On the new Maronite campaign against Syria

The Saudi daily al-Watan attributed the cause of the new campaign led by the Patriarchy council and Patriarch Nasrullah Sfier against the Syrian presence to the refusal of the Lebanese President Emil Lahoud to set a limited timetable for the withdrawal of the Syrian forces, according to stages, from the Lebanese territories.

The paper quoted Lebanese political sources as saying that Lebanese political figures asked President Lahoud to convince the Syrian leadership to maintain re-deployment and limit its presence and impositions in the Western Bekaa area.

According to the same sources, the paper indicated the existence of an understanding between President Lahoud, his prime minister Rafik al-Hariri and the speaker of the Lebanese parliament Nabih Berri on the need to keep the Syrian forces in Lebanon but not to set a limited time for that as well as not to raise the issue of the withdrawal of these forces with the Syrian leadership in the current phase because that will weaken the Syrian and Lebanese positions in confrontation of Israel.