LCCC ENGLISH NEWS BULLETIN
August
25/2006
Latest
New from the Daily Star for August 24/06
Chirac orders additional 1,600 troops to South
Syria cuts off power flow, denies political message
Farmers face spoiled crops, compensation battles
Beirut's airport is open - to 2 airlines
Defense Committee chief demands 'sustainable' truce
with Israel
Cabinet names Jisr to take Shalaq's spot as CDR boss
Aoun says Hizbullah should try to 'reassure' rest of
country
Belgium wants UN force to prevent arms smuggling from
Syria
Second suspect in botched German bombing surrenders
to Lebanese
Siniora: Syrian threat will only help Israel
Wake up, America! Israel is no friend of yours
Syrian ports gain from Lebanon blockade
The Middle East peace process has been the longest of disappointments
Mubarak takes jab at Assad over war criticism
Turkey's dangerous Lebanon intentions -By
Soner Cagaptay
Latest
New from miscellaneous sources for August 25/06
France pledges 1,600 more troops for Lebanon-AP
European
leaders make plans for Lebanon force-AP
Lebanese Army steps warily into its role as peacekeeper -Boston
Globe
Lebanese oil slick hits ancient Phoenician port
Reuters
UN chief plans Mideast visit with stops in Iran, Syria-Boston
Globe
Lebanon plays down border row-Reuters.uk - UK
Lebanon PM: Only we disarm Hezbollah-United Press International
Lebanon PM: UNIFIL won't disarm Hizbullah-Ynetnews - Israel
Report: Syria Readying Guerilla Attacks On Israel-All
Headline News
Syria threatens to close border with Lebanon-Mail & Guardian
Online
Talks continue over UNIFIL force for Lebanon-Euronews.net
Lebanese Premier Seeks US Help in Lifting Blockade-Washington
Post
Lebanon calls for Israeli withdrawal-Xinhua
Rifts over Hizbullah form Lebanon's new green line-Guardian
Unlimited - UK
Mubarak takes verbal jab at Syria over Lebanon crisis-Mail
& Guardian Online
What Is in Lebanon's Interests?. By:
Ghassan Charbel
Hezbollah and the Lebanese Experience . By: Hassan
Haydar
Israel and Hezbollah Are 'Losers' in an Incomplete War!
By: Raghida Dergham
Syria threatens to close border
From correspondents in Beirut
August 24, 2006
SYRIA said today it would close its border with Lebanon if the United Nations
stationed troops along it as part of a mission to enforce a UN-backed truce
between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moualem
made the pledge in a meeting with Finnish counterpart Erkki Tuomioja in
Helsinki.
"They indeed do not want this (the stationing of UN troops) and they announced
they will close their borders if this takes place," Mr Tuomioja told reporters
afterwards. Such a move could effectively cut Lebanon off from the outside
world. Its only other land border is with Israel, which has yet to lift an air
and sea blockade of its neighbour, imposed in July at the start of the war with
Hezbollah.
Israel wants UN troops to police Syrian-Lebanese border crossings to prevent
weapons reaching Hezbollah, citing this as a reason for not fully lifting the
blockade.
The Jewish state has eased the embargo since a UN truce halted the conflict with
Hezbollah on August 14, but no flights can use Beirut airport and no ships can
dock in Lebanese ports without its permission. Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad
Siniora earlier urged Washington to make Israel remove the blockade.
"The United States can do more," Mr Siniora told a news conference.
"The United States can support us in putting real pressure on Israel to lift the
siege." Mr Siniora's government is in the process of deploying 15,000 soldiers
to the south of the country to work alongside a similar number of UN troops.
Three of those Lebanese soldiers were killed today while clearing unexploded
Israeli shells in southern Lebanon, underscoring the dangers the troops will
face. The three were the first Lebanese troops to die since the army began
moving south last Thursday.
About 2000 UN soldiers already serve in Lebanon with a force called UNIFIL, but
recruiting another 13,000 has proved difficult, with few nations ready to
provide big contingents. European Union envoys met in Brussels to discuss the EU
contribution, which has so far centred on Italy's promise to send 2000 to 3000
troops - about a third of the total envisaged European contingent.
