Posted on 05/09/2003 10:36:07 AM PDT by knighthawk
The US administration has called on Syria to halt any arms deliveries to Hizbullah and urged Lebanon to deploy the Lebanese Army in the South, according to US Ambassador Vincent Battle.
Speaking to Friday’s issue of the Beirut-based French-language weekly, Magazine, Battle said that his country’s concern was mainly over “Syria’s support to terrorist networks, specifically Hizbullah.”
In the interview, which was faxed to The Daily Star by the magazine, added that negotiations with Lebanon and Syria regarding the issue went very far.
“We are talking about an issue which is very important to the United States,” the ambassador said. He added that there was nothing new in this, except that “within the framework of the ongoing US-led anti-terrorism war and regional peace process, these issues were now becoming more important.”
Meanwhile, British Ambassador Richard Kinchen also conferred Thursday with Foreign Minister Jean Obeid about the growing pressure on Hizbullah and calls to deploy the Lebanese Army on the border.
The growing calls for disarming Hizbullah and turning it into a political group were also high on the agenda of Thursday’s meeting between Obeid and Iranian Ambassador Massoud Edris Kermanshahi.
The Iranian ambassador, who paid a visit to Obeid, told reporters that his country had not changed its position with regard to this issue. He said that his country supported “Lebanon’s legitimate, natural and fair right to resist foreign occupation."
“This resistance, which is led and spearheaded by Hizbullah, has made all the Lebanese rally behind it,” said Kermanshahi.
Prompted to clarify his country’s position regarding to Hizbullah, Battle said that the United States was increasingly concerned about the party’s “terrorist activities.”
Battle said that his country and Lebanon did not see eye to eye about Hizbullah’s activities. “In our opinion, Hizbullah is a terrorist group. We intend to ask some governments enjoying some leverage over Hizbullah to cooperate with us, in making sure that this group no longer operates as a terrorist organization,” Battle added.
However, he declined to reveal the basis upon which such claims were founded.
“It is not possible for me to tell you, just like that, about my sources of information,” he told Magazine.
He added that this issue had been examined for two years. “I took office in Lebanon on Sept. 11, 2001. On Sept. 12, we were already talking about this issue with the Lebanese government,” Battle said. He added that he had discussed this issue “in detail,” especially on Hizbullah’s activities throughout the world, stressing that the issue was not new. “I am surprised that every time this issue is dealt with by the local press, we have to go back to square one,” Battle said.
In answer to a question about exporting ideology, Battle said he was talking about actions not ideology. He added that his main concern was over “military actions.”
With regard to Hizbullah’s political activities, Battle said his country was not prepared to negotiate over the group’s activities. “Hizbullah is a terrorist organization. I cannot say it more clearly,” the ambassador said, adding that his country clearly wanted Hizbullah to be outlawed in its capacity as a “terrorist organization.”
Battle praised the way Lebanese authorities’ had cooperated with the US-led “war against terrorism” and the way they had provided adequate security for the embassy compound in Awkar.
He said that among his most important concerns was the security of the embassy, also praising the cooperation between the embassy security personnel and those posted around the embassy’s compound by the government.
“We have tested the security measures during the recent demonstrations near the embassy,” Battle said.
He added that he was also happy with the way Lebanese authorities had taken the necessary preventative measures against any domestic riots by militant groups, including those based in Palestinian refugee camps.
“These groups have undermined not only out interests but also those of the Lebanese state,” Battle said.
He cited the slaying of four judges in Sidon in 1999 and the subsequent bloody confrontations between the Lebanese Army and a group of Muslim militants in the northern district of Dinnieh, as well as other attacks against Lebanese Army officers. He praised the ongoing cooperation between the Lebanese and Syrian law and order forces. “We were very satisfied just recently with the rounding up of a network of suspects involved in the recent McDonald’s bomb attack at Dora.
In the war against terrorism, Lebanon has acted like a real partner,” Battle said. He commended Lebanon’s offensive against Al-Qaeda and the Esbat al-Ansar terrorist organizations, but expressed wishes that such an offensive would extend to Hizbullah.
He said that his government has never stopped calling for the deployment of the Lebanese Army in the South, “which is now under Hizbullah’s control.”
In reference to the potential results of such a crackdown on Hizbullah and the possibility of another civil war being triggered, Battle said he was confident that the Lebanese Army, which was reorganized by President Emile Lahoud, was perfectly capable of handling the situation.
In response to what his government would do if Hizbullah was not disarmed by the Lebanese authorities, Battle said the United States was not making demands, but opting instead for a diplomatic approach over the issue.
Prompted to comment on Powell’s threats to impose economic sanctions on Syria over the Hizbullah issue, Battle said that he was talking about diplomatic measures not sanctions.
Referring to the hostage situations, which have targeted US citizens in the past, Battle said that the files of the kidnappings were “still open.”
He added that three people were already arrested in connection to the issue in the United States, especially over the highjacking of a TWA aircraft, during which a US citizen was executed.
Battle said that his government had always called on the Lebanese authorities to hand over anyone involved in that operation, to the US government.
In response to a question about Lebanon’s ability to achieve independence and sovereignty, Battle said that his country had reiterated, where possible, its commitment to Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
“Ever since 1943, we have recognized Lebanon as a sovereign and independent state,” he said.
He recalled that the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon was high on Powell’s agenda when he made his recent visit to Lebanon.
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