Rice accuses Syria of destabilizing Lebanon, following the assassination of Hawi
Syria-USA, Politics, 6/22/2005

The White House has asked for opening an investigation into the assassination of the former secretary general of the Lebanese communist party George Hawi on Tuesday. The spokesman for the White House Scott McClellan linked between the assassination of Hawi and the Syrian influence in Lebanon, despite the withdrawal of the Syrian forces from there.

McClellan yesterday compared Hawi's murder to the February 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri and the June 2 killing of journalist Samir Kassir. "These are not random killings. These are targeted assassinations of political figures. It is clearly an attempt to intimidate the people of Lebanon and to undermine progress toward a free and democratic future," McClellan said.

McClellan also said "Syria's long and continued presence inside Lebanon has created an environment of intimidation and political repression," and he repeated the Bush administration's call for Damascus to fully comply with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for the complete withdrawal of Syrian military and intelligence personnel from the country.

For her part, the US secretary of state Condalezza Rice accused Syria of destabilizing Lebanon's sovereignty. She demanded upon heading to Brussels following a tour in the Middle East that Damascus stop practicing what she described activities that contribute to destabilizing Lebanon.

She indicated these practices have contributed, even indirectly in the political assassination events that recently took place in Lebanon.

She, however, did not directly accuse Syria of being behind the assassination of Hawi, and confined to saying that she does not know the side behind his assassination.

Previous Stories:
  Lebanese communist party accuses Israel of killing Hawi   (6/21/2005)
  Lebanese minister of justice: Hawi's assassination made by remote- controlled explosion   (6/21/2005)
  BBC: Dakhlallah: Syria has no opponents, no supporters in Lebanon   (6/21/2005)
  Rice's call on Syria to change its policy in the region   (6/21/2005)
  Doha Summit condemns US unilateral procedures against Syria   (6/17/2005)
  G-77 summit demands the abrogation of American sanctions on Syria   (6/16/2005)

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