A strong EU presence is seen as vital if the United Nations is to get an advance
party of 3500 troops on the ground by September 2 as planned. The bloc's foreign
ministers are scheduled to meet on Friday with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
who is then expected to fly on to the Middle East.
If and when the extra UN troops arrive, they will find a landscape littered with
unexploded Israeli ordnance. A UN demining expert said yesterday the Israelis
had dropped cluster bombs on at least 170 sites in the south. The bomblets that
failed to explode are now a deadly trap for civilians who stayed in the area or
who fled and are now returning, some to find their homes or workplaces pounded
to rubble by Israeli air strikes and artillery. Israel said it had passed maps
to UNIFIL which showed where its exploded shells might lie.
"We did this in an attempt to minimise casualties among the Lebanese
population," an Israeli army spokesman said. An Israeli soldier was killed and
three were wounded yesterday when they stepped on Israeli landmines in the
south. It was unclear when the mines had been planted, the Israeli army said,
which for years has planted mines along the border to prevent Hezbollah
militants approaching the frontier. The war, in which nearly 1200 people in
Lebanon and 157 Israelis were killed, erupted when Hezbollah guerrillas captured
two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12. The Lebanon crisis has
overshadowed violence in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip, where two journalists
with US television news channel Fox were kidnapped last week. A previously
unknown militant group, the "Holy Jihad Brigades", claimed responsibility today
and demanded the United States release "Muslim prisoners" within 72 hours. The
group released a video of the two which bore many hallmarks of those issued by
militants in Iraq. The rhetoric of the group seemed to mirror the heavily
religious language of Iraqi insurgents.
23 Aug 2006 16:26:37 -0400
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
B’nai Brith Canada Welcomes Resignation of MP Boris Wrzesnewskyj
TORONTO, August 23, 2006 – B’nai Brith Canada welcomes today’s resignation of
beleaguered MP Boris Wrzesnewskyj from his position as deputy foreign affairs
critic for the Liberal Party of Canada.
“Mr. Wrzesnewskyj has today resigned his position under enormous public pressure
over his irresponsible comments in support of one of the most inhumane terror
groups in the world,” said Frank Dimant, Executive Vice President of B’nai Brith
Canada. “He was rightly isolated by members of his own caucus and ordinary
Canadians for views that run contrary not only to government policy and the law
of the land, but also contradict values such as respect for human life and
tolerance for all freedom-loving peoples.
“We publicly applaud Liberal leadership candidates Scott Brison and Carolyn
Bennett, who distinguished themselves from their peers by, rather than sitting
on the fence on this issue, immediately called for the resignation of Mr.
Wrzesnewskyj.
“We also commend Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his parliamentary secretary
Jason Kenney for their perseverance in recognizing Hezbollah is an illegal
terrorist entity that must remain banned in Canada. Surely there can be no place
in civil society for those who support the murderous agenda of Hezbollah.”
ALC statement on the situation in Lebanon
August 23, 2006
The American Lebanese Coalition welcomes the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon
in line with the mandate of the UNSCR 1701. Last month’ events have proven
beyond any doubt that there is no substitute to a strong Lebanese government to
defend the territorial integrity of the Lebanese nation. Specifically:
· The ALC stands behind the seven points’ declaration of the Government of Prime
Minister Siniora and supports its historical decision to deploy the Lebanese
Army in Southern Lebanon. The ALC expects this decision to be a clear and
powerful mandate to the army to implement the government’s sole authority over
southern Lebanon.
· The ALC strongly advocates a quick deployment of Lebanese Armed Forces on all
borders between Lebanon and Syria and the immediate cessation of the smuggling
of arms from Syria and Iran into Lebanon.
· The ALC expresses concerns that the international forces’ deployment is slower
than expected. The role of these troops is essential to provide support to the
Lebanese Army in its mission to extend the Lebanese Governmental authority over
the Lebanese territories.
