September 1, 2006

ANNAN WARNS AND CALLS ON ALL PARTIES TO GUARANTEE THE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES. THE KING OF BAHRAIN AND PRESIDENT MUBARAK STRESS THE MIDDLE EAST NEED FOR STABILITY BASED ON A JUST AND COMPREHENSIVE PEACE AT ALL LEVELS. THE TURKISH PRIME MINISTER: THE WAR IN LEBANON PROVED THAT IT IS EVIDENT THAT A PEACE CANNOT BE MADE THROUGH ONE-SIDED ACTIONS, NOR CAN IT BE MADE THROUGH USE OF FORCE. THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS ON THE IRAQI AND IRANIAN ARENAS. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who criticized Israel over the weekend for threatening the Lebanon cease-fire, says the fragile cessation of hostilities in the Middle East is still holding. However, he also appealed for nations to step forward with contributions of peacekeeping troops for the enhanced UN Interim Force in Lebanon, to keep that relative peace. The present force of 2,000 may be beefed up to 15,000 but an additional 3,500 are being sought by the end of next week. UN officials have said a "balanced" force made up of Muslim and non-Muslim, European and non-European, nations was sought. There have been a few offers from Muslim countries already, but few from Europe. Ghana's Ambassador Nana Effah-Apentang, this month's president of the UN Security Council, said the panel of 15 was briefed by the UN Secretariat last Monday and was told to expect a number of troop commitments shortly. Annan's chief spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said the secretary-general expressed "deep concern" over the Israeli violation. "The incident involved an Israeli raid into eastern Lebanon on Saturday. The secretary-general spoke to the Israeli and Lebanese prime ministers on the matter," said the spokesman who also said there were "several violations by Israeli aircraft" of Lebanese airspace. "All such violations endanger the fragile calm and undermine the authority of the government of Lebanon," he said, adding Annan "called on all parties to respect strictly the arms embargo, exercise maximum restraint and avoid provocative actions and display responsibility in implementing" UN Security Council Resolution 1701 of Aug. 11. According to UPI Israeli withdrawal and Lebanese deployment went according to the timeline agreed in a trilateral meeting UNIFIL commander, Gen. Alain Pellegrini, had last Sunday with senior Israeli Defense Forces and Lebanese Armed Forces officers, Dujarric said. "UNIFIL moved into areas vacated Sunday by the IDF and the Lebanese army was taking control of them" Monday. Annan issued a report to the UN Security Council last Friday on its resolution calling for the cessation of hostilities to end 33 days of fighting by Israel against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Fighting stopped at 8 a.m. Lebanon local time Aug. 14. Council members studied the report over the weekend and Monday they were briefed on the latest developments by Assistant Secretary-General Hedi Annabi, who brought them up to date on the latest developments, including the concern expressed by Annan over Israel's raid in response to what it said was a defensive move to thwart the rearming of Hezbollah. The council president expressed gratitude for the "cooperation between the Lebanese armed forces and the UN force as to the withdrawal in phases." Effah-Apentang said members learned the secretariat "had virtually finalized the document on rules of engagement and concept of operations for UNIFIL and it's been given to the countries which have expressed interest in contributing troops to serve under the expanded UNIFIL." This apparently has been a stumbling block in getting nations to sign on as peacekeepers in Lebanon. They were afraid to commit before knowing the details on the two documents, UN officials have said. Even though a draft version of one was distributed at a troop contributors' meeting Thursday and an electronic version sent Friday, there were no substantive firm, specific commitments beyond France announcing it would double its present UNIFIL commitment of 200 engineers. The ambassador said the secretariat "explained later they expected commitments from member states" soon. A delegation headed up by Terje Roed-Larsen, who is the secretary-general's point man on implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 of 2004 calling for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon, met with top officials of Lebanon and Israel over the weekend and Monday, Dujarric said. Roed-Larsen was accompanied by Vijay Nambiar, Annan's special adviser on Lebanon. They were expected to contribute to the next report Resolution 1701 called for, 30 days after the resolution was approved. UN officials have said they want 3,500 more UNIFIL troops "on the ground" by Sept. 2. Annan's report said the first deployment would be followed by second and third waves of similar strengths, in 30 day interims until November 4. "Our hope would be for the full strengthening of UNIFIL called for (in the resolution) to have been completed within less than 90 days of the resolution's adoption," he said in the report. "In the event that another Security Council resolution is adopted mandating UNIFIL with significant new and additional tasks, additional forces could be required up to, or above, the authorized strength of 15,000 troops." Diplomats at the United Nations have been saying they anticipated a second resolution on Lebanon, but have not yet said when they would seek it. