Tuesday, 23 December 2008
By Mohammad Salah
The Egyptian-Syrian dispute does not stop at the stances by each country vis-à-vis the Palestinian issue, their visions of how to deal with the Palestinian Authority and President Mahmoud Abbas, or Hamas and its leaders, inside and outside Palestine. What happened during the recent meeting of Arab foreign ministers, between Egypt's Ahmad Abu Gheit and Syria's Walid al-Moallem, was expected and produced nothing new. The differences over the issue continue to appear in the media, or are put forward by Palestinian officials themselves. The blow to the Palestinian national dialogue, which was scheduled to take place last month in Cairo, is only a chapter in the story, and more is expected to be revealed in the coming weeks and months.
Cairo and Damascus sought in the past to solve intertwined problems and avoid further complications, But with the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, the distance between the two countries was as great as the tragic killing itself, along with everything that was said about it. The situation appears set to continue as long as the relations remain this tense. Differences over policy viewpoints, or even interests in complicated issues were overcome in the past when relations were better. Cairo has never helped Hamas at the expense of the PA to satisfy Syria. And Damascus has not supported Abbas in his confrontation with Khaled Meshaal, to draw closer to Egypt. The same applies to other issues, such as Iran. Damascus may have tried in the past to reduce tension between Tehran and Cairo, but the results have always been limited. It has failed to help the two countries overcome the conflicts of yesterday and restore full diplomatic relations. Meanwhile, Cairo has understood the reasons that push Syria to embrace Iran, without asking Damascus to re-orient itself in another direction. As for the Iraqi issue, the points of agreement between Egypt and Syria are greater than the points of disagreement.
Ever since the Arab Summit in Damascus, which was held in March of this year, Syrian-Egyptian relations have deteriorated even more, after Cairo and other Arab countries had reservations about convening the summit in the absence of the president of Lebanon.
When Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stayed away from the Summit, along with 10 other Arab leaders, it was clear that the dispute would move from the closed rooms, satellite stations, or newspapers to public Arab events and celebrations, and even international ones. In such a climate, mistaken interpretations of certain policies or natural behavior surface, which is what happened when Cairo received Walid Jumblatt and Samir Geagea, or when Damascus permitted a demonstration in which anti-Egypt slogans were heard, after the closure of the Rafah crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
Lebanon's parliamentary elections are now approaching, along with accusations traded between the two sides, which appear to be threatening the calming-down period imposed by the Doha Accord. Also on the way is the international tribunal to try Hariri's killers, while tension prevails in the Palestinian political arena and on the borders between Egypt and Gaza. These are all indications that the relationship between Cairo and Damascus will face further problems. At every regional or international meeting grouping representatives of the two countries, the cameras will look for the seats of the Egyptian and Syrian delegates; the media will cover what took place openly in the absence of "secrets" or leaks, especially since the recent Arab foreign ministers meeting saw a number of Arab countries support Cairo's position. This showed the Syrian stance to be one of settling scores, with nothing to do with the item on the agenda.
In general, we face another inter-Arab dispute as the world changes around us; we are still prisoners to old-fashioned temperaments, which usually win out in the end.