· The American Lebanese Coalition and the Lebanese American community in general
denounce any aggression directed toward civilians, private property and
infrastructure. However it warns that any breach of United Nations Resolutions
is going to submit Lebanon to unnecessary retaliations. Lebanon should not be
the battleground for regional powers and should not sacrifice its population,
its economy and its wellbeing to serve Iran’s radical ambitions or Syria’s
intrusive agenda. The ALC holds the Syrian and the Iranian governments
responsible for jeopardizing the cease fire by attempting to replenish the
Hezbollah arsenal.
The ALC will pursue its efforts with the US Administration and the members of
the Security Council at the United Nations to increase the pressure on Syria and
Iran to respect all United Nations resolutions regarding Lebanon or face the
consequences of their destructive behavior.
Europeans make plans for Lebanon force
By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer
PARIS - European leaders moved forward Thursday with plans for an international
force in Lebanon, with an EU official saying it wants to see peacekeepers in
place within a week and France preparing an announcement on troop commitments.
But key questions remained over how far Europe was willing to go to back up
strong rhetoric on the need for peace with robust action.
France, Lebanon's former colonial ruler, has cast itself as a driving force in
efforts to build a lasting peace for the war-ravaged country — but disappointed
the international community by promising only to double its 200-strong
peacekeeping contingent.
President Jacques Chirac was scheduled announce later Thursday whether he is
willing to contribute more troops, his office said after a Cabinet meeting. The
newspaper Le Monde reported that France would likely send fewer than 2,000 more
men.
EU foreign ministers are scheduled to meet Friday in Brussels to discuss the
force. Pressure on the Europeans has grown because Israel has rejected offers of
participation from Malaysia, Bangladesh and Indonesia — predominantly Muslim
countries that do not recognize the Jewish state.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni urged the international community to act as
quickly as possible to deploy a U.N. force to keep the peace in southern
Lebanon. "The extremists who want to inflame the region are watching us, and
this will test the strength and determination of the international community,"
Livni said following a meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema.
Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja indicated Thursday that the first
reinforcements to a U.N. peacekeeping force could be imminent. "We would like to
see the first reinforcements for UNIFIL arrive within a week if possible,"
Tuomioja said in Berlin. Finland holds the rotating European Union presidency.
History has much to do with the hesitancy of European powers to make clear troop
commitments. France lost a total of 71 soldiers during peacekeeping operations
in Bosnia and Belgium 10 in at the outset of the genocide in Rwanda a dozen
years ago. France also lost 58 peacekeepers in the Oct. 23, 1983, Hezbollah
attacks in Beirut that also killed 241 Americans. Many European countries also
have expressed qualms over committing troops without strong guidelines on when
its soldiers would have the right to shoot and also defend themselves.
During this summer's fighting, Paris presented itself as the natural leader to
push for a cease-fire between Hezbollah militants and Israel — sending its prime
minister and foreign minister to Lebanon to survey the devastation and make
appeals for peace. But France has shown reluctance to follow through on
diplomatic efforts with strong — and potentially painful — action. In the
afternoon, Chirac was scheduled to meet Cabinet members including his defense
and foreign ministers for special talks on the Middle East, government spokesman
Jean-Francois Cope said. He offered no details on whether ministers had
discussed UNIFIL at the regularly scheduled Cabinet meeting.
The peacekeeping force is expected to expand from about 2,000 to 15,000 as part
of a new U.N. Security Council resolution. Italy said this week it is willing to
command a U.N. force in Lebanon. The resolution was designed to bolster the
peacekeeping force to support some 15,000 Lebanese troops that have started
moving into the southern region, which suffered more than a month of fighting
between the Lebanese-based Hezbollah militia and Israeli troops.
French officials have left open the possibility they could contribute more
peacekeepers. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who visited
Lebanon during the fighting, said France wanted to expand its role in the force
once details are worked out. "We are today the most committed and most present
country on the ground," he said. "We want to go further once the conditions are
right." Most EU nations remain wary of making firm commitments until the mandate
for the new force is clarified, fearing that their peacekeepers could be dragged
into a conflict with the Hezbollah militants or with Israel if the current
cease-fire collapses. Aside from France and Italy, other nations considering
contributions include Spain, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Greece, and Belgium.
