By Hadi Khatib
Lebanonwire staff

US President George W. Bush slammed Syrian President Bashar Assad accusing him of hindering the democratic process in the region and particularly Lebanon, warning Syria that it would not be accepted by the international community unless it stops interfering in Lebanon’s drive forward, daily An-Nahar reported Thursday.

Choosing the ‘Freedom House Institution’ as an appropriate forum for his speech, Bush issued a stern warning to Syria’s Assad saying “ if he expects to welcome his country back to the international community, he’d better not sabotage the democratic process in Lebanon, and needs to release that country from Syria’s ‘chocking’ grip,…and cooperate with the investigation into (former premier) Rafiq Hariri’s murder.”

The daily reported Bush as saying that the year 2005 was one for a rising wave of freedom movements “starting from Kabul, to Baghdad, to Beirut and people 30 years from now will look back and say this was a historical point in time and will thank Americans who stood in support of democracy in the region.”

“The two countries that cause us most worry are Iran and Syria,” Bush said adding later that the US’s relations with Syria were “complicated because of Lebanon.”

“We have spent a great deal of time working with France to inform Syria of the need to allow for the democratization process and progress to flourish in Lebanese,” Bush said adding “ I believe it is hard for Syria to let go of Lebanon after a chock hold that lasted 30 years.”

Bush said that after the Syrian pullout from Lebanon in 2005, he was not sure whether the withdrawal was complete in terms of the Syrian intelligence apparatus which he described as having a great influence on the future of the country.

“If Syria wants to be welcomed back into the international community it has to cooperate with the Hariri investigation, leave Lebanon alone and stop border infiltration into Iraq, in addition to disallowing meetings by Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organization inside Syria,” Bush said.

The daily said that US Foreign Secretary Condoleezza Rice will discuss Lebanon in a meeting with French President Jacques Chirac today in Paris, as part of a European trip that includes Germany, and Britain.

Meanwhile, the 15-member UN Security Council on Wednesday directed UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to negotiate a deal with Lebanon creating an international tribunal to try suspects in the murder of Hariri.

The text also asked Annan "to submit in a timely manner for the consideration of the Council a report on the implementation of this resolution ... including options for a funding mechanism appropriate to ensure the continued and effective functioning of the tribunal."

In a report released last week, Annan suggested the creation of a mixed and balanced tribunal involving Lebanese and international judges based on the tribunal's founding instrument, applicable law, location, composition and financial arrangements.

It noted that Lebanese authorities believe that for security reasons the court should be established outside Lebanon.

Daily Al-Hayat said that what is important in Annan’s report is that it talks about UN 1644 which suggests that “the investigation by the UN team could be expanded to include other crimes and assassinations since October 2004.”

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