[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 190 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 190

   Urging the Government of Syria to withdraw its armed forces from 
                                Lebanon.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 19, 1996

  Mr. Engel (for himself, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Berman, Mr. 
Burton of Indiana, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Deutsch, Mr. Dornan, Mr. Forbes, Mr. 
  Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Gejdenson, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. 
 Kildee, Mr. King, Mr. Knollenberg, Mr. LaHood, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Levin, 
Mrs. Lowey, Mr. McCollum, Mr. McNulty, Ms. Molinari, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, 
  Mr. Saxton, and Mr. Torricelli) submitted the following concurrent 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Urging the Government of Syria to withdraw its armed forces from 
                                Lebanon.

Whereas Syria continues to exert undue influence upon the Government of Lebanon, 
        maintaining between 35,000 and 40,000 soldiers in Lebanon;
Whereas Syria has pledged publicly and privately to abide by the Taif Agreement 
        of 1989, which required that 2 years after certain Lebanese political 
        conditions were achieved in September 1990, Syria would withdraw its 
        armed forces stationed in Lebanon to the gateway of the Bekaa Valley 
        with complete withdrawal occurring shortly thereafter;
Whereas in Senate Concurrent Resolution 129 and House Concurrent Resolution 339 
        of the 102d Congress, Congress called upon Syria to withdraw its armed 
        forces to the gateway of the Bekaa Valley by September 1992 in 
        accordance with the Taif Agreement of 1989, as a prelude to complete 
        withdrawal from Lebanon;
Whereas in Senate Concurrent Resolution 28 of the 103d Congress, the Senate 
        strongly urged Syria to withdraw its armed forces to the gateway of the 
        Bekaa Valley without further delay and called upon the Governments of 
        Syria and Lebanon to agree immediately upon a firm timetable for the 
        complete withdrawal of Syrian armed forces, including military, 
        paramilitary, and security services from Lebanon;
Whereas in Senate Concurrent Resolution 28 of the 103d Congress, the Senate 
        called upon the Governments of Syria and Lebanon to disarm 
        nongovernmental armed groups and militias in Lebanon, as required by the 
        Taif Agreement;
Whereas nongovernmental armed groups and militias continue to operate in Lebanon 
        with the acquiescence and support of the Syrian and Lebanese 
        Governments;
Whereas recent attacks upon northern Israel were carried out by Hizbollah, a 
        group based in Lebanon and receiving support from and through Damascus;
Whereas Syria did not attend the March 13, 1996, anti-terrorism Summit of the 
        Peacemakers in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, and has not participated in 
        subsequent meetings;
Whereas the Government of Syria is currently prohibited by law from receiving 
        United States assistance;
Whereas the Lebanese elections of September 1992 were held in a climate of heavy 
        foreign military and political domination and due to widespread 
        electoral irregularities and a boycott by a large percentage of the 
        Lebanese people, the results of the elections were not representative of 
        the full spectrum of the Lebanese body politic;
Whereas, according to the Lebanese constitution, new elections for the Lebanese 
        Parliament must take place between August 15, 1996, and October 15, 
        1996; and
Whereas Syria exerted undue pressure upon the Lebanese Parliament, forcing it to 
        use extra-constitutional means to extend the term of President Hrawi: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) expresses its continued support for the restoration of 
        sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity 
        of Lebanon;
            (2) offers condolences to the families of Lebanese and 
        Israeli civilians who died in recent violence and supports the 
        ceasefire ending fighting in southern Lebanon;
            (3) considers the Government of Syria in violation of its 
        pledge to uphold the Taif Agreement of 1989 because it has not 
        withdrawn its armed forces from Lebanon;
            (4) considers the Syrian troops in Lebanon an occupation 
        force;
            (5) demands that the Government of Syria immediately 
        declare its commitment to completely withdraw its armed forces, 
        including military, paramilitary, and security services from 
        Lebanon, and set a firm timetable for such withdrawal, to be 
        completed not later than December 31, 1997;
            (6) recognizes the public Israeli commitment to withdraw 
        its armed forces from the ``security zone'' in southern Lebanon 
        once security conditions permit;
            (7) will not accept Syria's continued hegemony over Lebanon 
        and rejects linking the Syrian presence there to Israeli-Syrian 
        negotiations or to an Israeli-Syrian peace agreement;
            (8) while reaffirming the continued applicability of all 
        existing prohibitions, restrictions, limitations, and 
        directives that otherwise apply to Syria--
                    (A) urges the President to withhold any future 
                United States assistance to Syria until Syria withdraws 
                its armed forces from Lebanon; and
                    (B) urges the President to direct United States 
                executive directors of all international financial 
                institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund 
                and the International Bank for Reconstruction and 
                Development, to oppose future loans or assistance to 
                Syria until Syria withdraws its armed forces from 
                Lebanon;
            (9) strongly urges the Government of Syria to cooperate 
        with ongoing international efforts to curb terrorism and holds 
        the Government of Syria responsible for all terrorist acts 
        planned, trained for, financed, or initiated in Syria or 
        Lebanese territories under its occupation;
            (10) demands that Syria prevent Hizbollah and other 
        terrorist groups from launching attacks on Israel from areas of 
        Lebanon under its occupation;
            (11) urges the Government of Lebanon to initiate serious 
        negotiations with the Government of Syria for the withdrawal of 
        Syrian armed forces from Lebanon, the disarming of all 
        remaining nongovernment paramilitary groups, and the 
        redeployment of Lebanese armed forces to all areas of Lebanon 
        in order to assert the sovereignty of the Lebanese state over 
        all of its territory, which would then facilitate lifting the 
        ban on travel of United States citizens to Lebanon;
            (12) urges the Government of Lebanon to enter into serious 
        bilateral negotiations with the Government of Israel in order 
        to agree on mutual security arrangements and realize a full and 
        permanent peace;
            (13) strongly urges the Government of Lebanon to prosecute 
        to the full extent of the law all individuals responsible for 
        crimes against United States or foreign diplomats and citizens;
            (14) urges the Government of Lebanon to hold the 
        parliamentary elections on time and to ensure that such 
        elections are conducted in a free and fair manner by enacting 
        fair and uniform electoral laws, allowing reasonable time for 
        declaring candidacy, permitting the timely return of 
        expatriated or exiled leaders wishing to participate in the 
        elections, not restricting freedom of speech or movement, 
        ensuring the neutrality of Lebanese and non-Lebanese armed 
        forces, and allowing international and domestic observer units 
        to monitor the elections;
            (15) expresses its support for ongoing British and French 
        efforts to secure free and fair internationally monitored 
        parliamentary elections in Lebanon and encourages similar 
        efforts by United States governmental and nongovernmental 
        agencies;
            (16) requests that the Secretary of State report to the 
        Committee on International Relations of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
        Senate on the results of the Lebanese elections and every 6 
        months thereafter on Syrian efforts to withdraw its forces from 
        Lebanon; and
            (17) requests the Secretary of State to transmit a copy of 
        this resolution to the Government of Lebanon and the Government 
        of Syria.
                                 <all>