U.S Committee For A Free Lebanon Calls For Action To Free Lebanon From Syria.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 24, 1999--

The United States Committee for a Free Lebanon (USCFL), a grassroots advocacy organization dedicated to educating the American public about Lebanon's strategic and moral significance as an ally of the United States and an outpost of Western values in the Middle East, called today for action to Free Lebanon from Syria by co-sponsoring Mike Forbes' Free Lebanon bill HR 2056 or The Lebanon Independence Restoration Act of 1999(LIRA").

"LIRA is not only a great piece of legislation, but it also serves great strategic purposes which make supporting it the most important thing we possibly can do in the days ahead for the sake of a Free Lebanon," said USCFL President Mr. Ziad Abdelnour, addressing a group of New York based Wall Street financiers and political activists on the issue.

"I am sure you will agree that Rep. Mike Forbes has been very courageous to introduce this bill when some others would not continue Mr. Abdelnour. He deserves our wholehearted support. He reportedly already has five co-sponsors (Reps. Salmon, Saxton, LaHood, McIntosh and himself), but we are aiming for at least 275 co-sponsors. This will build a groundswell of support for prompt hearings, for introduction of a Senate companion bill, and for enactment of the bill into law this year. Hence we need all your help".

LIRA is the first piece of congressional legislation with the explicit purpose of bringing an end to the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. "Under Syrian domination, Lebanon is a captive nation," said Forbes in a letter addressed to other members of Congress. "This bill demands that Syria withdraw from Lebanon and halts all U.S. support, direct and indirect, for Syria until Lebanon is truly free."

Forbes drafted the bill shortly after his legislative director, David Silverstein, attended a session of the Lebanon Study Group sponsored by the United States Committee for a Free Lebanon (USCFL) and the Middle East Forum. USCFL President Ziad Abdelnour called the bill "a milestone in reversing the Syrian occupation of Lebanon" and said that USCFL will actively work to ensure that it is passed. "I think that there will be very few, if any, members of Congress willing to oppose the restoration of a sovereign nation's independence."

The core stipulations of the bill would prohibit economic and military assistance to both Syria and Lebanon until "30 days after the President certifies to the Congress that Syrian military, security, and intelligence forces and their proxies in Lebanon have been completely withdrawn from Lebanon and that the Government of Lebanon is certified to have been freely elected and wholly democratic in nature."

Congressional sources say that the bill is a binding resolution--the President cannot waive its implementation. The House International Relations Committee is expected to convene hearings in the next few months to deliberate on the bill, which should reach the House floor for a vote later this year. The Senate must then approve a companion bill before it becomes law.

SOURCE: DigitalWork ( http://www.digitalwork.com )

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