Mideast situation/Lebanon – Letter from Syria

Letter dated 11 January 1986 from the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

With reference to the letter dated 2 January 1986 from the Permanent Representative of Israel (A/41/74-S/17711) and on instructions from my Government, I have the honour to stress the following:

First, we reaffirm the fact that the presence of Syrian forces in Lebanon is a legitimate presence that came about at the request of the legitimate Government of Lebanon and by virtue of a decision of the League of Arab States to assist in the restoration of security and stability to Lebanese territory. Israel has continually striven to characterize that legitimate presence as occupation and domination in order to justify its continued occupation of parts of southern Lebanon, an occupation condemned by the entire international community. Israel refuses to implement Security Council resolution 509 (1982), adopted unanimously on 6 June 1982, demanding that it withdraw forthwith and unconditionally to the internationally recognized boundaries of Lebanon. It is endeavouring to perpetuate its occupation by establishing what it called a "security zone", using that zone as a base from which to carry out acts of aggression, oppression, persecution and displacement against the inhabitants of the area and making it a staging point for the acts of aggression that it commits against Lebanon.

Secondly, the Israeli allegations are no more than an attempt to justify acts of aggression aimed at thwarting the sincere efforts made by the Syrian Arab Republic to restore security and peace to Lebanese territory, efforts which have been conducive to the parties to the conflict in Lebanon reaching agreement on the national accord for a solution to the Lebanese crisis which was recently signed in Damascus, to be precise on 28 December 1985. Israel's intentions with respect to that accord have found expression in many ways, chief among them the escalation of its threats to use force against Syria and Lebanon, all with the goal of sabotaging the progress of security and stability in that fraternal country.

Thirdly, Israel, by virtue of its hostile, expansionist and racist character, has been trying to distort the activities of the national resistance against its military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan and parts of southern Lebanon by characterizing them as acts of terrorism. This is so at a time when all international laws recognize the right of peoples and States to resist aggression and occupation by every means. It is an established fact that the Zionist entity only came into existence through the terrorism of Zionist bands and, since that time, State terrorism has become an everyday policy pursued by Israel in order to achieve its goals of expansion and annexation. All the attempts made by Israel will never exonerate it from the fact that it does not cherish peace, as acknowledged by the entire international community, and that it violates its commitments and duties under the Charter, embraces an abhorrent racist, Zionist ideology and practices the most heinous forms of terrorism against the Palestinian Arab people and the Arab nation. This has also been established in United Nations resolutions, particularly General Assembly resolutions ES-9/1 of 5 February 1982 and 3379 (XXX) of 10 November 1975, the latter of which determines that Zionism is a form of racist and racial discrimination.

Fourthly, the Syrian Arab Republic, while condemning international terrorism in all its forms, remains assiduous in drawing a distinction between terrorism and the national resistance of peoples struggling for the liberation of their countries, self-determination and the removal of foreign occupation. National resistance is not only a right but a sacred duty undertaken by peoples to restore their usurped rights and to resist foreign occupation and domination.  Accordingly, the international community is obliged under the Charter and the relevant United Nations resolutions to support the struggle of the Arab people against Israeli occupation, domination and usurpation. Syria is determined to continue its support tor Arab resistance, proceeding on the basis of its national commitment to the Arab people in general and to the people of Palestine and Lebanon in particular.

I request you to have this letter circulated as an official document of the General Assembly, under the item entitled "The situation in the Middle East", and of the Security Council.

(Signed)  Dia-Allah EL-FATTAL

Ambassador and

Permanent Representative

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