Honoring the Life and Legacy of Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri

HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF FORMER LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER RAFIK HARIRI -- (Extensions of Remarks - February 18, 2005)

SPEECH OF
HON. DARRELL E. ISSA
OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2005

· Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution, offered by Representative RAHALL of West Virginia, condemning the terrorist attack of February 14, 2005, that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and to honor the life and legacy of the former Prime Minister.

· Born in Sidon, Lebanon, in 1944, Rafik Hariri, a Sunni Muslim, was not born into wealth, but into a farming family. In 1965, seeking a better life, he moved to Saudi Arabia where he worked as a schoolteacher and accountant before starting his own business. Through hard work and particular skill in the construction industry, former Prime Minister Hariri acquired what many have estimated to be a fortune in excess of $2 billion.

· Mr. Hariri began his involvement in the political and economic life of Lebanon long before he became prime minister. As a Lebanese businessman living in Saudi Arabia, he played a behind-the-scenes role as a mediator, advisor and promoter of cease-fires and agreements to end the civil war that ravaged Lebanon from 1975 to 1990. He invested his time and extensive contacts throughout the world to bring peace to his war-torn country.

· In 1984, Mr. Hariri participated in the Geneva and Lausanne conferences to bring about political reconciliation in Lebanon and helped broker initiatives to put an end to the civil war.

· In 1989, Mr. Hariri was the power behind the Taif Agreement, which succeeded in ending the war and the drafting of a new constitution for Lebanon. This agreement was the political contract that laid down the principles of national reconciliation that ended a dark chapter in Lebanon's history.

· In 1992, he returned to his home country to assume office as prime minister after 28 years of living and working in Saudi Arabia. He formed his first government on October 22, 1992.

· He immediately began an ambitious rebuilding program whose crown jewel was the rebuilding of Beirut's war torn central district. Today, this district is a vibrant and beautiful center of commerce and culture that rivals that of the world's other great cities.

· Rafik Hariri was a man of peace and a man of diplomacy. He was the kind of man the United States and our allies need as we seek to spread freedom and democracy throughout the Middle East.

· I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Hariri on a number of occasions. He was a kind and humble man and the extent of his generosity towards the people of Lebanon, and those throughout the world, may never be fully known. He used his own personal wealth to give thousands of students the opportunity to gain a college education that they would have otherwise been unable to afford.

· Mr. Speaker, it is my expectation that a thorough and internationally validated investigation will uncover many facts about the assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister who remained a sitting member of parliament. Rafik Hariri was the leader of a political faction that many thought would take back control of Lebanon's government in parliamentary elections scheduled to take place in May. I know, from my personal meetings with Prime Minister Hariri, that he held deep reservations and misgivings about the continued presence of Syrian troops and Syrian secret police in Lebanon. Most often, it was not what he said, but what he indicated he could not talk about that most starkly expressed the reservations he had about Syria's role in Lebanon.

· Following this national tragedy, Lebanon must now try to hold free and fair parliamentary elections in May. It is my fear that the assassination of Mr. Hariri, and the many other past assassinations that have too often gone without significant investigation in Lebanon, will have a chilling effect on freedom of speech and those who would vocally criticize the continued Syrian presence.

· To say it plainly, it is time for Syrian troops and all the Syrian secret police to leave Lebanon. The security that Syria once provided is no longer needed and having security only for those who ally themselves with the continued Syrian presence is incompatible with democracy in Lebanon.

· Mr. Speaker, I support UN Resolution 1559 that demands a, ``strict respect of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and political independence of Leanon under the sole and exclusive authority of the Government of Lebanon throughout Lebanon,'' and for all, ``foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon.''

· Rafik Hariri fought for a democratic and prosperous Lebanon. The United States, even after his death, should continue to press for Prime Minister Hariri's vision for Lebanon and a better Middle East.

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