DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) – The barrage of criticism aimed at Syria after the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has some Syrians saying it’s time to withdraw the 15,000 troops their country has in Lebanon.

This is not yet the opinion of the Syrian government, which has spent the week denying responsibility for Monday’s assassination and reaffirming its close ties to Lebanon. But some feel the Syrian presence has become too troublesome.

“Syria should withdraw its army and intelligence agents from Lebanon immediately, today rather than tomorrow,” said Michel Kilo, a prominent Syrian writer.

Their presence is a threat to Syria itself, Kilo warned. “The Syrian people and the Syrian government are the ones suffering as a result.”

Hariri died Monday in a bomb blast that destroyed his convoy of bulletproof cars and killed 16 other people in downtown Beirut. Many Lebanese blamed Syria, and the Lebanese government that it backs – a view shared by the Bush administration.

More than 200,000 people marched in Hariri’s funeral procession on Wednesday, chanting slogans like “Syria Out.” In an unprecedented step, Lebanese opposition leaders from across the board issued a statement holding Syria at least indirectly responsible for his death. Druse leader Walid Jumblatt went further, saying the bomb was the work of Syrian and Lebanese intelligence.

Many Syrians reject that possibility.

“We have nothing to do with what happened in Lebanon, and I am confident of that,” said a Syrian engineer, Toufic Razzouk. “But I am for the withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon.”

Syrian troops crossed into Lebanon in 1976, ostensibly as peacekeepers, in the second year of the country’s civil war. When the war ended in 1990, the troops remained. Syria became the power broker of Lebanon, with the final word on all matters.

Many Lebanese accuse Syria of heavy-handed interference in their country. In September, Syria was seen as engineering the extension of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud’s term by three years. The move required an amendment to Lebanon’s constitution. It also defied a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for presidential elections and the withdrawal of Syrian troops.

Subsequently Lebanese became bolder in their calls for Syria to leave. Now Hariri’s assassination has produced the widest movement ever in Lebanon to get the Syrians out.

Syria is also getting heat from overseas. Following the assassination, President Bush recalled his ambassador to Syria. On Thursday, Bush said he would work with his European allies to pressure Syria to pull out.

Analysts say Syria regards Lebanon as a crucial card in the Arab-Israeli dispute. Syria cannot afford to let its small neighbor sign a separate peace deal with Israel, as that would make Syria the only Arab country to remain technically at war with Israel.

Syria backs the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and uses it to pressure Israel across its northern border. Moreover, Syria has about 1 million workers in Lebanon. Their remittances are a substantial contribution to the sluggish Syrian economy.

Kilo, the writer, said Syria should find a way to safeguard its security interests in Lebanon without keeping troops there.

“We need normal diplomatic relations with Lebanon like those between any two countries,” Kilo said. Syria has long argued that its historically close ties with Lebanon makes diplomatic relations unnecessary.

Others, though, support their government’s position on Lebanon.

“We are there to safeguard Lebanese and Syrian security,” said George Obeid, a Damascus shop owner who believes Syria would leave Lebanon immediately if the Lebanese government requested it.

Another businessman, Haitham Moussa, 70, said Syria has no aspirations in Lebanon. “It is costing us a lot to stay there, but if we withdraw from Lebanon today, the Jews (Israelis) will come and occupy it tomorrow,” he said.

“Syria and Lebanon,” he said, “are one country.”

AP-ES-02-19-05 0319EST

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