UNITED NATIONS/FILE: Syria denies U.S. allegation that it is destabilizing Lebanon

Record ID: 1530045

  • Title: UNITED NATIONS/FILE: Syria denies U.S. allegation that it is destabilizing Lebanon
  • Date: 29th October 2010
  • Summary: BEIRUT, LEBANON (FILE - FEBRUARY 14, 2005) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) VARIOUS OF SCENE AFTER BOMBING WHICH KILLED RAFIK HARIRI
  • Embargoed: 13th November 2010 01:15
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA5E0MRUK0FTPUFWG0JQ3ZGCU41
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari dismissed allegations made by United States ambassador Susan Rice earlier on Thursday (October 28) that Syria is facilitating arms smuggling into Lebanon. He also criticized U.N. Secretary-Ban Ki-moon's latest report on Lebanon for saying U.N. peacekeepers there cannot verify that no new arms are flowing into southern Lebanon.
    "What Ambassador Rice said is ... in full contradiction with a lot of facts related to the positive developments within Lebanon as well as within the whole area," he said. "Ambassador Rice gave credibility to wrong facts."
    Ja'afari was speaking to the media at the United Nations shortly after Rice spoke. In her comments, Rice launched a diplomatic assault on Syria, accusing it of joining forces with Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas to destabilize and undermine Lebanon.
    Rice accused Syria of arming Hezbollah and flouting Lebanese sovereignty and independence.
    Rice's remarks at the world body, where more subtle and indirect criticism is the norm, come amid growing fears Lebanon is headed for a political crisis over pending indictments by a U.N. tribunal expected to implicate Hezbollah in the 2005 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
    A U.N. special envoy on Lebanon, Norwegian diplomat Terje Roed-Larsen, told reporters that "if the Lebanese situation is destabilized I am afraid that it will have rippling effects across the region."
    "This is the most critical issue of international peace and security today," he said, adding that all parties in the region should "stop all irresponsible and reckless rhetoric."
    "Lebanon is more conflicted every day," Roed-Larsen said, adding that the combination of armed militias and inflammatory rhetoric created a "hyper-dangerous situation." He declined to say who was supplying Hezbollah's weapons but said they were "not coming from the moon."
    Rice also said Damascus' decision to issue arrest warrants for 33 senior Lebanese officials and foreign nationals was another example of Syrian violation of Lebanese sovereignty and breach of Syrian pledges to respect its neighbor's independence The warrants were for alleged false testimony to investigators in the Hariri probe. Lebanon has come close to fresh turmoil since reports surfaced the U.N. court will indict members of the Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah -- something diplomats say could happen early next year.
    Hezbollah, part of Lebanon's national unity government, has denounced the court as a tool of U.S. and Israeli policy and called on Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, Rafik's son, to repudiate the tribunal.
    The tribunal issued a statement on Wednesday condemning what it described as an attack on its staff in Beirut and said it would not be deterred in its inquiry.
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