Turkey, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand and China also are considering participating
in the U.N. mission.
Associated Press Writer Ariel David in Rome contributed to this report.
Loyalties complicate peacekeeping task
By Thanassis Cambanis, Globe Staff | August 24, 2006
KFAR KILA, Lebanon -- Along this desolate border, Hezbollah fighters preside
over checkpoints, their weapons just out of sight in nearby depots. Israeli
soldiers cluster on nearby hilltops, clashing occasionally with enemy fighters
and braving terrain still seeded with landmines from the 34-day conflict.
Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts More than a thousand
Lebanese soldiers -- supposedly the linchpin of renewed government authority in
the south -- hunker down in remote outposts, sip tea on the porches of
commandeered houses, and tentatively ask directions from Hezbollah sympathizers
roaming the streets. A visit to the former front lines illustrates the power
vacuum in southern Lebanon in the aftermath of the war between Hezbollah and
Israel. A United Nations peacekeeping force being assembled to stabilize the
region will have to navigate a hornet's nest of divided loyalties and
potentially explosive rivalries, in an environment where both Israel and
Hezbollah still talk ominously about planning for the ``next phase" of the war.
The Lebanese Army, deploying in the rugged hills facing the Israeli border for
the first time since the 1960s, has said in statements that ``we stand beside
our brothers in the resistance," underscoring Hezbollah's enduring power. So far
about 2,000 Lebanese soldiers out of an expected force of 15,000 have moved into
the country's south. The United Nations is to dispatch another 15,000
international troops, but it might take months before a force is assembled.
Under the cease-fire terms the UN and Lebanese troops are supposed to police
southern Lebanon. Israel and the United States expect peacekeepers to help the
Lebanese disarm Hezbollah and end the organization's dominance of the south.
Lebanon, however, insists that disarming Hezbollah isn't part of the cease-fire
resolution, and says it won't pit its military against Hezbollah.
Many of the Shi'ite Muslims here who support Hezbollah see the recent war as a
triumph over Israel. One of them, Ali Ibrahim Sirhan, 23, who fights for a
militia loyal to Hezbollah, welcomes the deployment of the Lebanese Army -- as
long as it's clear that Hezbollah and its allies are still in charge.
``The Lebanese Army is welcome here. The army and the resistance are one,"
Sirhan said, glowering toward the Israeli town of Metulla on the other side of
the border. ``They will never disarm the resistance."
Lebanese soldiers have been welcomed by Sunni Muslims and Christians in some
parts of the region where they hadn't been stationed in decades, but Hezbollah
supporters express open mistrust of the troops, and the troops themselves show
no enthusiasm for their new role.
``We just want to go home," griped a Lebanese private who would give only his
first name, Mohammed, and who has spent 25 years in the army.
His company has just been deployed to a school at the end of a dirt road between
the Lebanese villages of Shebaa and Kfar Chouba, along the border with
Israeli-held territory. An Israeli listening post, with imposing radar dishes,
and a line of Israeli surveillance cameras on red towers overlook the soldiers
from the highlands. But closer to the international border, in areas where only
a wire fence separates Israeli and Lebanese towns, the Lebanese Army was barely
in evidence. On the Israeli side of the fence, military engineers repaired a
patrol road beside an apple orchard. On the Lebanese side, Hezbollah flags hung
over the ruins of a destroyed observation post.
Peacekeepers already in the region who are part of the existing contingent of
2,000 that remain of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon since 1978, were setting up
checkpoints in areas held days ago by Hezbollah fighters. At the top of a
mountain pass leading to the Hasan Gate, formerly used as a passage to the
Shebaa Farms area held by Israel, a contingent of peacekeepers from India had
parked on the edge of the deserted road.
