Described by Assad's opponents to return to Syrian tutelage .. Basil's upcoming visit to Damascus provokes a storm in Lebanon

Afif Diab-Beirut

Political forces hostile to the Syrian regime are wary of what they described as attempts by some to restore Syrian tutelage to Lebanon and normalize relations with the regime of Bashar al-Assad, after statements by Foreign Minister and Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil demanding the rebuilding of Lebanese-Syrian relations and the return of Damascus to the Arab League.

Bassil announced that he would go to Damascus "to meet with Syrian officials to prepare for the return of Syrian refugees in Lebanon to their homes, and its army has returned to breathe Lebanon's sovereignty and economy."

But Bassil, who met Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah seven days ago, was subjected to a variety of accusations by opponents who objected to his statements and political positions, including his stance on the relationship with Syria and his intention to visit Damascus.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri, in a statement to his media office, commented on Bassel's words, saying that if the head of the Free Patriotic Movement wanted to visit Syria to discuss the return of Syrian refugees, "this is the same."

But he added that what is important is that the Syrian regime does not make the visit a reason for its return to Lebanon "because we do not trust the regime's intentions of returning the refugees. If the return is achieved, we will be the first to welcome."

Within the Iranian orientation
But former Lebanese parliamentarian Fares Said believes that Gebran Bassil's upcoming visit to Damascus will be part of the Iranian and Hezbollah's drive to legitimize the Arab-isolated regime of Bashar al-Assad rather than a visit to return Syrian refugees.

He adds to the island Net that "the return of refugees is one of the declared addresses of the objectives of the visit, but the real goal is that Bashar al-Assad is part of Iranian influence in the region and are trying to maintain."

Saeed expressed his belief that Bassil's visit may be a prelude to President Michel Aoun's later visit to Damascus as part of the Iranian project to protect Assad.

But how will the opposing forces face what Basil calls to drag Lebanon into the "lap" of the Syrian regime and the Iranian project? Said says that the head of the Free Movement tells the Lebanese in general and Christians in particular that he won the Taif Agreement and overthrew it through his alliance with Hezbollah, and that he will lead them to the triumphant project in the region with Iran.

"Unfortunately, there are no forces in Lebanon that say to Gibran Bassil and his successor, President Michel Aoun, that the collapse of the Taif Accord is not a victory for Christians in particular, and that removing Lebanon from its Arab reality is a leap into the unknown.

Presidential ambition
In exchange for Fares Saeed's reading that Bassil's expected visit to Damascus is part of the Iranian plan of action in the region, other opponents believe that the Lebanese foreign minister is working to "provide credentials to the Syrian regime in the service of his battle in the upcoming Lebanese presidential elections.

"You go to Syria to plead for the presidency because there are those who told you that it is going through Damascus," Industry Minister Wael Abou Faour said at a Progressive Socialist Party demonstration in Beirut.

Lebanese interest first
The accusations leveled at Bassil's remarks are unrealistic. He tells Al Jazeera Net that the rupture with Syria is an exception and dialogue with it is Al Qaeda.

He explained that one of the objectives of the forthcoming visit is to discuss a set of files, most notably the return of refugees, and this is not only through dialogue with Damascus, in addition to economic and trade cooperation, "Syria is the only land crossing to Lebanon to the Arab world," stressing that the visit has no goals or ambitions more than being Lebanon has a pure interest, and Lebanon must take the initiative to achieve positive results.