March 14: Lebanon’s Disavowal of U.N. Statement on Syria is ‘Disgraceful’
Lebanon’s disavowal of a U.N. Security Council statement condemning Syria's deadly attacks on civilians is “shameful,” high-ranking March 14 sources said.
The sources told An Nahar daily published Thursday that “despite the unanimity of the other 14 members of the Security Council on the statement, Lebanon’s disavowal is a shameful and disgraceful stance.”
They warned that Lebanon’s decision puts the country in a “confrontation with the world … at a time when the country is in need for the international community in its confrontation with the Israeli greed and threats.”
March 14 leadership sources also told al-Mustaqbal daily that Premier Najib “Miqati is heading a cabinet allied with the Syrian regime and backs it media wise and politically by its silence on the massacres committed against the Syrian people … let alone its decision for Lebanon, which is a member of the Security Council, to reject any presidential statement that condemns the massacres.”
After months of deadlock, the U.N. Security Council finally responded to the escalating violence in Syria on Wednesday, condemning President Bashar Assad's forces for attacking civilians and committing human rights violations.
Lebanon didn't block adoption of the statement. But Lebanon's deputy U.N. ambassador Caroline Ziade invoked a procedure not used since 1974 by the Americans and 1976 by China, disassociating the country from the statement after it was read at a formal council meeting by the current president, India's U.N. Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri.
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