Bush promises Lebanon economic, security assistance

Jordan Times, April 21, 2005

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — President George W. Bush said the United States and Europe would provide economic and security assistance to Lebanon after Syrian forces pullout and elections are held. In an interview with the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. released by the White House on Tuesday, Bush stepped up pressure on Syria to completely withdraw its military and intelligence forces from Lebanon, and said elections “free of Syrian interference” should be held without delay.

He made clear disarming the Lebanese Islamic resistance group Hizbollah was secondary. “First things first, and that is to make sure that there are free elections,” Bush said.

Bush warned Damascus that the international pressure would only increase if it refused to pull out of Lebanon and stop the flow of money and arms into Iraq.

“The government will feel the international pressure. We're just beginning,” Bush said, calling diplomacy “the first course of action.” US officials have threatened to impose international sanctions on Syria.

After the Lebanese elections are held, Bush said finance officials from the United States and Europe would “work closely with international organizations, like the IMF or the World Bank, to help this country get back on its feet after occupation — help this new democracy succeed.”

“There will be plenty of help,” Bush said in the interview, which was taped late on Monday. Bush said the international community could also help the Lebanese shore up internal security after the Syrians pull out, so they can deal with Hizbollah and other armed groups if they refuse to disarm themselves. Bush offered no details, but diplomatic sources say the United States and Europe are considering providing military assistance and training to Lebanese security forces. Options include sending NATO troops or increasing UN forces in Lebanon. Bush administration officials have said they could accept a political role for Hizbollah in Lebanon if it disarmed.

But Bush called Hizbollah a “dangerous organization” and accused it of “trying to destabilize the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.”

“We put Hizbollah on the [US] terrorist list for a reason — they've killed Americans in the past. And we will continue to work with the international community to keep the pressure on this group of people,” Bush said.

Bush called on Syria to shut down Hizbollah's offices as a condition for improving relations with Washington, and has been pressing the European Union to add the group to the EU's list of terrorist organizations.

Hizbollah's leader in Lebanon, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday that his group would keep their weapons.

Under heavy US and European pressure, Syria has withdrawn most of the 14,000 troops it had in Lebanon and has promised to be out before April 30. Lebanon's prime minister formed a new government on Tuesday, boosting chances that a general election can be held on time in May.

Exiled Syrian officer returns

DAMASCUS (Reuters) — Syria has allowed the return of an exiled army officer who had been sentenced to death for heading a failed coup bid against the ruling Baath Party in 1963, rights activists said on Tuesday.

“Colonel Jasem Elwan returned today and I was one (of the activists) who greeted him at the airport,” said Hassan Abdul-Azim, a lawyer and human rights activist.

“He is free ... he was received at the VIP lounge at the airport,” he said of Elwan who sought to topple the Baath Party months after it assumed power in 1963.

Elwan has been living in Egypt since 1964 but it remains unclear whether he fled Syria or was deported, activists said.

He is one of hundreds of dissidents sentenced to death or long prison terms who have returned to Syria in recent weeks after the Arab state signaled that they would not be arrested, a source familiar with government thinking said.

Human rights activists said Damascus last month ordered the country's embassies to issue passports to all Syrians, including political fugitives, applying for a travel document.

The source said thousands of Syrians are expected to return home after embassies were instructed to “facilitate the return of all Syrians wishing to come home.”

The move is widely seen as a de facto pardon although an official amnesty has not been announced. “We hope that this will lead to the return of all exiled Syrians and also the release of all political prisoners ... who were not able to elope like those returning,” said lawyer and human rights activist Anwar Al Bunni.

Activists also hope it is a sign that the authorities may finally start introducing wide-ranging reforms promised by President Bashar Assad when he assumed power in 2000.

Sources close to government thinking have said the state was considering several reforms that activists hope would include ending an emergency law in force since 1963, releasing all political prisoners and allowing greater political freedom.