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July 21, 2006 |
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KING ABDULLAH IBN ABDUL AZIZ ISSUES HIS DIRECTIVES TO PROMPTLY TRANSFER $ 50 MILLION TO BE SPENT ON THE URGENT RELIEF OF THE LEBANESE BROTHERLY PEOPLE. PRINCE SAUD AL-FAISAL: THE ISRAELI AGGRESSION IS AN EXTENSION TO ISRAEL'S OCCUPATION POLICIES, HEGEMONY AND CONTINUAL HATEFUL PRACTICES IN THE REGION AND THE KINGDOM STRESSES FULL SUPPORT FOR THE LEBANESE GOVERNMENT AND ITS EFFORTS IN PRESERVING LEBANON'S INTERESTS, MAINTAINING ITS SOVEREIGNTY AND INDEPENDENCE AND SPREADING ITS AUTHORITY OVER ALL ITS NATIONAL LAND. THE SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER: AT PRESENT, LEBANON NEEDS CALM, RECONSTRUCTION AND NO RISK TO ITS INTEREST AND PEOPLE'S UNITY. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has granted $ 50 million as relief assistance for Lebanon to be distributed under the direct supervision of Prime Minister Fouad Al-Saniora. This comes in response to Al-Saniora's appeal to help ease the sufferings of the innocent Lebanese people who are experiencing very critical humanitarian circumstances due to the Israeli attack. Lebanese Premier Fouad Al-Siniora expressed his thanks to and appreciation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for standing by Lebanon in difficult circumstances as a result of Israeli aggression on its land. Al-Siniora thanked the kingdom during a telephone call he made to minister of finance Dr. Ibrahim Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Assaf. Earlier, the Monarch has directed to promptly transfer $ 50 million to be at the Lebanese Premier's disposal to be spent on urgent relief needs and on provision of services required for alleviating the suffering of the Lebanese brotherly people in these difficult circumstances. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is making intensive efforts with the leaderships of the world's largest countries, calling them to intervene immediately to stop the Israeli military operations in Lebanon and to pressure Israel to halt its military escalation especially because it realizes that destroying Lebanese economic resources and terrifying the Lebanese people will never bring about security nor stability in the region. Through these efforts, Saudi Arabia is urging the world major countries to apply international conventions and legislations and to fulfill their commitments toward the stability, peace and security of the region. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz received a phone call from Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Al-Saniora. During the phone call, they discussed the latest developments in the region. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz made a telephone call to US President George W. Bush. They reviewed the bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States as well as the latest developments in the Middle East region. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz received a telephone call from France's President Jacques Chirac. During the conversation, they discussed the developments of situations in the middle east, regional and international issues and bilateral relations between the two friendly countries. Meantime Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister stressed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has pursued with great concern and strongly denounced Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Palestinian territories in which Israel waged an all-out war aiming at premeditated destruction of infrastructure; violation of human and national rights; and targeting and punishing of the civilian and innocent people by assassination and apprehension without consideration for international pacts, conventions and human norms. In a statement at the outset of a press briefing held, Prince Saud said that this Israeli aggression is an extension to Israel's occupation policies, hegemony and continual hateful practices in the region. Prince Saud added that the Kingdom strongly condemned these military operations and warned the world community of the dangerous situation in the region, the slipping into war atmospheres and a new cycle of violence whose consequences difficult to be predicted under the international laxity of dealing with Israeli policies. Some countries' stances have suggested support for these practices which made the United Nations Security Council unable to take firm decisions on this crisis, he noted. Prince Saud pointed out that the Kingdom's position in this regard was affirmed by the Council of Arab League in its recent meetings which called on all parties not to carry out any acts that lead to destabilize security in the region. He stressed full support for the Lebanese government and its efforts in preserving Lebanon's interests, maintaining its sovereignty and independence and spreading its authority over all its national land. Prince Saud also emphasized the Kingdom's full support for the Palestinian national authority and its efforts aiming at controlling the situation and seeking for the unity of the Palestinian decision, emanating from the Kingdom's position to stand by national legitimate authorities in brotherly Lebanon and occupied Palestine. Prince Saud said that the Kingdom called on the world community to shoulder its legitimate and humanitarian responsibility to stop this Israeli blatant aggression; to protect the brotherly Lebanese people and their infrastructure; and to support the efforts of the Lebanese legitimate government to preserve Lebanon , maintain its sovereignty and spread its authority over all its national land. Prince Saud also called on the world community to put an end to Israel's siege imposed on the Palestinian people and to support the efforts of the national authority to achieve the unity of the Palestinian rank within the framework of the national dialogue. The Kingdom will spare no efforts in its contacts, meetings and consultations to contain the crisis in the region, he said. Prince Saud pointed out that Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General will pay an official visit to France. The Crown Prince will discuss the developments of events in the region and their consequences; bilateral relations and ways of their enhancement between the two countries in all fields, he noted. Then Prince Saud replied to reporters' questions. He pointed out that in our assessment if there is an intervention from any party in this Arab situation particularly from non-Arabs, it will be for the good and interest of Arab countries. At present, Lebanon needs calm, reconstruction and no risk to its interest and people's unity, Prince Saud said and added that is what we wish from all countries interested in the Arab situation in general and Lebanon's in particular. Replying to a question on the reform of the situations of the Arab League, Prince Saud said that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has had a certain proposal for reform of the situations of the Arab League which was submitted to Summit Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The proposal was endorsed and the last phase of accomplishing this project was in Algeria Summit and it was signed by foreign ministers. It is in the framework of implementation and there were institutions established to amend the League's constitution and the charter, he said. Prince Saud said that the Kingdom will spare no efforts in its contacts for the interest of the situations in Lebanon and occupied Palestinian territories, stressing that the Kingdom is exerting all efforts with all effective parties to solve this problem. Replying to a question on the convention of an Arab Summit, he said,"We are conducting consultations and the Kingdom will set its stand on this topic after consultations.'' He emphasized the importance of a cease fire at present in order to solve outstanding issues such as handing over the soldier and release of prisoners. Replying to a question on the recent statement issued by the Kingdom on the events in Lebanon, he said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia always issues direct and frank statements without consulting anyone. Prince Saud added, ''When we enter a struggle, we calculate well. The most important conditions of sovereignty of any country is the decision of war and peace. If the country has not this, chaos will prevail. The Kingdom's policy and stand on this regard is firm and clear. We have been silent too much, but without benefit. The Kingdom will not stand non-aligned in this struggle neither now nor in the future.'' Prince Saud noted that the foreign ministers of Arab countries including the Kingdom have taken in their recent meeting a strategic decision on seeking peace and a number of stances and measures in this regard. Prince Saud believed that if there is a cease fire, it should be supervised by international forces, but the final decision in this framework will be up to the United Nations. Meantime French President Jacques Chirac called Israel's offensive in Lebanon "aberrant" on Monday and demanded negotiations to bring about a ceasefire. He said the attacks had created a "dramatic situation" which would require major reconstruction of Lebanon's infrastructure and had hit ordinary Lebanese. "This unfortunate population ... is bearing the consequences of behaviour which is both violent and aberrant," Chirac said in a televised news conference following the G8 summit in St Petersburg. Chirac backed the idea of an international force to restore order in Lebanon but said it was indispensable that the democratically elected Lebanese government be allowed to re-establish control over the country. "There will not be a stable independent country, or democracy if people don't understand that it is indispensable that there is a unified country under the authority of a democratically appointed government," he said. French President Jacques Chirac said France would send a large capacity aircraft to Cyprus with humanitarian aid for Lebanon and urged the creation of "humanitarian corridors" to help civilian evacuations. Speaking at the Elysee Palace in Paris, after a meeting with ministers, he also repeated France's call for a "humanitarian truce" to allow aid plans to be put in place. Chirac said there was a need for corridor within Lebanon to allow people to move safely as well as a sea corridor between Lebanon and Cyprus. French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin arrived aboard a helicopter that landed at a school in Jamhour, east of Beirut , and was promptly whisked off in an embassy convoy to talks in the city centre with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, officials said. French President Jacques Chirac dispatched Villepin to meet Siniora and "convey to him the support of France and the solidarity of the French people with the Lebanese people in their ordeal," the president's office said. At the close of the G8 summit, Chirac said returning stability to Lebanon may require "means of coercion." "We have a situation that requires outside intervention, in such a way as to assure borders and to avoid cross-border aggression by one side against the other," he said. "Things cannot go on like this," Chirac said. "Some kind of buffer zone is needed; the idea is to have an international force and a line of surveillance" in southern Lebanon. Chirac's comment came a day after leaders of the world's eight most industrialized nations proposed the deployment of an international force in south Lebanon to help stem fighting between Israel and militant groups. During a joint press conference with PM Siniora , Villepin called for an end to the hostilities and for the return of the 2 Israeli soldiers held by Hezbollah. Following talks with Annan on the sidelines of the final day of the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, Blair said a force could help end the violence. "The only way we're going to get a cessation of hostilities is if we have the deployment of an international force into that area that can stop the bombardment coming over into Israel and that will give Israel a reason to stop its attacks on