U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan pressed Syria on Friday to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and criticized Lebanon's Syrian-backed president, Emile Lahoud, for seeking to extend his term beyond the constitutionally set limit of six years. Annan also urged Lebanon to disarm the Palestinian militants and Syrian-and-Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia that hold sway in southern Lebanon.
| "You guy-y-y-ys, c'mon now, play fair!" |
The U.N. chief's remarks were in a 17-page report asserting that Syria has failed to comply with a U.S.-and-French-sponsored Security Council resolution calling for free elections in Lebanon next month, the disarmament of armed militias, and the withdrawal of all foreign forces from the former French colony. "I cannot certify that these requirements have been met," Annan wrote. "The Syrian military and intelligence apparatus in Lebanon has not been withdrawn as of 30 September, 2004."
| They won't be gone as of 30 September, 2005 either. |
Syria maintains that it has redeployed 3,000 troops from camps south of Beirut to a Syrian stronghold in the Bekaa Valley, and that some have returned to Syria. Last month, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell confirmed after a meeting in New York with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Charaa that Syrian troops had abandoned the camps, saying it "was a positive step." But Annan said that the United Nations was not able to verify Syria's claims that its troops or intelligence agents have left the country. Annan also criticized Lahoud's efforts to extend his rule, saying, "It has long been my strong belief . . . that governments and leaders should not hold on to office beyond prescribed term limits."
| "They should bounce around in high-level, well-paid, meaningless jobs, just like we do here at the U.N.", he added. |
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