Anti-hostage bill is approved
Parliament approved legislation Wednesday allowing the government to sign an international accord pledging it to fight hostage-taking, a long-standing U.S. demand for improving relations with Lebanon.
The bill was approved by an overwhelming majority of the 109 members who attended the session. A clause had previously been added to the convention by the foreign parliamentary committee stating that signing the treaty would not oblige Lebanon to recognize or coordinate with Israel.
"The Lebanese republic stresses that its understanding of the convention does not affect its stance in support of the right of states and nations to confront and resist foreign occupations on its territories," the clause said.
Lebanon has already signed nine anti-terrorism conventions, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright urged Lebanon to join the accord on hostage-taking during her visit last month.
The United States lifted a 10-year ban on travel by Americans to Lebanon a few weeks before her visit. But she said Lebanon remained dangerous and advised Americans not to travel here. Lebanon hopes the ratification of the accord will help end all trave
l restrictions.
The accord pledging countries to fight hostage-taking was signed in New York in 1979 at US urging a month after Iranian militants stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held 53 Americans hostage for 444 days.
The ban on using US passports for travel to Lebanon was imposed in 1987 after numerous kidnappings and attacks by pro-Iranian militants. The worst attack the October 1983 truck bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks killed 241 Americans. The last American held hostage in Lebanon was released in 1991.
The hostage law was the only proposal that parliament's General Assembly endorsed out of the ten on the agenda, during its meeting, yesterday in the Nejmeh Square. The session started, at 10:30 a.m., with the statements of fourteen deputies who commented on the government's policy and the latest developments.
MP Najah Wakim, who was the first to speak, demanded a no-confidence vote against the cabinet. Speaker Nabih Berri intervened between the deputies' speeches to explain that no "troika" was formed during Baabda's meeting. Later, the law which allows the government to join the international agreement against taking hostages was passed, while other laws were vetoed.
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri wasn't present from the beginning. When he left, at 2:00 p.m., with several ministers and MPs, Berri announced the loss of the quorum and adjourned the session.