Hezbollah." Annan, who appeared at a news conference with Blair at the summit, appealed to both sides to "spare civilian lives and infrastructure." Any international force sent into the area must be "well-trained, well-equipped troops that can in go in quite quickly," said Annan. World leaders have called for an international force to be deployed in south Lebanon to stop Hezbollah guerrillas there from firing rockets into Israel. The European Union has said it is considering sending troops, while leaders of the Group of Eight meeting in St. Petersburg stressed that the force would have to have a mandate from the United Nations. "The blunt reality is that this violence is not going to stop unless we create the conditions for the cessation of violence," Tony Blair, the British prime minister, said after talks with Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general. "The only way is if we have a deployment of international forces that can stop bombardment coming into Israel." The prime minister's office said Blair was referring to an international force that would act as a buffer once hostilities had stopped. Blair said he envisaged a force larger than the current UN force of some 2,000 troops which monitors the Blue Line separating Israel and Lebanon and is charged with reporting violations by either side. Romano Prodi, the Italian prime minister, said Annan was looking to send approximately 8,000 more troops. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said Moscow would decide whether to contribute troops only after the UN Security Council had endorsed the proposal, and Prodi said Italy was ready to contribute in a "significant way" if there were a Security Council mandate. However Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said sending troops was not on Germany's agenda. Israel's initial reaction was cool. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert instead favours Lebanese forces taking control of the area of the border with Israel and wants the Hezbollah militia disarmed, senior Israeli officials said. Jacques Chirac, the French president, said it was essential to enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah and other militias in Lebanon. However, he cautioned that "some means of coercion" may be needed to enforce the resolution. Following tough negotiations, the G8 issued a statement blaming Hezbollah and Hamas for the escalating violence and recognising Israel's right to defend itself - although they called on Israel to show restraint. "For the first time, we've really begun to address with clarity the root causes of the conflict ... and that is terrorist activity - namely Hezbollah, that's housed and encouraged by Syria," Bush said. Prodi said the eight leaders only managed to agree on the wording of the text because both the United States and Russia made compromises. The US position had strongly supported Israel's right to self-defence, while Russia held that Israel was engaging in excessive force. "If you take Israel, the departure point was much more far away than the arrival point and both of them moved," Prodi said in English. "No one has lost. They remarkably moved." In an important bid to avert broader Israeli military operations against Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah II of Jordan warned that the Middle East region may slip into a climate of war that could undermine opportunities to achieve peace and open the door or a new spiral of violence and tension. The two leaders condemned the military operations being carried out by the Israeli forces and called for an immediate halt of the attacks that target civilians and infrastructure in both Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. President Mubarak and King Abdullah held two sessions of talks during which they discussed the deteriorating situation in the region and the suffering of both the Lebanese and the Palestinian peoples as a result of the wide-scale Israeli military attacks. In a joint statement released following the talks the two leaders reaffirmed the need to defuse the grave situation on the Lebanese and Palestinian frontiers. According to the statement, captives should be exchanged in order to avert further deterioration. They also called upon the international community to take prompt action and to exert all possible efforts to contain the escalation and its possible serious effects on the future of the region. On the other hand Mohammed Hussein Al Shaali, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, summoned ambassadors of the UN Security Council's permanent members and those of Germany and Japan to express the UAE's concern at the escalation of events in Lebanon and Gaza. Al Shaali reiterated the message embodied in the Council of Ministers' statement which expressed the UAE's grave concern over the Israeli atrocities against Lebanon. These atrocities, the statement said, were resulting in losses of innocent civil lives and sabotage of infrastructure, and were putting the safety and security of Lebanon in jeopardy. "These events can not be disassociated from the main root cause, which is the failure of the peace process in the Middle East," the Minister told the diplomats. He urged their countries to "exert every effort to forge an instant ceasefire and revive the peace process." Al Shaali cited the latest Arab League resolution, which called on the UN Security Council to conduct a thorough examination of the Arab Israeli conflict and the Palestinian cause and to develop an action plan for a durable and just solution, taking into consideration the Arab peace initiative. In Cairo Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan President of the UAe and Egyptian President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak reiterated solidarity with Lebanon in the face of the Israeli attacks. They also called for an immediate ceasefire and an instant action by the Security Council and the super powers to end the Israeli aggression against Lebanon. In a joint communique issued at the end of the two leaders' talks, the two sides called for respecting the unity, sovereignty and