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been in touch with top Israeli and Lebanese officials today following an Israeli raid in eastern Lebanon which he warned endangers the fragile calm that has generally held in the region since Monday. "The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about a violation by the Israeli side of the cessation of hostilities as laid out in Security Council resolution 1701statement. Adopted on 11 August, that text mandated a halt to the fighting which took effect three days later. There have also been several air violations by Israeli military aircraft, according to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is helping to support and coordinate the Israeli withdrawal. Mr. Annan said violations of Security Council resolution 1701 such as the Israeli raid "endanger the fragile calm that was reached after much negotiation and undermine the authority of the Government of Lebanon." He called on all parties "to respect strictly the arms embargo, exercise maximum restraint, avoid provocative actions and display responsibility in implementing resolution 1701." The Secretary-General has today spoken to the Prime Ministers of Israel and Lebanon about this matter, according to the spokesman, who added that Mr. Annan has further instructed that daily reports of compliance on the cessation of hostilities by the parties should be provided to the Security Council. Under resolution 1701, UNIFIL is to be given more robust rules of engagement and expanded to include up to 15,000 peacekeepers to support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy across the south of the country at the same time as Israel withdraws from the area. Meantime UN team in Lebanon has destroyed 445 pieces of unexploded military ordnance in the southern part of the country. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon said a team from the Mine Action Coordination Center reported the ordnance was found in the areas of Yohmor, Smayieh, Ras Al Ain, Tibnin and Aita Al Jabal. The UN`s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said unexploded ordnance litters many areas in the south and will take months to clear. The agency said it could take up to six months of de-mining in the region of Nabatiye alone. British mine clearance experts have accused Israel of "carpeting" Lebanese border villages with deadly cluster bombs. The Mines Advisory Group, a Manchester-based charity, said "extreme" quantities of cluster bombs had been dropped on scores of villages last week. At least four people, including two teenage boys, have died after stepping on them and 16 others have been injured, medics at the city's hospital say. There have been growing calls to outlaw the use of cluster bombs, which scatter hundreds of small bombs no bigger than an AA battery over a target area. Although designed to explode on impact, they often fail to do so. Among the victims was Ali Turkiye, 13, who was harvesting grapes in the village of Zawte when he accidentally dislodged a small bomb caught in a vine. "It tore the top of his skull off," the director-general of the Najde Hospital, Ali Haaj Ali, said. Hussein Khatib, a family friend of another victim, said: "The Israelis dropped these in the last few hours of the war when the fighting was nearly over." Israel said all its munitions complied with international law, although the American-based Human Rights Watch said their use in civilian areas broke a legal ban on indiscriminate attacks. The head of the UN weapons clearance team in southern Lebanon, Chris Clark, said clearing unexploded bombs could take 12 months. On the other hand Amnesty International published findings that point to an Israeli policy of deliberate destruction of Lebanese civilian infrastructure, which included war crimes, during the recent conflict. The organization's latest publication shows how Israel's destruction of thousands of homes, and strikes on numerous bridges and roads as well as water and fuel storage plants, was an integral part of Israel's military strategy in Lebanon, rather than "collateral damage" resulting from the lawful targeting of military objectives "Israel's assertion that the attacks on the infrastructure were lawful is manifestly wrong. Many of the violations identified in the report are war crimes, including indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks. The evidence strongly suggests that the extensive destruction of power and water plants, as well as the transport infrastructure vital for food and other humanitarian relief, was deliberate and an integral part of a military strategy," said Kate Gilmore, Executive Deputy Secretary General of Amnesty International "The pattern, scope and scale of the attacks makes Israel's claim that this was 'collateral damage', simply not credible," said Kate Gilmore, Executive Deputy Secretary General of Amnesty International. The report includes evidence of the following: Massive destruction by Israeli forces of whole civilian