``We're waiting for the Lebanese Army," said Lieutenant Kunal Choudhary, an
Indian infantry officer, said. ``We were told to set up checkpoints and wait to
hand them over."UN officials have been hammering out the details of the Israeli
withdrawal and transfer of power in long meetings at the border with Israeli and
Lebanese commanders. But despite Hezbollah's unmistakable presence on the
ground, there are no Hezbollah representatives at the meetings.
On the border at Kfar Kila, Sirhan -- the Hezbollah supporter and ambulance
driver for the Lebanese civil defense service -- said Hezbollah stood ready to
fight again at a moment's notice. ``If anything happens, Hezbollah will come
back. After we all die, that's when Hezbollah is gone," Sirhan said, adding that
his younger brother, 19, died this month fighting the Israelis. ``I'm 100
percent with the resistance. As far as I'm concerned, the war ends when there is
nothing left of Israel. Hezbollah will never end."
Nor did the Lebanese Army appear eager to assert itself in villages dominated by
Hezbollah that were the site of the fiercest battles of the war -- places like
Taibe, where weeks of punishing clashes killed dozens of Lebanese and Israeli
fighters. This week, mourners lighted candles and burned incense at a mass grave
in Taibe's city center. Seven Hezbollah fighters were buried along with 11
civilians in the hilly cemetery, marked for the time being with a plywood border
and a layer of white stones. Smoke from the incense wafted toward the pine
branches overhead. Samira Sharafeldeen, 33, dressed in black, smiled as she
recalled her three cousins, all fighters, buried in the grave. ``I am not sorry
about what happened. They reached heaven before us," she said of her dead
relatives. ``Crying brings sadness to a country, but blood brings life."
Swaying beside the grave in the late afternoon sun, Sharafeldeen dismissed the
Lebanese Army as ineffectual collaborators. She cited one incident, in which a
Lebanese military commander was captured on videotape serving tea to an Israeli
officer at a barracks in the town of Marjayoun. The officer was later arrested
by the Lebanese government, and Hezbollah's television station has aired the
footage repeatedly.
``Of course, the Lebanese Army has got a role," Sharafeldeen said, laughing.
``They will serve tea."
But closer to the international border, in areas where only a wire fence
separates Israeli and Lebanese towns, the Lebanese Army was barely in evidence.
On the Israeli side of the fence, military engineers repaired a patrol road
beside an apple orchard. On the Lebanese side, Hezbollah flags hung over the
ruins of a destroyed observation post.
Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts Peacekeepers already
in the region who are part of the existing contingent of 2,000 that remain of
the UN Interim Force in Lebanon since 1978, were setting up checkpoints in areas
held days ago by Hezbollah fighters. At the top of a mountain pass leading to
the Hasan Gate, formerly used as a passage to the Shebaa Farms area held by
Israel, a contingent of peacekeepers from India had parked on the edge of the
deserted road. ``We're waiting for the Lebanese Army," said Lieutenant Kunal
Choudhary, an Indian infantry officer, said. ``We were told to set up
checkpoints and wait to hand them over."UN officials have been hammering out the
details of the Israeli withdrawal and transfer of power in long meetings at the
border with Israeli and Lebanese commanders. But despite Hezbollah's
unmistakable presence on the ground, there are no Hezbollah representatives at
the meetings.
On the border at Kfar Kila, Sirhan -- the Hezbollah supporter and ambulance
driver for the Lebanese civil defense service -- said Hezbollah stood ready to
fight again at a moment's notice.
More coverage of the conflict
``If anything happens, Hezbollah will come back. After we all die, that's when
Hezbollah is gone," Sirhan said, adding that his younger brother, 19, died this
month fighting the Israelis. ``I'm 100 percent with the resistance. As far as
I'm concerned, the war ends when there is nothing left of Israel. Hezbollah will
never end."Nor did the Lebanese Army appear eager to assert itself in villages
dominated by Hezbollah that were the site of the fiercest battles of the war --
places like Taibe, where weeks of punishing clashes killed dozens of Lebanese
and Israeli fighters.
This week, mourners lighted candles and burned incense at a mass grave in
Taibe's city center. Seven Hezbollah fighters were buried along with 11
civilians in the hilly cemetery, marked for the time being with a plywood border
and a layer of white stones. Smoke from the incense wafted toward the pine
branches overhead.
