Allow me to congratulate
you, Mr. President on your election as President of
General Assembly at its sixty-second session. I wish
you every success. I would also like to offer my
gratitude to your predecessor, Sheikha Haya Al-Khalifa
for the outstanding job she has performed as the first
Arab woman to ever preside over this austere body.
Finally, I would like to thank His Excellency
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for all his efforts on
behalf of world peace and security.
A year ago, I spoke from this podium about
Israel’s brutalities against my country and its atrocious
33-day war. I had hoped then that those tragic events
that we had bitterly lived and suffered through in
Lebanon would pave the way for activating the Middle
East process based on the Arab Peace Initiative that
was endorsed at the Beirut Arab Summit in 2002.
Regrettably, nothing thrives in our region more
than violence and grudges, and nothing deafens more
than the sound of war, while all calls to stimulate the
peace process find no response. It is against that
gloomy background and with a mix of anticipation and
reservation that we await the results of the Middle East
peace conference that is to be held in the near future.
In that respect, I would like to reaffirm certain realities
that cannot be ignored in any settlement, because I
believe that unless we learn from our past mistakes, we
will not be able to take full advantage of present
opportunities.
First, for any settlement to the Middle East crisis
to succeed, it must be lasting, just and global.
Secondly, a viable solution must call for the
implementation of all United Nations resolutions that
pertain to the withdrawal of Israel from all occupied
Arab territories. Thirdly, paramount to all Arab rights
is the right of return of the Palestinian refugees in
accordance with resolution 194 (III) and the rejection
of all calls for their resettlement in their temporary host
countries.
The resettlement of the Palestinians is contrary to
the expressed will of world legitimacy as embodied in
the General Assembly. Moreover, and more specifically
in Lebanon, it would dangerously alter the delicate
balance of Lebanon’s existence as a nation based on
diversity and the coexistence of a large number of its
sects, which have lived side by side in harmony and
enjoyed mutual respect.
In this regard, Lebanon fully rejects efforts to
empty the Beirut Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 of its
contents, namely by excluding the right of return for
Palestinians. The Initiative, we believe, contains a
realistic and global solution to the Middle East
conflict, and its implementation could bring about
stability and security for all parties.
A year ago, the Security Council adopted resolution
1701 (2006), which put an end to Israel’s aggression
against Lebanon. We were quick to abide by that
resolution. Our armed forces have closely cooperated
with the units of the United Nations Interim Force in
Lebanon, as stipulated in their mission statements and as
recounted in the reports of the Secretary-General on the
implementation of resolution 1701 (2006).
Today, as I stand here again to reiterate
Lebanon’s commitment to implementing that
resolution, I wonder why we are still in the phase of
the cessation of hostilities and have not yet moved into
the ceasefire phase, as called for in the resolution. That
matter remains suspect to many Lebanese, especially
since Israel continues, up to this very moment, to
violate our land, sea and skies. So far, there have been
over 500 breaches since the adoption of the resolution.
I call upon the world community to remain vigilant
regarding any malicious intentions harboured by Israel
against Lebanon, as that could lead to another
conflagration in the region.
Despite the fact that the Lebanese recall with
pain, agony and distress last year’s destructive and
hostile war against their country, they are proud of
their national resistance and their army, who were able
to jointly claim a historic victory over one of the
world’s strongest military arsenals, which had violated
all international and ethical norms and wanted to
terminate Lebanon’s role as a nation characterized by
coexistence among all its religious sects.
With regard to securing the full implementation
of resolution 1701 (2006), we in Lebanon believe that
that will only happen when our nation regains its
occupied Sheba’a farms, the Kfar Shouba Hills and
some northern parts of the village of Ghajar; when we
secure the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli
jails; when Lebanon’s legitimate rights to its water
resources are restored; and when Lebanon is given
maps of the landmines and the sites of cluster bombs.
In this regard, we welcome efforts made by the
United Nations in terms of studying documents and
maps related to the Sheba’a farms, and we express our
relief over the progress made so far in verifying their
Lebanese identity. We look forward to practical
measures that would end Israeli occupation and hand
over those territories and water rights to Lebanon.
The United Nations has always shown Lebanon
special concern, and such concern is clearly manifested
in all United Nations resolutions on Lebanon. The
Lebanese, who reiterate their commitment to the
implementation of those resolutions, wish to see those
resolutions implemented in a fair manner and on a real
and constant basis. As you know by now, the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon, which was established to try the
assassins of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, had
been a controversial issue with regard to the
circumstances of its establishment. We referred to that
in detail in our letters to the Secretary-General and
asked that copies be handed over to all Security
Council Member States and other copies be kept as
reference documents at the United Nations.
We did this in the belief that international justice
should be reinforced. Since the very first moment of
the heinous crime of the assassination of former Prime
Minister Hariri, we have attempted to seek the whole
truth, and I was probably the first to ask the then
Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, to set up an impartial
international investigation commission.
I believe the best way now to enable all to
overcome the controversy caused by the international
tribunal would be to hold an impartial, transparent and
just hearing that seeks to determine the whole truth.
Only then would the Lebanese be assured that the
tribunal is just.
Lebanon is about to hold democratic presidential
elections in which the Lebanese will make their choice
in a free and responsible manner. Unfortunately, there
have been attempts by international parties to intervene
in Lebanon’s domestic affairs in a way that contradicts
international norms. Such interference could instigate
hatred and increase tensions on the Lebanese scene,
which might have negative repercussions not only on
upcoming presidential elections but also on the safety
of the Lebanese.
Lebanon welcomes all foreign assistance and
pays tribute to those countries that have stood by it in
the wake of last July’s destructive Israeli war. Lebanon
hopes, however, that any foreign assistance to Lebanon
is made to all the Lebanese people, without any
discrimination, in order to stop possible divisions
among them. Foreign aid to Lebanon should be made
as a gesture of support to the restoration of Lebanon’s
sovereignty and the unity of the Lebanese people.
That is why we urge the international community,
through its commitment to the Charter of the United
Nations, to stop foreign intervention in the domestic
affairs of Member States. Consecutive events in
Lebanon have shown that the Lebanese are capable of
making their own decisions and their own choices and
can live side by side and interact peacefully within
institutional framework established by their civic
bodies and protected by their security institutions,
namely their national army.
Since we are referring to the national army, we
should highlight the heroic confrontations of the army
with an extremely dangerous terrorist organization in
the past three months, an organization equipped with
updated weapons and believing in destructive
objectives that targeted Lebanon and many other States
in the region. The costly price paid by our national
army in terms of human losses and injuries aimed at
reinstating Lebanon’s national goals of confronting and
fighting terrorism. Lebanon has and will always be a
nation that supports peace and justice and promotes
democratic values. However, to enable Lebanon to
confront and curb terrorism, real assistance should be
given to its national army in order to accomplish its
national and security goals.
In a world that witnesses the daily bloodshed
known as “the conflict of civilizations”, and in a world
that is sharply and deeply divided between East and
West, I find myself addressing the international
community as a man of experience. From here, I urge
the world community not to allow Lebanon to fall,
because the falling apart of Lebanon would mean a
collapse of moderation and a victory for those who
favour the use of force. Lebanon remains a unique
message to the world, a country where religions and
cultures interact peacefully, so that we can live
together, as noted by His Holiness the late Pope John
Paul II.
As a citizen of Lebanon, a small country that has
survived against all odds, I urge you not to retreat in
the face of adversity and to support what is right and
just. A last glimpse of a burning Middle East, where
the flames devour the meek and the mighty, should
allow you to reflect upon the choices ahead, lest it
become too late.