06 April 2006

BEIRUT: With the announcement that "Shebaa Farms are Lebanese" Lebanon witnessed the first step forward on one of its lingering national disputes, namely the identity of a 200-square-kilometer bloc of land situated between Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

The announcement, which was touted as being based on "full unanimity and consensus," was made last month by Speaker Nabih Berri at the conclusion of the second round of a national dialogue. The dialogue, which is taking place among Lebanon's top leaders, is an attempt to reach agreement on major "national issues."

One such issue was the identity of the Shebaa Farms, an area located south of Shebaa, a small Lebanese village on the western slopes of Mount Hermon. The territory has been the subject of heated debate as its identity is directly linked to Hizbullah's existence and its weapons.

That's all in the past now, according to analysts who called the announcement a "historical decision" that finally granted the Farms a defined identity.

"It's the first time Lebanese politicians have agreed on [Shebaa Farms'] identity," said Shafik Masri, an international law expert. Masri contributed to a draft to be submitted by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to the UN to request that the world body change the territory's identity from "Syrian to Lebanese occupied lands."

The Farms are the last post held by Israel after its withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000.

At the time, UN cartographers said Shebaa Farms fell inside Syrian territory seized by Israel during the 1967 war. Accordingly, the UN said that Resolution 425, which called on Israel to pull out of Lebanon, had been fully implemented.

But in light of the recent declaration that the Shebaa Farms are Lebanese, Israeli and Lebanese officials are expecting the UN to revisit 425 and call on the Jewish state to withdraw from the area.

A spokesperson from the UN headquarters in New York told The Daily Star that "regardless of whether they are Syrian or Lebanese," Israel must withdraw from the Farms.

"The position of the UN Security Council and Secretary General Kofi Annan has been the same and persistent in demanding Israel's withdrawal from all occupied lands in accordance with various UN resolutions," the spokesperson said. "We shall have to see now what Israel will do in light of the latest developments."

While the UN has assigned special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen to follow-up on Lebanon and Syria's implementation of Resolution 1559, which among other items calls for the disarmament of Hizbullah, no such envoy has been assigned to ensure Israel's implementation of 425.

Roed-Larsen has crisscrossed the globe since 1559 was issued in late 2004, holding top-level meetings with world leaders concerning the resolution.

The region may witness Israel's response even sooner than expected, Masri explained, because in addition to a new impetus given the issue by the Lebanese announcement, "international law validates that the Farms are Lebanese and the land in question was not vacant when Israel occupied it."

He added: "The identity of a location is judged based on the legal status of its inhabitants, and in this case they have documents and records issued by the Lebanese government, and taxes are paid to Lebanon.

"With or without official recognition from Syria, I believe Lebanon equipped with the united political decision and international law should be able to convince the UN to change its mind over the long overdue mistaken identity of the Farms."

However, during a recent visit by Roed-Larsen to Lebanon, the envoy said Lebanon and Syria must cooperate to resolve a broader border dispute between the two countries, particularly over the disputed Shebaa Farms area, in order for normal diplomatic relations to be resumed between the two countries.

"An agreement cannot be made by the UN. It can only be done by two sovereign states," Roed-Larsen told The Daily Star at the time.

In response, Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Moallem criticized Roed-Larsen's call on Syria to cooperate with Lebanon regarding their common border.

"For now, the Shebaa Farms are neither Lebanese nor Syrian because they are occupied. If Roed-Larsen wants to do something good, he should get Israel to withdraw and then there would be no problem," Moallem said at the time.

"We have said that the Shebaa Farms are Lebanese," the minister added. "Roed-Larsen is the one who said that they are Syrian. Lebanon should correct his information."

Officials close to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora confirmed that he is planning a trip to Syria regarding the farms, during which he is expected to ask Syria to provide the UN with written confirmation of Lebanon's sovereignty over the farms.

The dispute over Shebaa Farms can be traced back to a failure by the French mandate government to properly demarcate the border between Lebanon and Syria during the 1920s.

However, the question of borders wasn't given much attention by the Lebanese government even after the 1967 and 1973 wars. It appears to have arisen only as a result of the Israeli withdrawal in 2000.