Samira Sharafeldeen, 33, dressed in black, smiled as she recalled her three
cousins, all fighters, buried in the grave.
``I am not sorry about what happened. They reached heaven before us," she said
of her dead relatives. ``Crying brings sadness to a country, but blood brings
life." Swaying beside the grave in the late afternoon sun, Sharafeldeen
dismissed the Lebanese Army as ineffectual collaborators. She cited one
incident, in which a Lebanese military commander was captured on videotape
serving tea to an Israeli officer at a barracks in the town of Marjayoun. The
officer was later arrested by the Lebanese government, and Hezbollah's
television station has aired the footage repeatedly.
``Of course, the Lebanese Army has got a role," Sharafeldeen said, laughing.
``They will serve tea."
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
What Is in Lebanon's Interests?
Ghassan Charbel Al-Hayat - 24/08/06//
The fragility of the situation in South Lebanon needs no further evidence. Terje
Roed-Larsen points out that there may be a vacuum for a period of two or more
months, acknowledging that surprises may arise. George Bush talks about a second
Security Council resolution and his obsession about disarming Hezbollah. The
countries invited to participate in UNIFIL are concerned about the ambiguity of
the texts and the limits of the delegated authority. Israel is trying to draw
lessons, but does not hesitate to talk about the possibility of a second round.
In his Presidential Palace, Fouad Siniora moves amid these complications, trying
to crystallize a collective national willpower around what he considers is in
the interests of Lebanon. He knew, ahead of time, that the regional scene would
be highly complicated. The Iranian-US crisis is heading toward a deadline.
Lebanese-Syrian ties have witnessed a new round of escalation.
What is in Lebanon's interests amid the complexities and clashes?
Lebanon will gain nothing from a new round of confrontation. It is clear that
Israel cannot eliminate Hezbollah no matter how much it widens its raids and
incursions. But it is also clear that Israel can eliminate Lebanon to bury
Hezbollah under the Lebanese rubble. After the Lebanese army has spread to the
South, any Lebanese has the right to feel anxious about a new round of
hostilities that could undermine both the army and the country. This simply
means that it is in Lebanon's interests to take cover under the international
umbrella to protect itself against Israel's aggressive inclinations, even if
Lebanon feels that some items in the UN's resolutions are unjust. Practically
speaking, this means that the Resistance should place the issue of the Shebaa
Farms and the prisoners' documents in the government's hands. It should also
abstain from taking any step that can be used by Israel to start a new round of
destruction in Lebanon.
It is in Lebanon's interests to forge strong and permanent ties of cooperation
with Syria. The unavoidable precondition for beneficial and stable ties is that
these ties should stand on the basis of equality between two independent States.
There should be mutual benefits and respect for international borders. No party
should interfere in the internal affairs of the other, or pursue the policy of
holding trump cards in the territories of the other country. What is needed now
is to establish ties between the two countries, where all issues related to
Syria's internal and external options are only Syria's concern. Lebanon has no
right to interfere or gain from them. This applies to both countries. The
Lebanese-Syrian relations that were established over the past three decades are
no longer valid. They must be rebuilt on a foundation of neighborliness and
mutual interests between two independent States that respect one another's
choices, decisions and policies, without pressure or interference.
It is not in Lebanon's interests to slide into the politics of axes. It can
truly benefit from establishing wider Arab relations, especially with the
countries that competed in assisting it in times of adversity. At the top of the
list of these countries is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which sponsored the Taif
Agreement and which has never held back support from Lebanon, as confirmed in
the latest ordeal. This also applies to Lebanon's relations with Egypt and other
Arab countries.
It is in Lebanon's interests to maintain normal relations with Iran for more
than one reason. It has the right to look forward to mutual, cooperative
relations with Iran, but it does not serve Lebanon's interests to be turned into
a battleground for the Iranian-US duel. It should not pay for Iran's nuclear
file.