neighbourhoods and villages; Attacks on bridges in areas of no apparent strategic importance; Attacks on water pumping stations, water treatment plants and supermarkets despite the prohibition against targeting objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population; Statements by Israeli military officials indicating that the destruction of civilian infrastructure was indeed a goal of Israel's military campaign designed to press the Lebanese government and the civilian population to turn against Hizbullah. The report exposes a pattern of indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, which resulted in the displacement of twenty-five percent of the civilian population. This pattern, taken together with official statements, indicates that the attacks on infrastucture were deliberate, and not simply incidental to lawful military objectives. Amnesty International is calling for a comprehensive, independent and impartial inquiry to be urgently established by the UN into violations of international humanitarian law by both sides in the conflict. It should examine in particular the impact of this conflict on the civilian population, and should be undertaken with a view to holding individuals responsible for crimes under international law and ensuring that full reparation is provided to the victims. On the other hand the Turkish FM paid visits to Israel and Palestine. Gul held talks with Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, Defence Minister Amir Peretz and FM Tzipi Livni in Israel. The three Israeli ministers stated that they supported the deployment of Turkish troops in Lebanon. Olmert said that they trusted in Turkey and added "Turkey plays a crucial role in the region and we believe that it will continue this role". On his part, Gul underlined that unilateral approaches will not produce peace by stating that "It is evident that a peace cannot be made through one-sided actions, nor can it be made through use of force." Following his contacts in Israel, the Turkish FM also visited the Palestine Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. Gul stressed that the root of the problems in the Middle East was the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that it was necessary to settle this issue on a two-state basis to end the stalemate in the region. PA President Abbas stated that Turkey's participation to the UN force in Lebanon would be good and that Turkey's participation would increase Ankara's importance in the region. The Turkish FM also had traveled to Lebanon on last Wednesday to assure Lebanese support for Turkish troops in the UN force. On behalf of the Lebanese government and parties, including Hezbollah, the Lebanese PM Fouad Saniora had declared that "all sides are waiting for the friendly Turkish soldiers". Turkey repeatedly stated that it had not taken any decision regarding the deployment of Turkish troops in Lebanon. Ankara also underlined that Turkish troops could be sent if all Lebanese parties approves them and if the UN force was not tasked to disarm Hezbollah. Turkey also declared that the troops it would send would not be combat units and would help humanitarian aids and reconstruction efforts. Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul was received by Syrian President Bashar al-Asad in Damascus. Gul-Assad meeting lasted for approximately 1.5 hours. They discussed the recent developments in the Middle East and possible deployment of Turkish troops in a peacekeeping force along the Lebanese-Israeli border. Gul also met Syrian Vice-President Farouk al-Shara after his meeting with al-Assad. Syrian authorities told Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, visiting Syria on Tuesday to hold talks regarding a peace force in Lebanon, "Syria would welcome Turkey's contribution to the proposed force." A Turkish official in the delegation summarized the talks by saying; "We received strong support." Gul underlined the importance of an end to the regional conflict, adding, "Every one should learn a lesson from the recent events and understand there is no way other than peace." Gul held a press conference after the meeting and said what al-Assad voiced was "very promising for the future of the region." "It was very promising to hear from the Syrian president and my Syrian counterpart that there is now a chance to achieve peace and launch peace efforts again. We believe if desired, a new chance for peace could be attained," Gul said. Gul, speaking at Esenboga Airport on his arrival from Syria, indicated that Syrian contribution to resolve regional problems, the Palestinian problem in particular, at such a volatile period will be highly appreciated. Speaking ahead of his visit to the Syrian capital Damascus, Gul recalled Turkey received approval from regional countries regarding Turkey's contribution to the peace force during his tour of the region, and informed relevant bodies are carrying out technical procedures. On the other hand the Palestinian ministry of information issued a report on the damages suffered by the Lebanese and Palestinian people during the month long war. In Cairo President Hosni Mubarak held a session of talks in Sharm El- Sheikh with visiting