Date : 10/03/2005
KUN0121 4 GEN 0401 KUWAIT /KUNA-HBX7
POL-LD-U.S.-HEZBOLLAH
Hezbollah is part of the political process in Lebanon -- Ereli
WASHINGTON, March 10 (KUNA) -- Hezbollah is part of the political process
in Lebanon, State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said on Thursday.
"It is not for us to determine who has a political role in Lebanon from
among the Lebanese," Ereli said during a department briefing. "That is a
decision for the Lebanese people to make.
Hezbollah is "part of the (Lebanese) political process now," Ereli said.
"They have members elected to Parliament.
The international community believes the Lebanese political process should
be governed by the Lebanese people and Lebanese institutions, and what forms
those institutions and processes take, and how the results are dealt with, are
matters for the Lebanese people to decide without intimidation, coercion or
outside pressure, Ereli said.
Asked if the United States would accept a "terrorist organization" in the
political process of Lebanon, Ereli said, " ... Our views about Hezbollah are
well known, and I think our views are distinct from the internal Lebanese
political dynamic".
Regarding the reappointment of Omar Karami as prime minister of Lebanon
nine days after he resigned, the U.S. view is that the governor of Lebanon
"faces historic challenges in creating the conditions and putting in place the
processes that meet the people's aspirations for freedom, for democracy and
for change," Ereli said.
When the pro-Syria Karami quit as Lebanese prime minister, he said he was
resigning "because he could not be effective," Ereli said. "If ever there were
a time that Lebanon needed effective government, that time is now".
The immediate challenge for the new government of Lebanon is that it
responds to the aspirations of the Lebanese people "for freedom and for
sovereignty, untrammeled by foreign forces," Ereli said.
UN Security Council Resolution 1559 needs to be implemented, all foreign
forces need to withdraw from Lebanon, and elections need to take place "that
are free from intimidation, free from coercion, and that allow the Lebanese
people to fully express their views and freely choose their leaders," he added.
The continued presence of Syrian forces in Lebanon "is incompatible with
the Lebanese people exercising their full political and sovereign rights, and
civil rights," Ereli said. (pickup previous)
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