Lebanese PM’s Statement
Note the first point and the call for “sisterly Arab countries” to resolve the issue. Siniora here is disinviting the Iranians and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.Dear Lebanese,
Our government and people are facing fierce aggression, to which we will not surrender. While we take all the political and relief measures, I would like to remind you of what the Cabinet decided in its latest session: "We stress the Lebanese government's right to protect the country and citizens, preserve its security and safety and its right and duty to exert its control over all the Lebanese territory and make national decisions on the internal and international levels."Accordingly, we urge an immediate cease-fire under the auspices of the United Nations, which would be able, in cooperation with sisterly Arab countries and the Lebanese government, to resolve all the problems that caused the latest clashes.
Secondly, we call for the establishment of the government's sovereignty in all Lebanese territory in cooperation with the UN ... and adherence to the Truce Agreement signed in 1949 and the Taif Accord.
Third, Lebanon urges its brothers and friends in the world to immediately help the Lebanese by either pressuring Israel to stop its attacks or providing humanitarian aid.
The Lebanese government holds the Israelis responsible for this humanitarian and economic catastrophe in Lebanon. We were still working on erasing the signs of the Israeli invasions in 1982, 1993 and 1996 and now Israeli aggression is targeting us one again.Lebanon is a cursed country that needs immediate and comprehensive help to rebuild what has been destroyed by this hideous war.
We are very proud of our country and we will overcome this crisis. Lebanon will survive; Lebanon will survive; Lebanon will survive.
Note the call for Beirut’s sovereignty over “all Lebanese territory” and the reference to the Taif Accord. The 1989 Taif Accord, and the subsequent United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559, called for the Lebanese government to disarm the Hezbollah militia in the south. Hezbollah has opposed the implementation of either of these agreements. The Prime Minister, apparently, is prepared, perhaps in cooperation with the United Nations, to use the Lebanese army to rein in Hezbollah in the south.
And then there’s the “quid”: a call for international aid, which will probably flow when this is over from the West and the Arab Gulf states, assuming the Lebanese government acts.
This is another of those public Arab statements that have to be read carefully. At first glance it may appear to be just another round of Israel bashing. But it is much more.
