Presidential Order Targets Those Opposed to Lebanese Democracy
06 August 2007
State Department official says country in a "difficult political crisis"
Washington -- President Bush’s August 2 executive order seizing the U.S. assets of those undermining Lebanon’s democratically elected government is designed to support the country’s constitutional democratic process, as well as those who feel Lebanon’s democracy is being threatened, a senior State Department official said.
Speaking to reporters in Washington August 6, Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs C. David Welch said the executive order calls on U.S. officials to “examine, based upon our information and reports from our mission [in Beirut, Lebanon], what, if any, information there is about persons who may be engaged in anti-democratic action.”
Bush’s order is intended to help protect Lebanese constitutional democracy and is “another step to signal to people in Lebanon and outside of Lebanon that there will be consequences if they act to thwart the will of the Lebanese people and act against Lebanese law,” he said.
Lebanon is going through “an important and difficult political crisis,” Welch said, and those who support the country’s democracy “feel threatened.”
He added that the executive order should not be perceived as “a matter of opposition to one person in government or to the government under [Prime Minister] Fuad Siniora.” Rather, it is targeted toward those inside and outside of Lebanon whose “loyalty does not lie either to the constitution or the country.”
The assistant secretary commended the August 6 by-election in two Lebanese districts where voters chose replacements for parliamentarians Pierre Gemayel and Walid Eido, both of whom were murdered within the past year.
“It looks like a good and peaceful contest,” he said. “Now we hope these people who have been elected can participate in a fully functioning parliament so that it can discharge its [constitutional] duties.”
He also expressed support for Lebanese Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri and Berri’s call for the parliament to convene August 25 to begin the process of holding new presidential elections, due in November.
“That should be done in accordance with the constitution and Lebanese practice, with respect to all the institutions and their leadership,” Welch said, and urged all Lebanese members of parliament to “turn up to do their duty.”
Welch acknowledged that he “may not like the political affiliations” of some of Lebanon’s leaders, “but that’s not for me to say.”
“[T]hey have their responsibilities under the law and they should exercise them and then we’ll see who wins.”
The assistant secretary spoke after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice returned from a four-day visit to the region where she met with Palestinian and Israeli officials, as well as members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. (See related article.)
He said the August 6 discussions between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas were encouraging, and that an effective, productive channel between the two parties is essential to achieving a peaceful solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The full text of Bush’s executive order on Lebanese sovereignty is available on the White House Web site.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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