CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Sept 3 (AFP) - The White House on Friday slammed Syrian pressure on the Lebanese parliament to approve a controversial extension to President Emile Lahoud's mandate as a "mockery" of democracy.
"This was not a victory for Lebanese democracy. The vote does not reflect the will of the Lebanese people. It was forced upon them by an occupying force," spokesman Scott McClellan said in a statement.
McClellan repeated US charges that Damascus had "pressured, threatened, and intimidated" Lebanese officials in order to secure the constitutional change and warned that Washington would not accept the outcome.
"This manipulation of Lebanese institutions by outside forces will remain on the international agenda," he said. "The United States adds its voice to the protests of Lebanese patriots, and condemns this interference with Lebanese sovereignty and independence."
McClellan cited a UN Security Council resolution that "calls on (UN) Secretary General (Kofi) Annan to report back to the Council in 30 days on this mockery of democracy."
Earlier, in Beirut, despite the passage late Thursday of a UN Security Council resolution backing Lebanon's sovereignty and last-minute appeals by the United States, Lebanese MPs bowed to Syrian pressure and approved the amendment giving the pro-Damascus Lahoud another three years in office.
The announcement was immediately followed by celebratory gunfire and fireworks in the Beirut night sky, although security forces had blocked access to the area around the parliament building to those under 30 in a bid to prevent protests.
Right to the end, Washington had kept up its pressure on Lebanese MPs to defy dominant neighbor Syria, which still has 16,000 troops deployed in the north and east of the country, and heed the spirit of the US-drafted Security Council resolution which called for an end to foreign interference in Lebanon.
Both Damascus and Beirut had rejected the Security Council resolution -- adopted by the bare minimum with nine votes in favor and six abstentions -- as unacceptable interference in Lebanon's internal affairs.