Syria to start Lebanon troop pullout
By Nadim Ladki
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria has indicated it will start withdrawing some of its troops from Lebanon soon, but U.S. President George W. Bush insists it should "end its occupation" of its neighbour.
International and Lebanese pressure have mounted on Syria since the assassination of former
Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in Beirut a week ago, blamed by Lebanon's opposition on Syria.
Arab League chief Amr Moussa said President Bashar al-Assad had told him Syria would soon
take steps towards withdrawing its forces in line with the Taif agreement, which ended Lebanon's
1975-90 civil war.
"President Bashar al-Assad stressed more than once in (our) talks his firm intention to press
ahead with the implementation of the Taif agreement and to plan a Syrian withdrawal from
Lebanon in line with this agreement," he told reporters on Monday after meeting Assad in
Damascus.
"The issue of Taif and the withdrawal is ... part of Syrian policy. There will be talk and steps
that we will see soon," Moussa said.
The 1989 Taif agreement committed Syria to shifting its troops in Lebanon to the eastern
Bekaa Valley. It also stipulated that Syria and Lebanon should agree a timetable for a complete
Syrian pulllout. That is yet to be agreed.
Syria, which has 14,000 troops in Lebanon, pulled out or redeployed a few thousand troops
last year. It was widely expected to pull out some more troops ahead of a general election in
Lebanon, due to take place by May.
"Just as the Syrian regime must take stronger action to stop those who support violence and
subversion in Iraq and must end its support for terrorist groups seeking to destroy the hope of
peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Syria must also end its occupation of Lebanon," Bush
said in a speech in Belgium.
"Our shared commitment to democratic progress is being tested in Lebanon, a once-thriving
country that now suffers under the influence of an oppressive neighbour," he said at the start of a
trip to meet European Union and NATO leaders.
Sami Baroudi, associate professor of political science at the Lebanese American University,
said Bush's comments were part of the pressure on Syria to implement last year's U.N. Security
Council resolution calling for it to quit Lebanon.
"I'm sure more messages will be sent at the Brussels summit, but the Syrians don't feel this is
the right time to make a 180 degree turn in their policy," Baroudi said.
Lebanon's pound was stable on Monday but the central bank continued to sell dollars amid
worries over the death of Hariri, credited with masternminding Lebanon's reconstruction effort.
ENGAGEMENT
Although the EU is also pressing for a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, it favours more of an
"engagement" approach. It joined calls from the United States and France for an international
investigation into Hariri's killing.
"(The EU Council) calls for an international investigation without delay to shed light on the
circumstances and those responsible for this attack," an EU communique said.
Syria has denied any involvement in Hariri's death and Assad told Moussa he welcomed a U.N.
probe, announced last week.
Thousands of Lebanese protesters chanted "Syria out" as they marched in Beirut a week after
Hariri's assassination.
Protesters carrying Lebanese flags and wearing red-and-white scarves, a symbol of the
opposition, converged on an exclusive seafront area where the bomb tore through Hariri's
motorcade.
They observed a one-minute silence at 12:55 p.m. (1055 GMT), the exact time Hariri was killed
a week ago.
"The truth is, we can't stand Syria," protesters chanted, as well as "Syria out" and "Freedom,
sovereignty, independence".
swissinfo.org
|
