Interview of Deputy Prime Minister Issam Fares on CNN
8/3/2005

• We join now the Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Issam Fares from Beirut who attended Monday’s meeting in Damascus that resulted in the troops withdrawal plan. Many thanks for joining us. Doesn’t the decision by Hezbollah to launch Pro Syrian demonstrations in Beirut increase the factional and increase risk of mayhem?

- Good morning Richard. What happened yesterday is that during the meeting of the Higher Lebanese Syrian council we concentrated all our discussions on one item: UN Resolution 1559 related to the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. The remaining items on that resolution really concerns Lebanon only. There are three items: Hezbollah, Palestinian armed presence and the Lebanese Army in the South. This is why the demonstration is taking place today. We as government respect UN Resolutions and recognize the importance of implementing these resolutions. They (demonstrators) want to show their rejection to these items in the resolution.

• Did Syria also undertake to withdraw undercover agents, the intelligent officers. What we also hear is the infiltration of the entire Lebanese security apparatus by these agents.

- They all go together. The presence of these security people is to safeguard the presence of those troops. And it was discussed that they will all leave together. The decision taken yesterday was the complete withdrawal to the Bekaa Valley by the end of March and it could be before the Arab Summit on the 23rd of March.

• You see complete withdrawal is one thing but having a neighbor with Tens of thousand of troops on the border on the other side of the Bekaa Valley that is almost just as bad isn’t it?

- Richard, it is not like that. It is a strategic matter really where they have to relocate first and assemble in the Bekaa Valley for final withdrawal to their borders and beyond. Every country has the right to defend its borders.

• Can you be confident that Lebanon will not descend into factional violence in fighting again?

- I hope not. What happened in the past was disastrous for all of us. All Lebanese are now committed to peaceful solutions. I hope we would never see those bad days again.