McCain Slams 'Tyrants' Syria, Iran for Paralyzing Lebanese Government

by **Admin** Mon Mar 17, 2008 9:26 am

U.S. Republican Presidential Hopeful John McCain has accused Syria and Iran of paralyzing Premier Fouad Saniora's government and lauded all Lebanese who reject the terrorism of Damascus and Tehran.

"Those who are systematically killing Lebanese patriots and denying the Lebanese people their democracy must be brought to justice. I commend Lebanese of all religions and sects who reject Syrian and Iranian terror and tyranny and embrace the great principles of the Cedar Revolution," McCain said in a statement on the occasion of the third anniversary of the Cedar Revolution.

"It has been over three years since former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in the streets of Beirut. Following his murder, the Lebanese people came together in the Cedar Revolution, this saw its culmination on March 14, 2005," McCain said.

He said the mass demonstration "led to the demise of Lebanon's Syrian occupiers, Iranian proxies in their midst, and the puppet government that denied them independence and freedom."

McCain however lamented that three years after the Independence Intifada, "so much of this promise remains unrealized as the forces of repression stand firm against the prospect of a free Lebanon. Syria and Iran have reasserted their dominance and paralyzed Lebanon's government, which earlier this week postponed election of a new president for the 16th time."

The March 14 Alliance commemorated on Friday the third anniversary of the Cedar Revolution by issuing a political declaration in which it urged all Lebanese to live together peacefully in a sovereign, democratic, and modern state.