Beirut
Lebanon’s parliament last week amended the constitution to give the country’s Syrian-backed president, Emile Lahoud, three more years in office. The parliament, like the country, is dominated by people who back the Syrian occupation. Syria has kept around 20,000 troops in Lebanon since 1976 and effectively controls the government. The extension of Lahoud’s term was in direct defiance of a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a new presidential election and for the withdrawal of “all foreign troops.” John Danforth, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, accused Syria of strong-arming Lebanon. “We believe Lebanon should be allowed to determine its own future and assume control of its own territory,” he said.
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