The tirade by the editor-in-chief of the Baath Party's Al Baath newspaper, Elias Mourad, preempted a planned trip by Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora to Damascus for talks with the Assad administration to lift its land blockade against Lebanon, which is savagely squeezing the Lebanese economy.

Seniora has declared that he would go to Damascus right after the Lebanese parliament gives his newly formed government a vote of confidence. A Ministerial committee on Sunday finalized the policy statement upon which Seniora would seek and get the confidence vote over the weekend.

"The feelings of the Syrian citizens call for the refusal to deal or receive any Lebanese who incited against Syria or insulted its people and its leadership," wrote Mourad. "Those politicians are not acceptable for us."

He denounced what he called "the ongoing anti-Syria abusive agitation by the media and political figures" in Beirut and said "none of those who have insulted Syria or offended its leaders will be welcome in Damascus until they apologize to the Syrian people."

Whether the Assad government would add Mourad's apology stance to its official demand for compensations to the families of 37 Syrian workers allegedly killed after Hariri's death remains to be seen. But the article in the ruling party's official newspaper is a chilling warning on its own.(Naharnet-AP-AFP)