[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 133 (Wednesday, December 6, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H8864-H8866]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR LEBANON'S DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree 
to the resolution (H. Res. 1088) expressing support for Lebanon's 
democratic institutions and condemning the recent terrorist 
assassination of Lebanese parliamentarian and Industry Minister Pierre 
Amin Gemayel.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 1088

       Whereas on November 21, 2006 Pierre Gemayel, a Member of 
     the March 14 parliamentary coalition, was assassinated in New 
     Jdeide, north of Beirut, Lebanon;
       Whereas a series of targeted attacks and killings of public 
     leaders working to promote democracy and autonomy in Lebanon 
     has placed a heavy toll on Lebanon's intellectual and 
     democratic freedoms;
       Whereas the prosecution by the proposed International 
     Independent Investigation Commission of persons accused in 
     the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri could 
     deter future assassinations;
       Whereas Pierre Gemayel was born on September 24, 1972 into 
     a prominent Lebanese family;
       Whereas Pierre Gemayel was first elected to the Lebanese 
     Parliament in 2000;
       Whereas Pierre Gemayel was named Minister of Industry in 
     the Lebanese Government in 2005;
       Whereas Amine Gemayel, the father of Pierre Gemayel and 
     former President of Lebanon, has urged the Phalange party 
     supporters and all Lebanese citizens to promote cooperation 
     and solidarity and hamper attempts to instigate civil strife;
       Whereas, on November 21, 2006, following Pierre Gemayel's 
     assassination, President George W. Bush stated that ``the 
     United States remains fully committed to supporting Lebanon's 
     independence and democracy in the face of attempts by Syria, 
     Iran, and their allies within Lebanon to foment instability 
     and violence'';
       Whereas supporting the development of democratic 
     institutions in Lebanon is critical to promoting the 
     interests of the United States in the Middle East region, 
     building upon the momentum of the March 14, 2005 ``Cedar 
     Revolution,'' fighting terrorism, and supporting negotiations 
     for peace in the region; and
       Whereas the House Democracy Assistance Commission has 
     worked in partnership with the Lebanese Parliament to 
     strengthen its institutional capacity, and met with Pierre 
     Gemayel during the Commission's delegation to Lebanon in July 
     2006: Now, therefore be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) Expresses its condolences for this heinous crime to the 
     people of Lebanon and to the members of Lebanon's Cabinet in 
     which Pierre Gemayel served with distinction;
       (2) Affirms its support for the international tribunal to 
     try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime 
     Minister Rafik Hariri;
       (3) Urges that the perpetrators of the assassination of 
     Pierre Gemayel be brought to justice;
       (4) Conveys concern regarding the increasing polarization 
     of Lebanon's religious sects and calls on the Government of 
     Lebanon to actively pursue electoral reform as a first step 
     in reducing confessional tensions;
       (5) Recognizes that a regional peace in the Middle East 
     will greatly contribute to Lebanon's long-term security and 
     stability; and
       (6) Reaffirms the commitment of the United States to 
     support and promote the development of autonomous, effective 
     democratic institutions in Lebanon, including an independent 
     Parliament and a strong central government that represent and 
     serve the interests of the Lebanese people.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Lantos) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House 
Resolution 1088, expressing support for Lebanon's democratic 
institutions and condemning the recent assassinations of Lebanese 
parliamentarian and Industry Minister Pierre Amin Gemayel.
  Mr. Gemayel's brutal murder serves as yet another example of the 
Syria regime's pattern of assassinations of Lebanese dissidents and 
political figures who seek full Lebanese sovereignty and independence 
from nefarious outside forces as Syria and Iran.
  This resolution appropriately urges those responsible for Mr. 
Gemayel's murder to be brought to justice and expresses condolences to 
the people of Lebanon for his death.
  The resolution reiterates our commitment for a fully sovereign 
independent Lebanon, and calls on the Lebanese Government to implement 
the necessary electoral reforms for Lebanon to achieve such autonomy, 
develop its democratic institutions, and help reduce the increasing 
sectarian divisions.
  Mr. Gemayel's murder was a deplorable act of cowardice aimed at 
undermining Lebanon's sovereignty and destroying its democratic 
institutions. It should move the United Nations to once and for all 
hold Syria accountable for the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese 
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Responsible nations must realize that 
Syria and Iran kill, destroy, and seek instability in places like 
Lebanon so that they may gain yet more power and influence in the 
region. We must not allow this to continue.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

[[Page H8865]]

