Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003

The Lebanese lobbying groups in the United States managed to draft a bill with the American legislators supporting the freedom of Lebanon. The Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act was passed by the United States Congress, and signed by President George W. Bush in 2003.

The act called "to halt Syrian support for terrorism, end its occupation of Lebanon, stop its development of weapons of mass destruction, and cease its illegal importation of Iraqi oil and illegal shipments of weapons and other military items to Iraq".

It finally restored the importance of supporting Lebanon's independence by stating that "the full restoration of Lebanon's sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity is in the national security interest of the United States."

The French government and several other European states followed the United States' steps calling for a full Syrian withdrawal of its army and security forces from Lebanon. However, the Syrian regime kept trying to release the pressure by announcing partial redeployments in Beirut suburbs.
UN Security Council Resolution 1559 of 2004

The International community was growing convinced that the Syrian regime did not play any positive role in Lebanon, not to mention its negative role in supporting the ex-dictator regime of Saddam Hussein, and the insurgents in Iraq against the new Iraqi government.

The Syrian control of Lebanon was very obvious when the Syrian government wanted to renew the expired term of the Syrian-appointed president in Lebanon Emile Lahoud. The Syrian regime found in Lahoud an ally that no one could match, so they worked to amend the Lebanese constitution which prevents the re-election of presidents.

The United States and France drafted a resolution that was adopted by the United Nations Security Council on September 2, 2004 as Resolution 1559. It supported a free and fair presidential election in Lebanon to be conducted according to Lebanese constitutional rules, devised without foreign interference or influence, and called upon all forces to withdraw from Lebanon.

The resolution called also for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias in the country.

The Syrian regime ignored the resolution and forced the puppet parliament in Lebanon to amend the constitution of Lebanon and extend the Pro-Syrian's president term for three more years despite the wide public opposition to Lahoud.

The Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan reported to the Security Council in the end of September 2004. His report stated that the Syrian regime refuses to pull its troops and security forces from Lebanon, and that neither the Syrian government nor its proxy government in Lebanon is working to disarm the militias in the country such as Hezbollah and the radical Palestinian militias.
Growing Opposition to Syrian Occupation

The United Nations Resolution showed a regional and international interest in the case of our small Lebanon. Arabic media sources from several Arabic countries broke the conventional taboo of criticizing other Arabic regimes.

Terms such as "pro-Syrian government in Lebanon", "Pro-Syrian president of Lebanon" and "Syrian-appointed president" were utilized in the Arabic media joining the international community in describing the Syrian homogony over Lebanon. Voices from Jordan and the Arabian Gulf countries called openly on Syria to implement Resolution 1559.

By the end of 2004, the public opposition to the Syrian occupation and its proxy regime in Lebanon grew substantially and attracted many political leaders including even some of those who were previously allied with the Syrian regime such as prominent Muslim-Sunni leader Rafik Hariri, and Druze leader Walid Juomblat.

The Lebanese opposition built a wide Christian-Muslim opposition front and decided to participate in the general elections expected in May 2005 benefiting form the international attention to the Lebanese cause.

The conflict regarding resolution 1559 in Lebanon remained ongoing between those who are hoping to implement it, and those who are afraid of loosing their major power in the country – their martial force. As the resolution calls for full withdrawal of Syrian forces, and the disarming of Hezbollah and radical militias, the latter three parties are striving to prevent its implementation so they can maintain an exceptional power through the use of physical control.

The Lebanese who oppose the Syrian occupation and support the UN resolution 1559, faced physical and mental persecution from the pro-Syrian regime in Lebanon, and had to face the armed forces who oppose the resolution.

The task was not easy with hundreds of Lebanese fearing the fate of those who were killed in Lebanon or those who have been in Syrian prisons for more than twenty years; imprisoned, tortured and killed.