Lebanon's Christian leaders demand Syria's withdrawal

NICOSIA — Lebanese Christian leaders are demanding the withdrawal of Syrian troops from their country as well as an end to what they term the exploitation by Syrian nationals.

Lebanon's Christian Maronite bishops said Syria must follow Israel's exit from Lebanon on May 24. The bishops cited United Nations Security Council resolutions as well as the 1989 Taif agreement.

"In order to strengthen the ties of brotherhood between Lebanon and Syria," the bishops said, "it is time to redeploy the Syrian army ahead of its withdrawal from Lebanon under UN Security Council resolution 520. The situation has become intolerable. Lebanon has lost its sovereignty faced with a hegemony on all its institutions."

The statement was the strongest by any mainstream body against the continued Syrian occupation of Lebanon. During Lebanese parliamentary elections, some candidates called for a reassessment of Lebanon's relations with Syria.

The bishops also complained of the estimated 1.2 million Syrian laborers in Lebanon. The bishops said Syrians operate freely in Lebanon while Lebanese are highly restricted in Syria.

"Lebanese production, both agricultural and industrial, is not finding outlets and is not protected against foreign competition, particularly Syrian," the bishops said. "Cheap Syrian labor competes with Lebanese manpower."

Lebanese sources said the statement by the bishops sparked a political storm in Beirut. The sources said that the Syrian-appointed government of Prime Minister Salim Hoss was unable to directly respond to the statement.

Instead, a Cabinet statement criticized what it termed "voices that threaten to return to the unpeaceful atmosphere" in Lebanon.

In contrast, the mufti of Lebanon and other Islamic leaders defended the Syrian presence in Lebanon as legitimate.

Meanwhile, Lebanese militants continued to attack Israeli soldiers with rocks and bottles near the Fatma gate along their border. An Israeli soldier was struck by a bottle and injured.

Israeli soldiers fired in the air to disperse the demonstrators.

Lebanese sources said the military also launched a spy balloon containing several cameras along the border that keeps being blown into Lebanese air space.