In remarks to Syria, UN Security Council demands withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon
Syria-UN, Politics, 9/3/2004

With a majority of nine votes, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for honoring Lebanon's sovereignty and withdrawing all foreign forces from it.

Voting support for the resolution number 1559, came from the USA and France and Angola, Spain, Germany, Benin, Britain, Chile and Romania, while six countries abstained from voting which are Algeria, Brazil, China, Pakistan, the Philippines and Russia.

The resolution calls for the Presidential elections to be held in Lebanon to be "free and transparent, according to the Lebanese constitutional rules without foreign intervention." It also calls for "honoring Lebanon's sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence." In its first formula, the draft resolution demanded the withdrawal of the Syrian forces from Lebanon, without delay.

The resolution also states the need of " dismantling the weapons of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias " in Lebanon and also expressed the support of the UN Security Council to expand the control of the Lebanese government to all the Lebanese territories and asks the UN secretary general Kofi Annan to submit a report after 30 days on its implementation.

The US representative to the UN John Danforth said that that the American move to issue this resolution came because of " the imposition of the Syrian government's political will on Lebanon." Russia and other countries which abstained from voting, explained their positions, considering that the resolution ( is one sided). These countries wanted the resolution to mention the general situation in the Middle East and also to condemn the occupation of the Palestinian lands by Israel.

The countries which abstained from voting considered the resolution as an intervention in the internal affairs of Lebanon.

Both Syria and Lebanon officially complained against the draft resolution before its adoption. Syria's ambassador to the UN Faisal al-Miqdad strongly condemned the draft resolution, considering that the " UN Security Council does not have the right to interfere in the internal affairs of Lebanon." He said that Syria is not an occupation force of Lebanon and is there at the will of the Lebanese government.

For his part, the secretary general of the Lebanese foreign ministry Muhammad Issa tried to withdraw the draft resolution, considering that reforming the constitution in his country is "an internal issue" that should not be discussed at the UN Security Council.

Previous Stories:
  Syria: UN security council voting over Lebanon's sovereignty is unjustified   (9/2/2004)
  Lahoud: Lebanon will never bargain sovereignty   (8/31/2004)
  Lebanese continued alliance with Syria   (8/30/2004)
  EU diplomat is optimistic over EU-Syria association accomplishment   (8/18/2004)

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