WASHINGTON - The United States suggested Thursday that reinstated Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karameh might not be an effective force in restoring democracy and freedom and ending Syrian domination of his nation.
Just 10 days after resigning in the face of burgeoning public protest against Syria's 29-year military presence in Lebanon, Karameh on Thursday accepted his reappointment by Syrian-backed President Emile Lahoud following consultations with legislators.
"Prime Minister Karameh said when he resigned the first time that he was resigning because he couldn't be effective," noted deputy State Department spokesman Adam Ereli.
"If ever there were a time that Lebanon needed effective government, that time is now," Ereli said.
Ereli said the government of Lebanon faced "historic challenges" in creating the conditions and putting in place the processes that met the people's aspirations "for freedom, for democracy, and for change."
"In our view, the immediate challenge for the new government of Lebanon, and what I think the international community will be looking for, is that it responds to the aspirations of the Lebanese people for freedom and for sovereignty untrammeled by foreign forces," he said.
Specifically, Ereli said, all foreign forces needed to withdraw from Lebanon, and elections should take place "free from intimidation, free from coercion, and that allow the Lebanese people to fully express their views and freely choose their leaders."
Opposition forces have dismissed Karameh's return as "Syrian fabrication" aimed at aggravating a crisis that erupted February 14 with the assassination of popular former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
Syria, despite its repeated denials, is widely suspected in Beirut of having had a hand in the killings, which intensified calls on Damasus to withdraw its estimated 14,000 troops from Lebanese territory.
03/10/2005 19:32 GMT