Civil war looms in Syria

Allaa Al-Deen Tro Beirut – Riad Shouman      Lebanon's Minister of the Displaced, Allaa Al-Deen Tro,  believes that the situation in Syria cannot return to how it was pre-revolution unless the Syrian authorities take the initiative of the UN's Arab and international delegate Kofi Annan, and start looking for political solutions for the crisis, otherwise Syria will descend into civil war which could possibly spill into Lebanon. In an exclusive interview for Arabstoday, Tro explained that there are many conflicts which exist between the current government and former governments over priorities to fulfil the needs of the citizens namely the  need for electricity, roads, hospitals and job opportunities. AT: How do you see, as a progressive socialist party,  the future of Syria and why the change in your position? - The situation in Syria is very critical and dangerous and I don’t think there is an opportunity to solve it by military means. It’s impossible for the situation to normalise as it was  before the revolution. The decision taken by the party leader MP Walid Jumblatt is a strategic decision. You have to support the Syrian citizens against the regime from killings, arrests and crimes against humanity. AT: Do you expect  Annan to complete his mission successfully, or will he face an up-hill struggle? -There must be a clear international will to support his initiative to end the situation in Syria peacefully. It is imperative to achieve unity amongst the Syrian people to avoid a civil war, but if the Syrian system refuses to cooperate, then there will be civil war. AT: Are you afraid that a potential civil war may spread from Syria to Lebanon? -All Lebanese politicians have to work tirelessly to prevent a civil war from Syria spilling over into Lebanon regardless of their different political views , as no one would wish it on the Lebanese people to be faced with the prospect of war again. AT: what about Lebanon’s decision to participate in the Baghdad Arab League Summit? - As far as participation is concerned,  this was discussed by President Michel Suleiman in his meeting with  the Ministers Council,  because Lebanon must be there to offer solutions and to work on unifying the Arab leaders’ opinions in those critical cases, especially that of the Palestinians.   As for the internal affairs of any country, Lebanon should not get involved. AT: What about the relationship between the Progressive Socialist Party and Hezbollah? -In the Syrian case, we have a totally different point of view to Hezbollah, but this doesn’t affect our internal relationship. We are looking forward towards a better future for Lebanon. There is always the need for cooperation and synchronisation for the benefit of the country. AT: As a Minister of the Displaced during the Lebanese civil war, what is still pending in this file? -We are already finished with 90 percent of the compensation cases, in Kafr Matta town and now we are working on the file of Yarih town. Soon we will be able to close this final chapter from the Lebanese civil war.. AT: How do you describe your cooperation with the forces of March 14 in the Lebanese engineering syndicate elections? -Regarding the elections, we cooperated with the March 14 and Islamic groups and we achieved full victory. This alliance was necessary to keep the balance in the syndicate so that it doesn’t represent one single political force. AT: Why are there disagreements within the government especially concerning the subject of electricity supply? -This is quite normal in any democratic system; there should be different views ti maintain  political diversity within the government and its parties. It’s not about disagreements but about working together to find solutions to  any problems through  discussions. We have to work hard  for the betterment of Lebanon.