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Syria angrily rejects U.N. resolution
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-01 19:21
Rice pointed out that al-Sharaa himself was accused of lying in a letter to
the Mehlis commission and said his intransigence showed Syria wanted to
discredit the U.N. investigation even after a Security Council vote strongly
supported it.
Though the resolution was significantly weakened, al-Sharaa was defiant in
his response to the council. He accused Mehlis of essentially convicting Syria
before it had faced trial.
"It proceeds from the presumption that Syria is accused of committing this
crime rather than a presumption of innocence," al-Sharaa said. He insisted
Assad's regime would "fully cooperate" with the Mehlis commission until it
conclusively determines the perpetrators of the crime.
"I look forward to the full cooperation by the government of Syria in
substance as well as form," Straw retorted. "But I have to say after what I've
heard, I'm not holding my breath."
The three co-sponsors had to drop the explicit threat of economic sanctions
to win unanimous support for the resolution at a rare meeting of the foreign
ministers from most of the council's 15 members. Russia, China, Brazil and
others had strongly opposed the sanctions threat.
"I would like to say that the message of the Security Council is particularly
clear: Syria must cooperate with the Security Council otherwise there will be
consequences," France's Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said. "Justice
shall prevail."
The resolution marked the culmination of Security Council pressure for Syria
to release its grip on its tiny neighbor in the months since Hariri's
assassination.
Syria controlled Lebanon for nearly 30 years with a military presence of
thousands — and at times tens of thousands — of troops. But Hariri's
assassination brought massive anti-Syrian protests by Lebanese coupled with
intense international pressure that forced Assad to withdraw all of his troops
last spring, just months after the killing.
The beleaguered Assad government sought to rally regional support on Monday,
calling for an emergency Arab League summit. But Arab diplomats said it was
unlikely that many of the 22 member nations would agree to a meeting for fear of
harming ties with the U.S., Britain and France.
Boutros Assaker, the acting secretary-general in Lebanon's foreign ministry,
told the Security Council his country had entered a new phase in its history and
was trying "to consolidate its political independence" and enhance its
sovereignty.
What the Lebanese people want, he said, "is the truth, the whole truth ... of
this heinous, terrorist crime."
Assad on Saturday ordered a judicial committee be formed to investigate
Hariri's assassination — a point stressed by al-Sharaa. A presidential decree
said the committee will cooperate with the U.N. probe and Lebanese judicial
authorities.
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