[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 19 (Friday, February 18, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E283]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF FORMER LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER RAFIK 
                                 HARIRI

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. DARRELL E. ISSA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 16, 2005

  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution, 
offered by Representative Rahall of West Virginia, condemning the 
terrorist attack of February 14, 2005, that killed former Lebanese 
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and to honor the life and legacy of the 
former Prime Minister.
  Born in Sidon, Lebanon, in 1944, Rafik Hariri, a Sunni Muslim, was 
not born into wealth, but into a farming family. In 1965, seeking a 
better life, he moved to Saudi Arabia where he worked as a 
schoolteacher and accountant before starting his own business. Through 
hard work and particular skill in the construction industry, former 
Prime Minister Hariri acquired what many have estimated to be a fortune 
in excess of $2 billion.
  Mr. Hariri began his involvement in the political and economic life 
of Lebanon long before he became prime minister. As a Lebanese 
businessman living in Saudi Arabia, he played a behind-the-scenes role 
as a mediator, advisor and promoter of cease-fires and agreements to 
end the civil war that ravaged Lebanon from 1975 to 1990. He invested 
his time and extensive contacts throughout the world to bring peace to 
his war-torn country.
  In 1984, Mr. Hariri participated in the Geneva and Lausanne 
conferences to bring about political reconciliation in Lebanon and 
helped broker initiatives to put an end to the civil war.
  In 1989, Mr. Hariri was the power behind the Taif Agreement, which 
succeeded in ending the war and the drafting of a new constitution for 
Lebanon. This agreement was the political contract that laid down the 
principles of national reconciliation that ended a dark chapter in 
Lebanon's history.
  In 1992, he returned to his home country to assume office as prime 
minister after 28 years of living and working in Saudi Arabia. He 
formed his first government on October 22, 1992.
  He immediately began an ambitious rebuilding program whose crown 
jewel was the rebuilding of Beirut's war torn central district. Today, 
this district is a vibrant and beautiful center of commerce and culture 
that rivals that of the world's other great cities.
  Rafik Hariri was a man of peace and a man of diplomacy. He was the 
kind of man the United States and our allies need as we seek to spread 
freedom and democracy throughout the Middle East.
  I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Hariri on a number of occasions. He 
was a kind and humble man and the extent of his generosity towards the 
people of Lebanon, and those throughout the world, may never be fully 
known. He used his own personal wealth to give thousands of students 
the opportunity to gain a college education that they would have 
otherwise been unable to afford.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my expectation that a thorough and internationally 
validated investigation will uncover many facts about the assassination 
of Lebanon's former Prime Minister who remained a sitting member of 
parliament. Rafik Hariri was the leader of a political faction that 
many thought would take back control of Lebanon's government in 
parliamentary elections scheduled to take place in May. I know, from my 
personal meetings with Prime Minister Hariri, that he held deep 
reservations and misgivings about the continued presence of Syrian 
troops and Syrian secret police in Lebanon. Most often, it was not what 
he said, but what he indicated he could not talk about that most 
starkly expressed the reservations he had about Syria's role in 
Lebanon.
  Following this national tragedy, Lebanon must now try to hold free 
and fair parliamentary elections in May. It is my fear that the 
assassination of Mr. Hariri, and the many other past assassinations 
that have too often gone without significant investigation in Lebanon, 
will have a chilling effect on freedom of speech and those who would 
vocally criticize the continued Syrian presence.
  To say it plainly, it is time for Syrian troops and all the Syrian 
secret police to leave Lebanon. The security that Syria once provided 
is no longer needed and having security only for those who ally 
themselves with the continued Syrian presence is incompatible with 
democracy in Lebanon.
  Mr. Speaker, I support UN Resolution 1559 that demands a, ``strict 
respect of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and political 
independence of Leanon under the sole and exclusive authority of the 
Government of Lebanon throughout Lebanon,'' and for all, ``foreign 
forces to withdraw from Lebanon.''
  Rafik Hariri fought for a democratic and prosperous Lebanon. The 
United States, even after his death, should continue to press for Prime 
Minister Hariri's vision for Lebanon and a better Middle East.

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