It is in Lebanon's interests to strengthen its relations with the major powers,
but not in joining their plans for the region or in its land being used to
thwart these plans. It is imperative for Lebanon to maintain its relations with
Europe. It should always seek to improve its ties with the world's superpower,
but should not fall into illusion or volunteer to play roles that are beyond its
capabilities.
Lebanon's ability to face its current, difficult phase depends on the
government's ability to bring about a situation of unanimity, or near unanimity,
as regards to a common view of the nation's real interests, beginning with
restoring its land and building its State. This State should, in turn, defend
its interests and sovereignty, and prevent the occurrence of regional clashes
every decade on its land. Therefore, the only question that should be raised in
Lebanon regarding the debate of any issue is: what is in Lebanon's interests?
Aoun says Hizbullah should try to 'reassure' rest of
country
Resistance mp vows to respect cease-fire
By Therese Sfeir
Daily Star staff
Friday, August 25, 2006
BEIRUT: The head of the Reform and Change parliamentary bloc, MP Michel Aoun,
urged Hizbullah on Thursday to "reassure" the Lebanese, adding that the
resistance should become "legitimate" by being placed under the control of the
state. "The resistance achieved a victory and hence should be part of the
government according to the Lebanese equation," Aoun said in an interview with
NBN late Wednesday.
Aoun added that the Christian community was also part of this victory.
"The resistanc cannot be disarmed after it has achieved a victory, but its
weapons should belong to the state and become legitimate," the MP said.
Asked about Syria's rejection of the deployment of international forces along
the Syrian-Lebanese border, Aoun replied with his own question for the Lebanese
government. "Syria can take the position it wants, but what is the Lebanese
government's position on that matter and about the presence of international
forces in the airport?" he asked. "Israel and the United Nations have
overstepped their boundaries."
The MP also lashed out at the government's ability to rule. "Such a government
could not rule the country in peace time," he said, "so how will it do so during
a crisis?" Meanwhile, Hizbullah MP Mohammad Raad said Thursday the
resistance will not breach the UN-brokered cease-fire with Israel, but warned
that it could respond to further violations. "The resistance is committed to the
cessation of hostilities until the complete cease-fire is achieved," Raad said
in an interview with Al-Balad published Thursday. "The resistance and the army
may decide to confront these violations anytime the government sees the need to
take a political decision to put an end to these violations."
The resistance will not give the enemy the chance to provoke it and lure it into
confrontations that Israel could use as a justification to keep its forces in
Lebanon," Raad said. "The priority of the resistance is a complete Israeli
withdrawal."
Raad said Hizbullah wanted to provide "an atmosphere of calm for the return of
all the people to their villages and a suitable atmosphere for the deployment of
the Lebanese Army."
However, he accused some parties in the parliamentary majority of "seeking to
disarm the resistance and forge a peace agreement with Israel."
"It's true that if there wasn't a resistance, Lebanese towns and villages would
not have been destroyed, but the sovereign Lebanese decision would have been put
in [Israeli Premier Ehud] Olmert's hands," Raad said.
In response, Deputy Speaker Farid Makari said the majority was "keen on
Lebanon's sovereignty and shed expensive blood in 2005 to achieve the country's
independence," in reference to the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik
Hariri that spurred the withdrawal of Syrian troops.
In related developments, President Emile Lahoud on Thursday urged UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan to force Israel to lift its blockade in line with UN Security
Council Resolution 1701. Lahoud also called for UN intervention to stop Israel's
continued violation of Lebanese sovereignty.
"Eleven days after Resolution 1701 went into effect, Israel's aggressive acts
against Lebanon have not stopped," Lahoud said in a statement.
EU foreign ministers will meet in Brussels on Friday to discuss plans for an
international force in Lebanon amid questions over how far Europe is willing to
go to back up strong rhetoric on the need for peace with robust action.
In an interview with Italy's La Repubblica on Thursday, Prime Minister Fouad
Siniora said the Lebanese Army "has a serious mission in the South."
"The army will not be prevented from gaining access to any place in the South,"
he said, "and any arms found spontaneously or following a lead shall be
confiscated." With Agencies