http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2007/05/us_warned_syria_1.php US warned Syria against moves to block Lebanon tribunal
Beirut & Washington - The United States expressed support for Lebanon's government Tuesday and warned Syria against any efforts to block an international trial over the murder of ex-Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. hariri%20rafik.jpg <http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2007/05/23/hariri%20rafik.jpg> "The United States reaffirms its support for Prime Minister (Fouad) Siniora and Lebanon's legitimate and democratically elected government as it faces down the threat of terrorism and political violence," said White House spokesman Tony Snow. "We will not tolerate attempts by Syria, terrorist groups or any others to delay or derail Lebanon's efforts to solidify its sovereignty or to seek justice in the Hariri case -- or for that matter to take on the violence that continues to plague the country," he told reporters. Sixty-six people have been killed in three days of fighting between the army and Islamic extremists of the Al-Qaeda-inspired Sunni group Fatah al-Islam, according to Lebanese army and Palestinian sources. While the guerrillas announced a unilateral ceasefire on Tuesday amid mounting concern over civilians caught up in the conflict, it is the deadliest internal violence since the 1975-90 civil war. "We believe those behind the attacks have two clear goals: to disrupt Lebanon's security and to distract the international attention from the effort to establish the special tribunal for Lebanon," said Snow. Snow said the United States did not know whether Syria was involved in stoking the violence, stressing: "We are still studying precisely what it is going on but it is important to send the signal. "The Syrians have said that they wish to play a constructive role. One constructive role is make sure that you're not part of the violence," the spokesman said. But the militia fighters and their supporters "seek to deny the people of Lebanon the democracy, peace and stability they deserve," Snow said, vowing a "redoubled effort" at the UN Security Council to create the tribunal. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was to meet with Swedish Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Bildt, told reporters "the Siniora government is fighting against a very tough extremist foe. "But Lebanon is doing the right thing to try to protect its population, to assert its sovereignty and so we are very supportive of the Siniora government and what it is trying to do," Rice stressed. Picture: Shrine of Lebanon's former PM Rafik Hariri . Syria was accused of being behind his assassination , but Syria denied . Now Syria is being accused of blocking the International court for trying the killers of Hariri . Syrian president Bashar el Assad threatened during a phone conversation with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to destroy the whole region from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean if the the tribunal is adopted by the UN. Assad is afraid that the tribunal could spell the end of his regime. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