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, 
and I yield myself such time as I might consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution reflects our sorrow, our anguish, and 
our resolve following the recent assassination of Lebanese Minister of 
Industry, Pierre Gemayel.
  I felt this loss personally. Pierre was the son of former Lebanese 
President Amin Gemayel and the grandson of one of the most significant 
figures of modern Lebanese history, his namesake, Pierre Gemayel, our 
friends.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a coincidence that we are considering this 
resolution on the day when the Iraq Study Group has released its much 
anticipated report. As we all know, the Iraq Study Group calls for the 
United States to engage with all regional parties, including Syria and 
Iran. I have been in the forefront of those urging that we engage even 
with our enemies. That is why I have met repeatedly with the leaders of 
Syria and North Korea, and that is why I have consistently, if 
unsuccessfully, sought a visa to visit Iran, and that is why I 
applauded the successful example of our engagement that resulted in 
Libya's peaceful divestment of its weapons of mass destruction 
materials.
  As former Secretary of State James Baker said in a briefing for our 
leadership this morning, the policy of isolating states like Syria, and 
I quote, ``has brought us nothing.''
  Nevertheless, Mr. Speaker, Damascus and Tehran should not 
misunderstand the intentions of those of us who support dialogue. We 
are not going to stray one iota from our core commitments. There will 
be no compromise on terrorism or nuclear arms, or the security of the 
State of Israel or on Lebanese sovereignty and democracy, or on the 
international tribunal to investigate the shameful assassinations of 
Hariri, Gemayel, and other Lebanese patriots in recent years.
  For those of us who support dialogue, the message of this resolution 
is that dialogue does not mean capitulation. By passing this 
resolution, Mr. Speaker, our body will make clear that we staunchly 
oppose the sinister designs of Iran and Syria to destabilize Lebanon, 
particularly through the blood-thirsty instrument of Hezbollah.
  Syria will pay a heavy price if it does not cease its relentless 
campaign of intimidation and destabilization in Lebanon and if it 
refuses to cooperate with the Hariri investigation and the 
international tribunal.
  This most recent Gemayel assassination was a crime against a man and 
his family, but most of all against the Lebanese nation. As our 
resolution makes clear, the perpetrators must be brought to justice. We 
don't know who pulled the trigger, but we have the strongest of 
suspicions about who gave the orders.
  The Gemayel murder is one of more than a half a dozen political 
assassinations or attempted assassinations in Lebanon since the tragic 
killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri along with his 
compatriots last year. All the victims, Mr. Speaker, share a common 
profile: They supported democracy, and they outspokenly opposed Syrian 
and Iranian designs on their nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I visited Lebanon just some weeks ago. I met with Prime 
Minister Fuad Siniora and many of his colleagues who are members of the 
March 14th Movement, which forms the core of his government. While we 
did not agree about every issue regarding Lebanon and the region, this 
much I can tell you: These people have made a courageous commitment to 
the sovereignty of their nation. They have done so in the face of 
threats to their lives and the loss of their comrades, and they are 
stalwart democrats. I came away convinced that this government deserves 
our strongest support.
  Mr. Speaker, by adopting this resolution, we can firmly declare 
support for the democratically elected Lebanese Government and for all 
democratically thinking Lebanese. I urge that we do so. I urge all of 
my colleagues to support our resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield 
such time as he may consume to the author of this resolution, Mr. 
Dreier of California.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I want to express my appreciation to the 
very distinguished subcommittee chairman as well as to my friend from 
California (Mr. Lantos) again, as soon-to-be chairman of the 
International Relations Committee.
  This resolution I am very pleased to have introduced along with my 
colleague David Price with whom I serve as cochair of the House 
Democracy Assistance Commission.
  As I look across the aisle, I see my friend Alcee Hastings with whom 
I sit on the Rules Committee, and I am reminded of the first trip that 
we made to Beirut. It was a year ago this past spring, shortly after 
the March 14th Movement and the Cedar Revolution began. We had the 
chance to visit the widow of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and 
Mr. Hastings and the rest of our delegation placed a wreath at the 
grave of Rafik Hariri in Martyr Square in Beirut, a spot that has 
gotten a great deal of attention on television just in the past few 
weeks, very tragically. And as has been pointed out, we have seen now 
the 16th assassination take place with the tragic murder of Pierre 
Gemayel, and that is in the last 2 years.
  Mr. Speaker, as we look at this challenge, it underscores the fact 
that the United States of America must, as Mr. Lantos has just said, 
reaffirm its strong commitment to the future of Lebanon.
  One of the greatest challenges that the Lebanese people have faced in 
its relationship with the United States of America has been the issue 
of uncertainty. In 1983, when we saw the tragic bombing of the Marine 
barracks, the United States of America withdrew from Lebanon. They have 
gone through a quarter century of civil war, and they have great 
challenges in the region. As Mr. Lantos correctly said, we don't agree 
with every single policy in Lebanon, and obviously there have been real 
challenges on their southern border as we know very well. But at the 
same time, it is absolutely essential that we remember that this is a 
reemerging democracy.
  This past July, Mr. Price and I had the privilege of leading a 
delegation of our Members representing the House Democracy Assistance 
Commission. This is a commission that I am very proud was put together 
by Speaker Dennis Hastert and soon-to-be Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and it 
was established a year ago this past March, and the goal was to take 
new and reemerging democracies and work directly with those parliaments 
that have just been elected.
  Now, we all have the privilege of participating in important work in 
interparliamentary exchanges, the European Union, the Bundestag, the 
DIAG in Japan. I have been part of the U.S.-Mexico interparliamentary 
conference. But the unique thing about the House Democracy Assistance 
Commission, we now have a dozen countries with which we are working 
very closely on this. We have been able to take these newly elected 
parliamentarians and do as Mr. Price and I and our delegation did in 
Lebanon for 2 days: work with them on the building of their committee 
structure, their very important oversight of the executive branch, the 
building of their libraries, putting into place a budget process.
  And that is exactly what we were doing this past July in Lebanon. And 
we, of course, since our trip in July, have seen a very tragic time in 
Lebanon. In fact, it was just days after we left that we saw Hezbollah 
engage in the kidnapping of those Israeli defense forces troops in 
southern Lebanon, and we all know what happened after that. And there 
was a sense that a degree of stability was coming to Lebanon within the 
past several weeks and the last couple of months; and then, of course, 
we got the tragic news that led to Mr. Price and my authoring this very 
important measure, underscoring how important it is as we look at the 
tragic assassination of Minister Gemayel that we need to do all that we 
can, all that we can, to make sure that Lebanon's future is a bright 
one.

