Ros-Lehtinen Statement

Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen Comments on Third Anniversary of Hariri Assassination

February 14, 2008

(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) commented Thursday on the third anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri, who was killed together with 22 others in a terrorist bombing in Beirut on February 14, 2005. 

An independent international investigation, commissioned by the UN, has found that "there is converging evidence pointing at both Lebanese and Syrian involvement in this terrorist act."

Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is the sponsor of H.R. 2332, the Syria Accountability and Liberation Act, which holds the regime in Damascus accountable for its destructive policies by, among other provisions, strengthening sanctions targeting Syria's energy infrastructure.

Statement of Ros-Lehtinen:

Three years after Prime Minister Hariri's murder, those responsible remain at large; the Syrian Government continues to obstruct the assassination inquiry; the investigating commission has yet to name or charge a single suspect; and several other anti-Syrian politicians, journalists and activists have been killed in the interim. 

Troublingly, the Government of Syria, through its terrorist proxy Hezbollah, continues to undermine the Government of Lebanon.  The status quo is unacceptable for all those who seek an end to Syrian attempts to dominate Lebanon.

In dealing with Syria's menacing behavior we are not without options.  I urge all responsible nations, independently and through the United Nations, to take further action to ensure that the Syrian regime is held accountable for behavior that threatens global peace and security.

# # # # #