Ban Urges Hizbullah to be a Political Party
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon wants Syria and Iran to support the transformation of Hizbullah to a political party, U.N. envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said Thursday.
He said the secretary-general is very concerned that fighting last spring between anti- and pro-government gunmen "may have prompted, if not accelerated, a process of rearmament in Lebanon."
"The violence that erupted in Lebanon and spread widely across the country in May of this year served as a shocking illustration of how armed groups outside the control of the government of Lebanon brought the country to a near state of collapse, and engraved psychological scars on the civilian population," he said.
Roed-Larsen is Ban”s envoy dealing with implementation of Security Council resolution 1559 that included demands for the disarmament of all militias in Lebanon and the extension of government authority throughout the country.
Briefing the Security Council on Ban”s eighth report on the resolution adopted in 2004, Roed-Larsen pointed to "major strides" the last six months — election of a Lebanese president, plans for parliamentary elections and establishment of diplomatic relations for the first time between Beirut and Damascus.
The envoy cautioned, however, that the Syrian-Lebanese border remains porous and easily penetrated, smuggling activities are ongoing and militia groups are allowed to straddle the border.
In addition, he said Israeli aircraft continue to violate Lebanese airspace by conducting over-flights, which he said must end.
He added there has been "no tangible progress towards the disbanding and disarming of militias."
Roed-Larsen described "the armed component of Hizbullah," as "the most significant Lebanese militia" which maintains "a massive paramilitary infrastructure separate from the state, including a secure network of communication, which the group itself deems an integral part of its arsenal."
"In May of this year, Hizbullah employed civil disobedience but also elements of these military assets to protect this very structure. These assets, and Hizbullah”s resort to armed action in response to a political decision by the government, are a direct challenge to the fundamental authority of that government and its attempts to consolidate its sovereignty," Roed-Larsen told the Council.
He said Ban is urging Hizbullah to transform itself into "a political party proper" and wants the group”s allies Syria and Iran in particular to encourage that process.
The U.N. chief also is concerned that non-Lebanese militias in Lebanon, including Palestinian movements, have not been disarmed, Roed-Larsen said.
He reiterated Ban”s conviction that disarming Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias "should take place through a political process that will lead to the monopoly on the use of force by the government of Lebanon throughout all of its territory."
He added that "the emergence and apparent strengthening of extremist elements and foreign fighters based largely in and around" the northern port city of Tripoli was also a grave concern, and these elements had conducted lethal attacks against Lebanese armed forces.