UN Bias in Addressing Incidents, Violations in Lebanon
Source: Al-Manar TV, 24-4-2008
'United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesperson Yasmina Bouziane announced on Wednesday that an international forces' patrol was intercepted by two cars carrying five armed men on the night of March 30-31. Bouziane noted that the Lebanese army was unable to locate the truck and gunmen. She said the presence of armed factions in the south was a flagrant defiance of UN Security Council resolution 1701 and a violation of UNIFIL freedom. Bouziance demanded that Lebanese authorities take the necessary measures to identify those responsible for the violation and ensure it did not recur.'
This is simply the story.
Sources said that whomever intercepted the UNIFIL patrol wanted to give the impression that Hizbullah is behind it, knowing that the resistance, even during the occupation and after the liberation of 2000, had not appeared armed in public. The source added that the incident happened simultaneously with the issuance of a report by Terje Roed Larsen, the overseer of UN resolution 1559, that claimed that Hizbullah was still arming itself and that its arms undermine the Lebanese authority. "It (the interception) can be viewed as part of a new campaign against Hizbullah being launched inside and outside Lebanon," the source who asked not to be named said.
So far, this is not the case. The problem is with the way the UN dealt with the incident.
The international organization has so far failed to denounce or even scold "Israel" for its daily violations of Lebanese airspace, land and water, not to mention all UN resolution mainly on Lebanon. However, the interception of a UNIFIL patrol by unidentified armed men is not only a flagrant defiance of international resolutions in the organization's eyes but also a threat to international security. "Of course, anything that would implicate the Lebanese resistance with such acts gains attention, condemnation and perhaps urgent UNSC meeting. However when it comes to "Israeli" violations, they settle for watching, writing reports and in some cases getting shot at by "Israeli" soldiers," the source said.
The most recent incidents reported was that of "Israeli" soldiers opening fire at a Chinese demining unit working with the UNIFIL, in the southern city of Naqura. There are other incidents in Wazzani, Ghajar and Kfarkila. Other known "Israeli" aggressions include kidnapping civilians, grazing lands, trespassing the UN delineated blue line and opening fire across the border. Not much of these incidents were addressed in the report submitted to UN chief Ban Ki-Moon. They were not condemned and they were not considered as acts thethreaten international security.
This international silence is not different that the "official" silence here in Lebanon. The ruling bloc, that takes sovereignty and freedom as slogan, turns a blind eye at "Israel's" daily violations, they never issue statements of condemnation and they never hold urgent meetings to counter "Israeli" violations. Perhaps, they do not find in "Israeli" aggressions any threat to the sovereignty of their country, as some of them call the Zionist state "our neighbor."
Of the main figures in the ruling bloc is Lebanese Forces Chief Samir Geagea who chivalrously volunteered to claim that Hizbullah was the group that intercepted the UNIFIL patrol, accusations that even Ban Ki-Moon or Terje Roed-Larsen did not mention in their latest reports.
'United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesperson Yasmina Bouziane announced on Wednesday that an international forces' patrol was intercepted by two cars carrying five armed men on the night of March 30-31. Bouziane noted that the Lebanese army was unable to locate the truck and gunmen. She said the presence of armed factions in the south was a flagrant defiance of UN Security Council resolution 1701 and a violation of UNIFIL freedom. Bouziance demanded that Lebanese authorities take the necessary measures to identify those responsible for the violation and ensure it did not recur.'
This is simply the story.
Sources said that whomever intercepted the UNIFIL patrol wanted to give the impression that Hizbullah is behind it, knowing that the resistance, even during the occupation and after the liberation of 2000, had not appeared armed in public. The source added that the incident happened simultaneously with the issuance of a report by Terje Roed Larsen, the overseer of UN resolution 1559, that claimed that Hizbullah was still arming itself and that its arms undermine the Lebanese authority. "It (the interception) can be viewed as part of a new campaign against Hizbullah being launched inside and outside Lebanon," the source who asked not to be named said.
So far, this is not the case. The problem is with the way the UN dealt with the incident.
The international organization has so far failed to denounce or even scold "Israel" for its daily violations of Lebanese airspace, land and water, not to mention all UN resolution mainly on Lebanon. However, the interception of a UNIFIL patrol by unidentified armed men is not only a flagrant defiance of international resolutions in the organization's eyes but also a threat to international security. "Of course, anything that would implicate the Lebanese resistance with such acts gains attention, condemnation and perhaps urgent UNSC meeting. However when it comes to "Israeli" violations, they settle for watching, writing reports and in some cases getting shot at by "Israeli" soldiers," the source said.
The most recent incidents reported was that of "Israeli" soldiers opening fire at a Chinese demining unit working with the UNIFIL, in the southern city of Naqura. There are other incidents in Wazzani, Ghajar and Kfarkila. Other known "Israeli" aggressions include kidnapping civilians, grazing lands, trespassing the UN delineated blue line and opening fire across the border. Not much of these incidents were addressed in the report submitted to UN chief Ban Ki-Moon. They were not condemned and they were not considered as acts thethreaten international security.
This international silence is not different that the "official" silence here in Lebanon. The ruling bloc, that takes sovereignty and freedom as slogan, turns a blind eye at "Israel's" daily violations, they never issue statements of condemnation and they never hold urgent meetings to counter "Israeli" violations. Perhaps, they do not find in "Israeli" aggressions any threat to the sovereignty of their country, as some of them call the Zionist state "our neighbor."
Of the main figures in the ruling bloc is Lebanese Forces Chief Samir Geagea who chivalrously volunteered to claim that Hizbullah was the group that intercepted the UNIFIL patrol, accusations that even Ban Ki-Moon or Terje Roed-Larsen did not mention in their latest reports.
