Thursday, March 14, 2013

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Lawrence Silverman Completes Visit to Lebanon

March 13, 2013
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Lawrence Silverman completed his visit to Lebanon today and met with senior officials to discuss the political, economic and security situation in Lebanon and other regional issues.
Mr. Silverman had meetings with former Prime Minister MP Fouad Siniora, former Minister and First Lady MP Nayla Mouawad, MP Boutrous Harb, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Country Representative Ninette Kelley, Lebanese Forces Party President Dr. Samir Geagea, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) officials, and other March 14 officials.
In his meetings, Mr. Silverman welcomed the efforts of Lebanese leaders to reach consensus and uphold Lebanon's democratic and constitutional principles, and stressed the need to hold parliamentary elections on time. He called for all parties to exercise restraint and respect for Lebanon's stability and security and praised the efforts of the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Internal Security Forces in working with political leaders to maintain peace and stability.
Mr. Silverman commended the Government of Lebanon and the generosity of the Lebanese people for hosting and supporting a growing number of Syrian refugees who have fled the brutal violence of the Asad regime. They further underscored the United States' commitment to assist refugees from Syria and the Lebanese communities that host them. To date the United States has provided $385 million in humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees in Syria and neighboring countries, of which $51 million has been provided for refugees in Lebanon, and $115 million in non-lethal support to the Syrian opposition. He noted that the United States has urged all nations who pledged support at the Kuwait conference to disburse their pledged funds to the United Nations, noting that the United States' pledge of $155 million has already been disbursed.
Mr. Silverman further recognized the upcoming anniversary of the Cedar Revolution on March 14 in response to the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others on February 14, 2005. He noted how a string of political assassinations and assassination attempts have followed since, including most recently the October 19, 2012 assassination of Internal Security Forces Major General Wissam al-Hassan. He reconfirmed the United States' condemnation in the strongest terms of the use of assassination as a political tool, reiterating that Lebanon must close the chapter of its past and bring an end to impunity for political assassinations and other politically motivated violence.
He renewed the United States' commitment to a stable, sovereign and independent Lebanon.