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Lebanese Voices Rise Against Syria's Dominance

(Christian Science Monitor) Nicholas Blanford - A bluntly worded UN report last week found Syria and Lebanon guilty of failing to comply with Security Council Resolution 1559, the U.S.- and French-sponsored resolution passed last month calling on Syria to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and for the dismantling of all militias such as Hizballah. It also calls for the Lebanese government to deploy troops along the Lebanon-Israel frontier. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported that as of September 30, "The Syrian military and intelligence apparatus had not been withdrawn.... United Nations staff on the ground had not discerned any change in the status of Hizballah...[and] the government of Lebanon had not extended its control over all its territory." Posters praising the UN resolution now appear in Christian districts of Beirut, and prominent opposition figures are showing up on television to denounce Syrian interference in Lebanon's affairs. Walid Jumblatt, leader of Lebanon's Druze community, has emerged among the staunchest critics.
2004-10-08 00:00:00
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