Syria announces Lebanon troop withdrawal
President Bashar Assad, responding to weeks of intense pressure, announced today that Syria would move its troops to the Lebanese-Syrian border in a two-step pull-back that he said should satisfy international demands for a complete withdrawal.
It was not clear whether Mr Assad meant he would keep some troops within Lebanon’s border, but a Syrian Cabinet minister said later that a withdrawal would be complete.
“We will withdraw our forces stationed in Lebanon fully to the Bekaa region (in the east) and later to the Lebanese-Syrian border areas,” President Assad said in a carefully worded address to parliament in Damascus, drawing cheers from legislators in the chamber and the thousands of Syrian supporters listening outside the building.
“By carrying out this measure, Syria will have fulfilled requirements of the Taif agreement and implemented UN Resolution 1559.”
The 1989 Arab-brokered Taif Accord calls for Syria to move its troops to the Lebanese border and for both countries to then negotiate the withdrawal. The UN resolution, drafted by the US and France in September, called on Syria to withdraw its forces, stop influencing politics in the country and allow Lebanon to hold presidential elections as scheduled.
He said he had agreed with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud to hold a meeting of the Syrian-Lebanese leaderships this week to approve the withdrawal plan.
Syrian immigrant affairs minister Buthaina Shaaban said the withdrawal would be complete.
“The matter is very clear. When an army withdraws it withdraws to inside the country’s border,” she told Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation television.
“The political decision of complete and full withdrawal from Lebanon has been taken,” she said, adding that it will take place “in the nearest possible time”.
But raising further questions, in an interview with Al-Arabiya television Shaaban said: “But there are areas that the two sides will agree on the positioning of the forces on the border.”
The international community has loudly demanded a Syrian withdrawal. US President George Bush said yesterday that anything less than a full withdrawal by May – when Lebanese parliamentary elections are to be held – would be an unacceptable “half-measure”.
Following the speech, the US State Department said Mr Assad’s statement was not enough.
“As President Bush said Friday, when the United States and France say withdraw, we mean complete withdrawal – no half-hearted measures,” the statement said.
In Paris, the French Foreign Ministry said: “We note the announcement by the president of the Syrian republic of his decision to apply” the resolution. “We, therefore, expect him to fully withdraw his troops and services from Lebanon as soon as possible.”
Mr Assad’s speech concluded a week of upheaval and Arab pressure on Syria, beginning with the resignation of Lebanon’s pro-Syria government and ending with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah telling him face-to-face to get all his forces out of Lebanon quickly.
In Beirut, around 1,000 Lebanese watching the speech on large screens in the central Martyrs’ Square seemed unconvinced by Mr Assad’s words. Waving Lebanese flags, they continued the chants they have shouted in weeks of demonstrations: “Syria out!” and other anti-Syrian slogans.
Lebanese opposition leaders complained that Mr Assad had not made clear what he planned and charged that he set no timetable for the troop movement.
Prominent opposition figure Walid Jumblatt was conciliatory in his tone in an interview with Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation television. He said there were positive elements in the speech, adding it offered “a new vision” in dealing with Lebanese-Syrian relations.
Asked whether he was expressing doubts as other opposition leaders did, he replied: “Before casting doubt, let’s see the implementation on the ground.”
Early in the hour-long speech, President Assad said his troops – which now numbered 14,000 – would leave the eastern neighbour if there was Lebanese consensus on the issue, apparently side-stepping the prospect of a full withdrawal.
“We will not stay one day if there was Lebanese consensus on the departure of Syria,” he told parliament. “Syria should not be a subject of dispute.”
He called the February 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri a “despicable crime … targeting Lebanon’s unity and stability.” He said uncovering the culprits “is a Syrian necessity just like it is a Lebanese necessity”.
Mr Hariri and 17 others were killed in a massive bomb blast in central Beirut that many in Lebanon blame on the Lebanese government and its Syrian backers. Both deny any involvement. Massive protests that began after the assassination have demanded Syria’s withdrawal and led to the resignation of the pro-Syrian government last week.
