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On March 5,
2005, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad addressed the Syrian parliament
and vowed a « gradual
», instead of a full and immediate withdrawal of his troops from
Lebanon. No timetable for a « full
withdrawal » was set in his speech.
During his speech Syrian President said:
« We will pull all our forces in Lebanon to
the Bekaa area and from there to the Syrian-Lebanese border
».
RCPL is gravely deceived because his speech: |
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Didn't give a clear and accurate timetable for the withdrawal of the
Syrian troops from Lebanon |
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Remained
vague as to the geographic limit of the Syrian troops redeployment |
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Ignored
the popular Lebanese consensus about the full and immediate
withdrawal of Syrian troops form Lebanon. This consensus has been
clearly manifested in the past few weeks in Beirut. |
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Had no mention of the fate of hundreds of
Lebanese citizens still illegally detained in Syrian prisons |
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For the above reasons, RCPL urges the Canadian government and the United
Nations Secretary General Kofi Anan to pressure the Syrian authorities
to:
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Respect the Lebanese people's choice and the UN Resolution 1559 and
immediately withdraw the 15.000 Syrian soldiers and intelligence
agents from Lebanon |
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Reveal
the fate of hundreds of Lebanese still illegally detained in Syrian
prison since more than 30 years. |
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RCPL believes that a complete Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon will
help the Lebanese people revive their democratic system far from foreign
interference. It is also the first step towards a free and fair
elections scheduled to be held next spring.
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