King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa on Arab support for Lebanon. The two Arab leaders also discussed consultations held by President Mubarak with Arab leaders on regional developments. The two leaders underlined their solidarity with Lebanon. At their meeting earlier yesterday22/8/2006, they underscored the necessity of maintaining the Lebanese unity and territorial integrity. "Mubarak and Hamad also confirmed their stance in supportingefforts for reconstructing Lebanon," said Presidential Spokesman Suleiman Awwad. The Egyptian-Bahraini summit talks dwelt also on UNSCR 1701 and Arab contribution to rebuilding Lebanon. Mubarak and Hamad also discussed the incessant Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people and the deterioration in the Palestinian territories. The summit also discussed Iraq arid the Western Sudanese region of Darfur. Egypt-Bahrain ties also topped the agenda of leader's talks. On the other hand the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General have sent messages of condolences to President Hosni Mubarak for the accident of the two trains in northern Egypt. In Makkah the Muslim World League (MWL) has drawn the attention of the international community to the importance of Al-Aqsa mosque, and warned against the Zionist plots to demolish the mosque which has a great value in the hearts of the Muslims. A statement issued here today by the MWL's Secretary General Dr Abdullah Al-Turki said setting Al-Aqsa mosque on fire by the terrorist and extremist Mickel Rohan on august 29, 1969, had demonstrated the plots hatched by the Zionists to demolish the mosque for building the alleged skeleton in its place. Dr Al-Turki drew attention to the menace of the Zionist plots, and said they are terror plots which aim at fomenting sedition and provocation against 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. 'The Zionist organizations had tried on numerous occasions to demolish the mosque and to attack it, hurting the feelings of the worshippers', he said. Dr Al-Turki called on the un and the security council as well as the organizations of human rights in the world to implement the international law and the security council's resolutions which prevent aggression on Al-Aqsa mosque. He urged the Muslims to unify their ranks so as to confront the danger facing the mosque. In Washington President Bush said the decision about when to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq will fall to future presidents and Iraqi leaders, suggesting that U.S. involvement will continue at least through 2008. Acknowledging the public's growing unease with the war and election-year skittishness among fellow Republicans the president nonetheless vowed to keep U.S. soldiers in the fight. "If I didn't believe we could succeed, I wouldn't be there. I wouldn't put those kids there," Bush declared. He also stood by embattled Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld. "I don't believe he should resign. He's done a fine job. Every war plan looks good on paper until you meet the enemy," he said. In his second full-blown news conference of the year, Bush sought to ease his political problems by addressing them directly. "Nobody likes war. It creates a sense of uncertainty in the country," he said. "War creates trauma." He acknowledged that Republicans are worried about their political standing in November. "There's a certain unease as you head into an election year," Bush told a wide-ranging news conference that lasted nearly an hour. More than 2,300 Americans have died in three years of war in Iraq. Polls show the public's support of the war and Bush himself have dramatically declined in recent months, jeopardizing the political goodwill he carried out of the 2004 re-election victory. "I'd say I'm spending that capital on the war," Bush quipped. When asked about his failed Social Security plan, he simply said: "It didn't get done." But the president defiantly defended his warrantless eavesdropping program, and baited Democrats who suggest that he broke the law. Calling a censure resolution "needless partisanship," Bush challenged Democrats to go into the November midterm elections in opposition to eavesdropping on suspected terrorists. "They ought to stand up and say, 'The tools we're using to protect the American people should not be used,"' Bush said. The news conference marked a new push by Bush to confront doubts about his strategy in Iraq. A day earlier, he acknowledged to a sometimes skeptical audience that there was dwindling support for his Iraq policy and that he understood why people were disheartened. "The terrorists haven't given up. They're tough-minded. They like to kill," he said. "There will be more tough fighting ahead." Later in the news conference, Bush was asked whether there would come a day when no U.S. forces are in Iraq. "That, of course, is an objective. And that will be decided by future presidents and future governments of Iraq," he said. Asked if that meant it won't happen on his watch, the president said, "You mean a complete withdrawal? That's a timetable. I can only tell you that I will make decisions on force levels based upon what the commanders on the ground say." The president said he did not agree with former interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, who told the British Broadcasting Corporation, "If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is." Bush said others inside and outside Iraq think the nation has stopped short of civil war. "There are other voices coming out of Iraq, by the way, other than Mr. Allawi, who I know by the way like. A good fellow." "We all recognized that there is violence, that there is sectarian violence. But the way I look at the situation is, the Iraqis looked and decided not to go into civil war." Nearly four out of five Americans, including 70 percent of Republicans, believe civil war will break out in Iraq, according to a recent AP-Ipsos poll. Bush said he's confident of victory in Iraq. "I'm optimistic we'll succeed. If not, I'd pull our troops out," he said, warning that abandoning the nation would be a dangerous mistake. "So failure in Iraq, which isn't going to happen, would send all kinds of terrible signals to an enemy that wants to hurt us and people who are desperate to change the condition in the broader Middle East," Bush said. He said he agreed to U.S. talks with Iran to underscore his point that Tehran's attempts to spread sectarian violence or provide support to Iraqi insurgents was unacceptable to the United States. His opening remarks were designed to steel Americans for more fighting in Iraq and put an optimistic spin on the state of the U.S. economy. "Productivity is strong. Inflation is contained. Household net worth is at an all-time high," Bush said, crediting his administration's policies. On Iraq, Bush bristled at a suggestion that he had wanted to wage war against that country since early in his presidency. "I didn't want war. To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong ... with all due respect," he told a reporter. "No president wants war." To those who say otherwise, "it's simply not true," Bush said. Asked about former supporters who now oppose him and the war, Bush said he's trying to win them over by "talking realistically to people" about the war and its importance to the nation. "I can understand how Americans are worried about whether or not we can win," Bush said, adding that most Americans want victory "but they're concerned about whether or not we can win." Bush scoffed at a question suggesting he should reshuffle or shake up his White House staff to help raise his sagging poll standings. But he did hint that he might bring in an experienced Washington insider to work with a disgruntled Congress. "I'm not going to announce it right now," Bush said, adding that he's satisfied with the staff he's surrounded himself with. Meantime the US has said that Iran's response to the package of incentives aimed at ending Tehran's suspected nuclear programme "falls short" of the UN demand for halting uranium enrichment. The State Department said it was studying Iran's offer of negotiations and would consult further with other UN Security Council members on next course of action. "We acknowledge that Iran considers its response as a serious offer, and we will review it" acting spokesman of the State Department, Gonzala Gallegos, said in a statement. "The response, however, falls short of the conditions set by the Security Council, which require the full and verifiable suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities. We are consulting closely, including with other members of the Security Council, on next steps," it said. The White House said the matter was "serious" and that Washington will wait until the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany meet on August 31. "This is a serious matter, and we're going to seriously consider it. And the P5 plus one will get together and -- they're going to be talking between now and August 31st," White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino said during the briefing. The statement was issued after a meeting between President George W Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Bush had telephone conversation with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, where is believed to have discussed the Iranian response. EU's foreign policy Chief Javier Solana has said that Iran's latest response to an international offer of incentives for it to stop uranium enrichment requires careful analysis. "The document is extensive and therefore requires a detailed and careful analysis," Javier Solana said of Tehran's response, which was received by representatives of the five permanent UN Security Council members -- USA, UK, France, Russia and China -- plus Germany (5 + 1 Group). The 5+1 Group drew up the incentives package for Iran to renounce uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, and has set an August 31 deadline for Iran to agree or risk UN sanctions. Javier Solana said he would "remain in open contact" with Ali Larijani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator. The details of Tehran's response were not publicly released but Larijani said that Iran was "ready for serious talks with the 5+1 Group from August 23 over the offered package". Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful energy production and denies any clandestine effort to build nuclear weapons.