With the 30 day deadline for Syria to withdraw its forces from Lebanon looming, it seems as though Syria has decided to ignore UN resolution 1559 and continue its occupation of Lebanon.
Last week in an aim to appease the UN, Syria completed a cosmetic and symbolic redeployment of a small number of its forces to Lebanon’s Bekka Valley.
This so-called redeployment was nothing but a charade and fell far short of what the UN Security Council and indeed, other members of the international community have demanded of Syria.
The UN resolution - sponsored by the US and France - called for Lebanon's political independence to be respected and demanded the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country - a request repeated last week by US envoy William Burns.
Literally hours after the UN Security Council passed UN res. 1559, Syria openly brushed aside the resolution by extending current President Emile Lahoud’s term by a further 3 years, they have also ignored the demand that it end its occupation of Lebanon.
With Syria blatantly defying US-led international calls for it to withdraw from Lebanon and stop interfering in its smaller neighbours affairs, the time has come for the UN to take a tough stand.
When a country such as Syria defies the UN, it must not be ignored. Syria has been an open supporter of terrorism for decades, it has illegally occupied Lebanon for over a quarter of a century and it has vigorously pursued a dangerous weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program among other things.
Syria is a real threat to global security and thus the UN must bring it to heel.
On October 3, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan must brief the UN Security Council on Syria’s compliance or lack thereof with regards to UN res. 1559.
It is here that the UN can take a stand and shake off the ‘toothless tiger’ image that has often been used to describe it.
The UN must help free Lebanon from the clutches of Syria. It is time to throw away the carrot and start using the stick.