Press Release Letter to UNSG Kofi Annan on Chap 7 and Sudanese Ismail in Lebanese Affairs
The World Council of the Cedars Revolution
Representing the hopes and aspirations of many millions of Lebanese throughout the Diaspora
www.cedarsrevolution.org
cedarsrevolution@gmail.com
Thursday 14th December 2006
Washington Bureau
H.E. Kofi Annan
Secretary General
United Nations Assembly
New York, NY 10017
USA
RE:
- The World Council for the Cedars Revolution (WCCR) has warned repeatedly that
UNIFIL without a Chapter 7 mandate is merely a mild mannered observer.
- WCCR rejects completely the interference of the Sudanese Mustafa Ismail in
Lebanese affairs
Dear Dr. Annan,
It must have become obvious to any responsible officer who is observing or attempting to contribute positively to negotiations which might help to bring some kind of a peaceful existence to the people of Lebanon. The UNSCR 1701 has stipulated a military personnel presence of thirty thousand, comprising of fifteen thousand from the Lebanese army and fifteen thousand from the international community. All disbursed along the Israeli/Lebanese border and the Syrian/Lebanese border.
The dilemma for Prime Minister Siniora is that his Commander of the Lebanese army General Michel Sleiman being a Lahoud appointee, is a close ally of the unconstitutional President and he too is pro Syria.
Prime Minister Siniora’s acknowledgement of Syrian arms being smuggled into Lebanon to Hezbollah and their terrorist allies was a cry for help. He is caught in an incredible predicament.
The Lebanese army has tens of thousands of Syrian and Iranian insurgents who have found their way to policing the Syrian/Lebanese border, thus allowing the free flow of arms from Syria to Hezbollah, the armed Palestinians, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Islamic fundamentalists.
Prime Minister Siniora seems to be calling out quite clearly for the UNSC to effectively mandate chapter 7 to Resolution 1701 and allow the international forces to effect a total ban on the flow of arms and identify Syrian and Iranian insurgents and drive them out of Lebanon once and for all. After considerable consideration and from the onset of our recommended draft of what has now become UNSCR 1701, we advise that chapter 7 is absolutely essential if Lebanon is to have any chance of stability and redevelopment. It might even be necessary for a period of three to five years to allow the dust to settle and give people a chance to become accustomed to normal life once again in this beautiful land.
The WCCR is also extremely concerned at the involvement of the Sudanese Mustafa Ismail in the negotiations between the conflicting parties in Lebanon. Our reliable advice about Mr Ismail is that he has been the root cause of much of the conflict in the Sudan, which has seen loss of life in huge proportions. We the Lebanese do not need any further advice or solutions from other well wishing Arab diplomats who look to build a reputation at the expense of the honorable people of Lebanon. We have experienced their best with the Taif agreement which gave Syria control over Lebanon for fifteen years. All Arab nations watched from the comfort of their homes as the people of Lebanon suffered the tyranny of the Syrians and the reprisals of the Israelis because of terrorist activities against them from Lebanese soil.
The people of Lebanon have entered into a democratic phase. The opposition, whilst perfectly entitled to protest, must be civilized. By all means protest, it’s their constitutional right to do so, but a protest should end on the day it is held. The business and normal rate paying residents of the heart of the city of Beirut are equally entitled under the constitution to a normal life in business and at work.
If the opposition wishes to become a part of government, they must wait until the next democratically held parliamentary elections and hope they succeed to form or share in government.
There is absolutely no reason why the majority Siniora government should share power with a terrorist militia which is better equipped militarily than the Lebanese army. Let Hezbollah and other terrorists surrender their arsenal to the Lebanese government and then we shall all call for a unity government.
We call on the United Nations Security Council to be at the ready to protect Lebanon’s civil society in the event that Iran, Syria and their terrorist allies in Lebanon decide to attack and bring down the democratically elected Siniora government.
Sincerely yours,
Joseph P Baini
President
Australia
CC. UNSC Members