independence of Iraq and non-interference in its internal affairs. They also renewed their support to the Palestinian people and their right for an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. The two sides stressed the importance of security and stability in the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf and the need to keep the region free of weapons of mass destruction. They agreed on the need of Iran to end its occupation of the UAE's three islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa. They urged Iran to respond positively to UAE calls to resolve the issue through either bilateral negotiations or by referring it to the International Court of Justice. The two sides expressed their denunciation of all forms of violence, extremism and terrorism. The communique said that Sheikh Khalifa has decided to build a city complex which will carry his name. He instructed the authorities in the UAE to provide all necessary means to implement this project. Sheikh Khalifa thanked President Mubarak and his government for the warm hospitality accorded to him during his visit on invitation by the Egyptian President. President Mubarak accepted Sheikh Khalifa's invitation to make a visit to the UAE, the date of which will be decided later. Prime Minister Fouad Saniora called for an immediate halt to Israel's offensive, requesting urgent international humanitarian aid and vowing to make Israel pay compensation to Lebanon. In a solemn speech delivered in English before foreign ambassadors, Saniora called for an "immediate ceasefire and an end" to the near complete blockade imposed by Israel on its northern neighbour in the last week. He also called for "urgent international humanitarian" aid. "Let me assure you that we shall spare no avenue to make Israel" pay compensation for its destructive and deadly attacks on Lebanon because "the country has been torn to shreds." "There are only ideas so far" about a ceasefire, he added in an interview with Al-Arabiya recorded immediately after the speech. "These ideas have not been developed into specific plans. It seems that the time taken to deliberate these ideas is to give Israel the time to achieve (through its attacks) what it believes it can achieve. "Israel believes that if given more time, it would be able to break the back of Hezbollah. I think that this (assumption) is wrong. Previous experiences worldwide have proven that such outcome cannot be achieved this way". Meantime the Head of the Future bloc in Parliament MP Saad Hariri and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed a proposal to open a safe naval passageway for medical and humanitarian aid to Lebanon, at a meeting in Istanbul. MP Hariri, who has been holding urgent contacts with Arab and world leaders to end Israel's aggression against Lebanon, said he also asked Turkey to use its regional and international contacts to broker a cease-fire. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, MP Hariri described the talks as excellent and said he updated the Turkish Premier on Israel's "barbaric attacks and crimes" in Lebanon. Head of the Future bloc had also discussed the ongoing bloodshed with French President Jacques Chirac in a telephone call. In an interview with Al-Jazeera Television, MP Hariri called for a "comprehensive solution" to the crisis, and said one of the ideas being proposed is deploying a multi-national force along the border with Israel. He stressed that the Lebanese are united and that Israel cannot destroy Lebanon. However, head of the Future bloc pointed out that the Lebanese have been bearing the brunt of the conflict with Israel and that they need to protect their country, to advance its interests. Head of the Future bloc told Al-Jazeera Lebanon should not be a battlefield for others, adding those responsible "will be held accountable after the crisis is resolved." He pointed out that countries wishing to fight Israel can do so by opening their fronts with Israel, which he said have been stable and secure for the past three decades. He also cited 'secret' ties between those countries and Israel, while Lebanon is being destroyed and its people killed. MP Hariri rejected provocative calls for more attacks on Israel. Head of the Future bloc in Parliament MP Saad Hariri said Lebanon will be rebuilt following Israel's ongoing aggression against the country. He also supported Saudi Arabia's 'reasonable' position in the current conflict, in an interview with the Saudi Okaz newspaper. MP Hariri who will soon embark on a European tour to mobilize support for Lebanon, criticized the 'irresponsible' actions that were taken without the government's consultation resulting in the bloodshed. MP Hariri praised Saudi Arabia's contribution of 50 million US dollars in urgent aid to assist civilians under Israeli attacks, and highlighted the role that the Kingdom had played in bringing stability to Lebanon following the 1975-1990 war. He also supported Saudi Arabia's criticism of the 'irresponsible' 'adventures' that led to the ongoing Israeli aggression. Asked if Syria might come under Israeli attack, head of the Future bloc did not rule out such a possibility, citing the atrocities that Israel is committing in Lebanon. Lebanon's President Emile Lahoud stressed yesterday that "We want nothing except materialization of our rights and we will resist and insist on this." The Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu yesterday condemned the massive Zionist bombardments on Lebanon which have killed dozens of innocent civilians and injured scores more, describing the bombings as "savage." In a statement, Ihsanoglu condemned the aggression which, he said, was against all international and human norms and regulations. Israel's military operations targeting Lebanese infrastructural installations and killing civilians render futile all efforts to establish just peace in the region, he added. The statement urged the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to rally members of the Security Council to find a solution to the crisis. |
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