A Syrian rights organization has condemned its government's interference in Lebanese affairs, especially in the presidential elections and called on the international community to force Damascus to abide by United Nations Security Council resolution 520, according to Annahar Monday. The resolution calls for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon including Syria's 20,000 peacekeepers. Syria is the main powerbroker in Lebanon and has just interfered in favor of the extension of current President Emile Lahoud's mandate, which ends in November. (See page 2, and Weekend news roundup)

In a statement, received by Annahar, the National Council for Truth, Justice and Reconciliation in Syria said, "The obstinacy of the ruling government in neglecting Lebanese public opinion and the will of the international community has one of two possible explanations".

The first is that the Syrian government has decided to pursue the policy of a government that is "on the edge of the abyss". It charged that the ruling Baath Party was using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in exchange for implementing the demands of the international community namely "the U.S. and France". Both countries have recently voiced harsh objection to Syria's meddling in Lebanon's internal affairs and undermining its sovereignty. According to the statement, "this means that the ruling elite has decided to pursue a policy of insane confrontation with the world and consequently jeopardize the fate of its people in order to defend a bunch of thieves and black market lords who see Lebanon as their dairy cow".

The other scenario is that Syria has "received the green light from under the table to proceed with its plans" to interfere in deciding the fate of the Lebanese people -- an allusion to indirect U.S. approval of Syria's actions. This means that the recent Istanbul declaration during the G8 summit, which underscored the need for the democratization of the countries of the Middle East, stemming from the U.S. Greater Middle East initiative for reform "was a cheap political ploy aimed at the embezzling the leaders of the region", according to the statement.

It added that the countries, which have signed the Istanbul declaration, should prove their credibility by seeking an emergency UN Security Council session aimed at pressuring Syria to implement the aforementioned resolution. The statement said there was no longer "a strategic excuse" for the presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon, "a fact admitted by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad himself", the statement said. "It is very hard for any citizen of the Middle East to understand or accept any talk of democratization in the region, while the Syrian regime imposes a president on the Lebanese people despite their will," it charged.