Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-03-08-Speech-2-186"
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"en.20050308.21.2-186"2
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"Mr President, I wonder if Lebanon will join in the ‘orange revolution’ marked by people’s reawakening to democracy? We certainly hope so, but Lebanon has little in common with Ukraine or Georgia. It will be neither easy nor perhaps totally desirable to break the links with Syria enshrined in the Taif Agreement, but those links need to be clarified and stabilised, and both popular and international pressure will be needed to achieve that.
What is clear right now is that the murderers of Rafik Hariri and of the 14 Lebanese citizens who died in the attack are still at large. Syria must be able to withdraw from Lebanon without losing face, but the redeployment of its troops cannot be limited to the Bekaa plain if the timetable for permanent withdrawal has still not been established. The organisation of the forthcoming parliamentary elections has now become a test of Lebanon’s desire for change. Hezbollah is also a major pawn in Syria’s policy and is undermining the peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine, as Mr Morillon pointed out. However, that will also be the case until Israel withdraws its troops from the Golan Heights, as demanded by the United Nations in its various resolutions. Ultimately, the opposition, by uniting and expressing a desire to proceed step by step, has demonstrated an astonishing maturity and has shown that it is effectively in control of the pre-revolutionary situation that has arisen. While we can support this movement, we cannot rush it.
The European Parliament therefore needs to pay particular attention to keeping up pressure on Syria to respect its international commitments. Each of the parties involved – Lebanon, the European Union and Syria – is aware just how close this game is. The shadow of war is still hanging over Beirut, but, at the same time, Lebanon’s opposition has never seemed so united. We do not know this opposition well enough, Mr President, and I would suggest that we take advantage of the next few weeks to strengthen our links with it.
I would not like to conclude without offering my condolences and expressing my feelings of sympathy and friendship to Mrs Hariri, who I am sure will also be a protagonist in Lebanon’s future."@en1
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