Whereas Syria continues to exert undue influence upon the Government of Lebanon, maintaining between 35,000 and 40,000 soldiers in Lebanon;

Whereas Syria has pledged publicly and privately to abide by the Taif agreement of 1989, which required that 2 years after certain Lebanese political conditions were achieved in September 1990, Syria would withdraw its armed forces stationed in Lebanon to the gateway of the Bekaa Valley with complete withdrawal occurring shortly thereafter;

Whereas in Senate concurrent resolution 129 and House Concurrent resolution 339 of the 102nd Congress, Congress called upon Syria to withdraw its armed forces to the gateway of the Bekaa Valley by September 1992 in accordance with the Taif agreement of 1989, as a prelude to complete withdrawal from Lebanon;

Whereas in Senate Concurrent Resolution 28 of the 103rd Congress, the Senate strongly urged Syria to withdraw its armed forces to the gateway of the Bekaa Valley without further delay and called upon the Governments of Syria and Lebanon to agree immediately upon a firm timetable for the complete withdrawal of Syrian armed forces, including military, paramilitary, and security services from Lebanon;

Whereas the Senate Concurrent Resolution 28 of the 103rd Congress, the Senate called upon the Governments of Syria and Lebanon to disarm non-governmental armed groups and militias in Lebanon, as required by the Taif agreement;

Whereas non-governmental armed groups and militias continue to operate in Lebanon with the acquiescence and support of the Syrian and Lebanese Governments;

Whereas recent attacks upon Northern Israel were carried out by Hizbollah, a group based in Lebanon and receiving support from and through Damascus;

Whereas Syria did not attend the March 13, 1996, anti-terrorism Summit of the Peacemakers in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and has not participated in subsequent meetings;

Whereas the Government of Syria is currently prohibited by law from receiving United States assistance;

Whereas the Lebanese elections of September 1992 were held in a climate of heavy foreign military and political dominance and due to widespread electoral irregularities and a boycott by a large percentage of the Lebanese people, the results of the elections were not representative of the Lebanese body politic;

Whereas, according to the Lebanese constitution, new elections for the Lebanese Parliament must take place between August 15, 1996, and October 15, 1996; and

Whereas Syria exerted undue pressure upon the Lebanese Parliament, forcing it to use extra-constitutional means to extend the term of President Hrawi: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), that the Congress-

1.expresses its continued support for the restoration of sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity of Lebanon;

2.offers condolences to the families of Lebanese and Israeli civilians who died in recent violence and supports the cease-fire ending fighting in Southern Lebanon;

3.considers the Government of Syria in violation of its pledge to uphold the Taif agreement of 1989 because it has not withdrawn its armed forces from Lebanon;

4.considers the Syrian troops in Lebanon an occupation force;

5.demands that the Government of Syria immediately declares its commitment to completely withdraw its armed forces, including military, paramilitary, and security services from Lebanon, and set a firm timetable for such withdrawal, to be completed not later than December 31, 1997;

6.recognizes the public Israeli commitment to withdraw from the "security zone" in Southern Lebanon once security conditions permit;

7.will not accept Syria's continued hegemony over Lebanon and rejects linking the Syrian presence there to Israeli-Syrian negotiations or to an Israeli-Syrian peace agreement;

8.While reaffirming the continued applicability of all existing prohibitions, restrictions, limitations, and directives that otherwise apply to Syria-

A. urges the President to withhold any future United States assistance to Syria until Syria withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon; and

B. urges the President to direct the United States executive directors of all financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to oppose future loans and assistance to Syria until Syria withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon;

9.strongly urges the Government of Syria to cooperate with ongoing international efforts to curb terrorism and holds the Government of Syria responsible for all terrorist acts planned, trained for, financed, or initiated in Syria or Lebanese territories under its occupation;

10.demands that Syria prevents Hizbollah and other terrorist groups from launching attacks on Israel from areas of Lebanon under its occupation;

11.urges the Government of Lebanon to initiate serious negotiations with the Government of Syria for the withdrawal of Syrian armed forces from Lebanon, the disarming of all remaining non-government paramilitary groups, and the re-deployment of Lebanese armed forces to all areas of Lebanon in order to assert the sovereignty of the Lebanese state over all of its territory, which would then facilitate lifting the ban on travel of United States citizens to Lebanon;

12.urges the Government of Lebanon to enter into serious bilateral negotiations with the Government of Israel in order to agree on mutual security arrangements and realize full and permanent peace;

13.strongly urges the Government of Lebanon to prosecute to the full extent of the law all individuals responsible for crimes against United States or foreign diplomats and citizens;

14.urges the Government of Lebanon to hold parliamentary elections on time and to ensure that such elections are conducted in a free and fair manner by enacting fair and uniform electoral laws, allowing reasonable time for declaring candidacy, permitting the timely return of expatriated or exiled leaders wishing to participate in the elections, not restricting freedom of speech or movement, ensuring the neutrality of Lebanese and non-Lebanese armed forces, and allowing international and domestic observer units to monitor the elections;

15.expresses its support for ongoing British and French efforts to secure free and fair internationally monitored parliamentary elections in Lebanon and encourages similar efforts by United States governmental and non-governmental agencies;

16.requests that the Secretary of State report to the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate on the results of the Lebanese elections and every 6 months thereafter on Syrian efforts to withdraw its forces from Lebanon; and

17.requests the Secretary of state to transmit a copy of this resolution to the Government of Lebanon and the Government of Syria.

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