded by the Lebanese army.
“Our house is still burning,” he added, as he tried to recover books from the backpack. He was among the first group of refugees that began returning Wednesday to the camp.
