Security Council Discusses Tuesday Ban”s Report on 1559 without Feedback
The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to discuss on Tuesday the tenth bi-annual report of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the implementation of resolution 1559.
Al-Mustaqbal daily said that the Council is not expected to issue any statement on the content of the report during a closed-door session. It quoted diplomatic sources as saying, however, that the report did not adopt a stern language.
The sources added that the report was the "weakest" issued so far.
In the report, delivered to the Council last week, Ban urged the Lebanese to benefit from the successful June 2009 parliamentary elections and visits between Saudi King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The U.N. chief also warned that the presence of Hizbullah and Palestinian militants in Lebanon is contributing to tensions and insecurity and could eventually lead to a resumption of hostilities.
The secretary-general said he took seriously recent reports "of a proliferation of extremist groups activities and of arms in Lebanon," but said the U.N. doesn”t have the means to independently verify them.
He said Hizbullah”s paramilitary force "poses first and foremost a key challenge to the safety of Lebanese civilians, and to the government”s monopoly on the legitimate use of force."
"I call on the leaders of Hizbullah to complete the transformation of the group into a solely Lebanese political party," Ban said.