Officials bristle at US human rights report Response is being prepared Khalil Fleihan Daily Star correspondent Local authorities have expressed dissatisfaction - but not surprise - with regard to excerpts about Lebanon in the US State Department's annual report on human rights, a copy of which has been delivered to the Foreign Ministry. An official source who described the reaction on Tuesday said the criticism was an annual event and emphasized that it was not directed at human rights in Lebanon only, but covered several other countries in as well. A copy of the report, which criticizes what it described as the weakening of the central government's prerogatives, has been handed over by the deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Awkar, Carol Kalin, to the Foreign Ministry's acting director-general, Naji Abi Assi. The source said that the ministry would soon deliver copies of the report to the various ministries concerned, especially the Interior and Municipalities Ministry, prior to relaying its observations to the State Department in Washington. The report was seen as discrediting Lebanon by portraying the country as being undemocratic or uncivilized and abusing human rights, the source added. According to the source, the authorities' dissatisfaction with the contents of the report has been conveyed to US Ambassador Vincent Battle, who returned from Washington on Saturday after participating in a conference of American envoys posted to Arab countries. Each year, Lebanon sends an explanation to the State Department about the factors outside of the government's control. The source said the most serious point in the report was an observation that the judiciary was subjected to political pressure, but referring to it as being "independent in principle." The report's reference to intelligence agents' monitoring the activities of opposition politicians and tapping the phones of certain government leaders "is a serious matter and harms Lebanon's image as a democratic country," the source added. On the other hand, the report praised the role played by the Lebanese press, describing it as containing daily criticism of the government and its practices. Your feedback is important to us! We invite all our readers to share with us their views and comments about this article. Please type in your comment below and press 'submit' You must fill in your name and email address just in case we need to get in touch with you. The editor may decide to publish your comment as a letter to the editor; Your personal information will be kept confidential and will never be disclosed to anyone Name E-mail Address Tel FAX Please contact me as soon as possible regarding this matter. DS Copyright@ 2000 The Daily Star. All rights reserved.