UN force commander confers with Lebanese, Israelis on recent incidents

8 December 2009 – The military chief of United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon today discussed with senior Lebanese and Israeli military officials recent incidents in the south, where Israel fought a 34-day war with Hizbollah in 2006.
UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Commander Major General Claudio Graziano also reviewed the situation in the village of Ghajar, where Israel still occupies the northern part although it should have withdrawn in compliance with Security Council resolution 1701.

“We are hopeful that we will soon reach an understanding on the UNIFIL proposal that will facilitate Israel’s withdrawal from the northern part of the village of Ghajar,” he said afterwards.

Resolution 1701 expanded UNIFIL, which currently has nearly 13,000 military personnel, and called for an end to hostilities, respect for the so-called Blue Line separating the Israeli and Lebanese sides, disarming militias including Hizbollah, and an end to arms smuggling.

Hizbollah has not disarmed, and last month Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams said sporadic rocket launches into Israel, almost daily Israeli flights over Lebanon, the active maintenance of an arms depot by Hizbollah and the apparently Israeli surveillance equipment left on Lebanese territory raised the spectre of a potential escalation.

7 December 2009 – United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams met with Prime Minister Saad Hariri today, reassuring him once again

7 December 2009 – United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams met with Prime Minister Saad Hariri today, reassuring him once again of the world Organization’s readiness to lend assistance to the new unity Government in all fields through all its various agencies whenever requested.
The two men also discussed the situation in South Lebanon where UN peacekeepers are now deployed following Israel’s 34-day war with Hizbollah in 2006.

Mr. Williams told reporters afterwards that Israel still occupied the northern part of the village of Ghajar from which it should have withdrawn in compliance with Security Council resolution 1701, which called for a full cessation of hostilities and greatly increased the UN peacekeeping force in the conflict zone.

“It is very clear in resolution 1701 that Israel should withdraw from the northern part of Ghajar and I don’t need to remind you that resolution was adopted more than three years ago, now almost three and a half years ago,” he said. “The discussions are continuing and I hope soon they will move to a conclusion.”

Prosecutor of UN-backed tribunal meets Lebanese Justice Minister

3 December 2009 – The Prosecutor of the United Nations-backed tribunal set up to try the perpetrators of recent political killings in Lebanon, including the February 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, met today with the country’s Justice Minister.
Daniel Bellemare told Minister Ibrahim Najjar in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, of his eagerness to continue the excellent working relations between the Ministry and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, an independent body based in The Hague, Netherlands.

Mr. Bellemare also thanks Mr. Najjar for his crucial role in concluding and implementing the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Lebanese Government and the Office of the Prosecutor signed in June.

The Tribunal, which began its operations in March, was set up following a probe by an independent international commission after an earlier UN mission found that Lebanon’s own inquiry into the massive car bombing that killed Mr. Hariri and 22 others in 2005 was seriously flawed and that Syria was primarily responsible for the political tensions that preceded the attack.

The Prosecutor, who headed the independent probe, arrived in Lebanon yesterday for a seven-day visit, stressing his commitment to carry out his work with total independence.

The investigation “is making progress and proceeding at full pace,” he said after meeting with President Michel Sleiman yesterday.

Mr. Bellemare also thanked the leader for Lebanon’s continued support for the court, congratulated him on the formation of the new Government of national unity, and expressed “his deep appreciation for the valuable support and cooperation” of the Lebanese authorities.

“Prosecutor Bellemare stressed the commitment of the Tribunal to pursue its mandate in total independence, fairness, objectivity and professionalism, with resolve and determination, in order to meet the expectations of the victims and the Lebanese people by establishing the truth behind the assassinations that took place in the country and ensure that justice is done,” his office said in a news release.

“He emphasized that the process he is leading is purely evidence-driven and that the people of Lebanon deserve nothing less than an outcome that cannot be overcast with doubts about the credibility and the integrity of the justice rendered by the Tribunal.”

He stressed that the ultimate goal of the Tribunal, beyond finding out the truth and ensuring that justice is done, is to help Lebanon and its people in their continued efforts to further promote the rule of law and in their fight against impunity.

Lebanon: UN-backed probe into Hariri killings ‘proceeding at full pace’– prosecutor

2 December 2009 – The prosecutor of the United Nations-backed court set up to try suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and other killings has arrived in Lebanon on a seven-day visit, stressing his commitment to carry out his work with total independence.
The investigation “is making progress and proceeding at full pace,” Prosecutor Daniel A. Bellemare said after meeting with President Michel Sleiman today.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, an independent body, was set up in The Hague, Netherlands, following a probe by an independent international commission after an earlier UN mission found that Lebanon’s own inquiry into the massive car bombing that killed Mr. Hariri and 22 others in 2005 was seriously flawed and that Syria was primarily responsible for the political tensions that preceded the attack.

Mr. Bellemare, who headed the independent probe, thanked Mr. Sleiman for Lebanon’s continued support for the court, congratulated him on the formation of the new Government of national unity, and expressed “his deep appreciation for the valuable support and cooperation” of the Lebanese authorities.

“Prosecutor Bellemare stressed the commitment of the Tribunal to pursue its mandate in total independence, fairness, objectivity and professionalism, with resolve and determination, in order to meet the expectations of the victims and the Lebanese people by establishing the truth behind the assassinations that took place in the country and ensure that justice is done,” his office said in a news release.

“He emphasized that the process he is leading is purely evidence-driven and that the people of Lebanon deserve nothing less than an outcome that cannot be overcast with doubts about the credibility and the integrity of the justice rendered by the Tribunal.”

He stressed that the ultimate goal of the Tribunal, beyond finding out the truth and ensuring that justice is done, is to help Lebanon and its people in their continued efforts to further promote the rule of law and in their fight against impunity.