Strasbourg, 22/05/2008 (Agence Europe) - With the adoption by 520 votes to 6 and 13 abstentions of a resolution on Lebanon, the European Parliament welcomed, on Thursday 22 May, the agreement reached in Doha on General Michel Sleimane's election as president of the republic, and the formation of a new national unity government. It congratulates Qatar and the Arab League for their mediation.
The Parliament welcomes the positive way in which the army and security forces contributed to putting an end to the recent developments. It invites all the parties involved to support the Lebanese army so that it can fully guarantee the functioning, security, law and order, sovereignty and stability of Lebanon. The EP considers that the security of the country and that of the Lebanese people is dependent on the disarmament of all armed groups, including the Hezbollah, and the control of arms trafficking to Lebanon. It considers it vital that all weapons imports into Lebanon be directed only to the official Lebanese army. MEPs reiterate their call for the Lebanese government to exercise, in cooperation with UNIFIL, full sovereignty and effective control over the borders and the territory of the country in this respect. The EP also invites all parties to renounce violence, fully accept the rules of democracy and recognise all state authorities and institutions democratically elected, regardless of their ethnic, religious and party affiliation and origin.
The Parliament calls on Syria to abstain from all interference that can have a negative impact on Lebanese internal affairs and to play a constructive role in seeking to establish stability in the country. It appeals to Iran and Syria to play a constructive role and invites all parties concerned to comply with UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701, with regard to respecting the independence, sovereignty, security and stability of Lebanon, recalling the ban on selling weapons to armed militias. The EP reiterates its support for the determination of the European Union to assist Lebanon in its economic restructuring. Finally, the Parliament invites Council and Commission to continue their efforts to support the reconstruction and the economic recovery of Lebanon as well as to establish closer cooperation with civil society in the country, in order to promote further democratisation there. (O.J.)