                              {time}  2000

  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure. I thank 
again Mr. Price and all of the Members of our Democracy Assistance 
Commission for the fine work and effort that they put into this, and to 
say again that we

[[Page H8866]]

are going to reaffirm with this resolution our commitment to the future 
of Lebanon.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield to my 
distinguished friend from North Carolina, Mr. David Price, who serves 
as the ranking member of the Democracy Assistance Commission, as much 
time as he may consume.
  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman and 
am proud to add my voice of commendation in support of House Resolution 
1088, which I have cosponsored with the gentleman from California, 
chairman of the House Democracy Assistance Commission.
  In July, I traveled with the commission to Beirut to initiate a 
partnership with the Lebanese Parliament. While there, I had an 
opportunity to have lunch with Pierre Gemayel. I was struck then by his 
charismatic personality and his enthusiasm over the prospects for real 
reform in Lebanon.
  In many ways, Pierre Gemayel represented the promise of Lebanon's 
future. A strong advocate of democratic governance in Lebanon, he shook 
off the constraints of confessionalism to battle side by side with 
Christians, Sunni and Shia Muslims to guarantee Lebanon's sovereignty 
against the persisting threat of Syrian domination.
  Pierre Gemayel was named to lead the Industry Ministry in the wake of 
the Cedar Revolution demonstrations of March 14, 2005 and the 
subsequent national elections which brought to power a cross-sectarian 
coalition of pro-democracy politicians, determined to reform the 
Lebanese Government to make it strong and effective and to resist 
foreign domination.
  Our Nation celebrated the courage of the Lebanese people in 
registering their demand for democratic government in these elections, 
but we have not done enough since the elections to support the 
democratic institutions and leaders like Pierre Gemayel have worked to 
strengthen.
  This resolution before us sends a clear signal that the United States 
must do more to support these institutions if we hope to help the 
Lebanese people achieve their dreams.
  I thank my colleague, David Drier of California, for his strong 
leadership as chairman of our House Democracy Assistance Commission. 
This commission, as he has stated, has allowed Members of this body to 
work colleague to colleague to strengthen the Lebanese Parliament and 
other parliaments in emerging democracies. I look forward to joining 
with him in the next Congress to continue this important work.
  And I join my colleagues in expressing condolences to the Gemayel 
family and the people of Lebanon on their tragic loss. We must also 
acknowledge that Mr. Gemayel is but the latest in a succession of 
leaders recently martyred in Lebanon because of their fight for 
democracy, beginning with former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. We must 
fight to bring justice to the perpetrators of these crimes and to bring 
fulfillment to the goals these pro-democracy leaders have sought.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the resolution and to 
support efforts to strengthen democratic institutions in Lebanon.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H. Res. 1088.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those voting have responded in the affirmative.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

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