From: medawar@prism.poly.edu (Bassem Medawar)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.lebanon
Subject: European Parliament and the Lebanese legislative elections
Date: 28 Jul 92 01:51:51 GMT
Organization: Polytechnic University, New York

The following has come to my attention from a reliable source.
I agree with the content of the resolution below and further
add that the election to start in August is but about one issue
only: the ratification of the Syria/Lebanon unification
treaty, which is likely to be presented to the new parliament sometime
during its term.  The first act of the new parliament though shall 
be to renew the Syrian Army's mendate over Lebanon.
 
Do you want union with present day Syria?  Do you want to renew the
Syrian Army's mendate over Lebanon?  If your answer is no to either,
the you must actively oppose dishonest elections.

Don't expected the US to come to the rescue, Lebanon will be sacrificed 
as a bargaining chip on the altar of Middle East peace talks.  Bush
will do anything to get elected, as he was once quoted saying, including 
I suppose selling Lebanon as a price to Syria for good behavior.
 
Bassem
 
                                              June 11, 1992
 
Resolution B3-0824/92 on the political situation in Lebanon.
 
_The_European_parliament_,
 
A. Considering that the fall of Mr. Karami's government was
   essentially due to the uprising of a population
   frustrated by the continuous degradation of its standard
   of living and by the food shortages,
 
B. Considering that the new government of Mr. Rashid Solh
   maintains, like its predecessor, a two-thirds majority of
   pro-Syrian ministers,
 
C. Considering that the preparartion of general elections,
   initially scheduled for the summer of 1993 and now
   advanced for this summer, should be held under
   international supervision in order to guarantee the
   freedom of expression of the Lebanese people,
 
1. Deplores the obvious lack of interest of the
   international community, and the European Community in
   particular, in the Lebanese question and the suffering of
   a bloodied people, after 15 years of war, and facing
   today very serious fodd shortages;
 
2. Recalls that the Taef Accords have permitted the concrete
   cessation of hostilities, but has also sanctioned the
   domination of Lebanon by Syria;
 
3. Rejoices at the perspective of Legislative Elections
   which will be the first to be held in nearly twenty years
   in that country;
 
4. Is nevertheless troubled by the conditions in which those
   elections are being prepapared, and the difficulties facing
   the authorities in establishing reliable electoral rolls
   because of the destruction of archival material and the
   numerous forged identification papers in circulation;
 
5. Therefore requests the CPE to work at organizing an
   international supervision aiming at guaranteeing truly
   free elections in Lebanon, allowing that country to
   recover at last its identity;
 
6. Wishes, for that purpose, to send a delegation of
   European observers as much during the preparatory phase
   of the elections, as well as to insure the proper taking
   of the ballot;
 
7. Instructs its President to transmit the present
   resolution to the Council and the CPE, as well as to the
   Lebanese authorities.
 
[CPE: Communaute Parlementaire Europeene, European
Parlimentary Community]
 
                           ######
 
This resolution has been prepared and defended by Mr.
Francois Guillaume, actual French European Deputy and former
Minister of Agriculture.  The following is Mr. Guillaume's
statement in front of parliament:
 
Mr. President, after 16 years of war, Lebanon is in a state
of economic and political bankruptcy.  In the guilty silence
of the international community, Syria, which occupies 8/10th
of the national territory while Israel occupies the
remainder, has undertaken a gradual annexation of Lebanon.
 
The Taef Accord, sanctioned by the great powers, has been an
instrument for that strategy.  Erroneously considered as a
contribution to the peace process in Lebanon, the Taef Accord has only
permitted the Western powers to justify their inertia.
 
Today, Beirut is preparing to hold legislative elections in
August 1992, that is, before the Syrian redeployment
scheduled by the Taef Accord, whereas they should normally
be held next year, after the withdrawl of all foreign
troops.  At issue is the renewal of a Parliament which has
not been renewed in 20 years.  On account of the dramatic
situation in which Lebanon is presently struggling, where
security, governmental cohesiveness, diplomacy and the Army
are entirely under foreign control, how can it be imagined
that free and authentic elections could be held which should
otherwise take place under democratic conditions?
 
Lebanon is an occupied country; hundreds of thousands
have been displaced by the war inside the country, while an equal
number have been forced into exile and their return is being
anxiously awaited.  All of these people are temporarily 
unable, physically or politically, to participate in the
elections, either as voters or as candidates.  Moreover, the
Lebanese Minister of Interior is currently drawing
electoral rolls.  On what basis, may it be asked?  Records of
the Registry office of the Civil status have been burnt or 
otherwise destroyed during the war, identification cards 
have been forged, records entries have been faked, and 
naturalizations have been contested.  The Electoral Law has
not been voted: what will it be?  No one knows anything about
it.  [The Law has since been voted.. bassem]
 
It is clearly understood that Syria's interest is in holding
the legislative elections prior to the redeployment of its 
army.  This is so because the new Chamber, arising from the
national balloting, will evidently be composed of deputies 
very much favoring the collaboration with Syria.  Under those
conditions, who could prevent the simple annexation of 
Lebanon by Syria, legalized by a vote of the Lebanese 
Parliament?  This would indeed be the ultimate step in the
patient process engineered by Damascus to legitimize the de
facto annexation of Lebanon by Syria.
 
Mr. President, the Lebanese national reconciliation rests on
holding free elections in the absence of foreign armies.
Today, there is not one guarantee insuring the freedom of the
votes and of candidacies, as well as transparency of
the results.  This is the reason why an international
supervision is necessary, and our European Parliament, so
justly attached to democratic values, must today concretely 
bear witness to them unanimously requiring an international
supervision of the upcoming elections, irrespective of the
period in time when they might be held.
 
 
                        - END -