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Ban warns Lebanon against constitutional void
Hanan Awarekeh
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned Lebanese factions against rearming and conducting military training, and cautioned against a constitutional void that could lead to two rival governments. Just two days after a special session of Lebanon's parliament to elect a new president was postponed for the second time, Ban urged the Lebanese people to "rise to the occasion and turn a new page in their difficult history."
"There must not be a constitutional void at the level of the presidency, not two rivaling governments," he warned.
He also expressed dismay at the current crisis in a report on implementing a Security Council resolution calling for the disarming and disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias.
"Most political parties in Lebanon are apparently preparing for the possible deterioration of the situation," the U.N. chief said in his report to the Security Council on the implementation of UN resolution 1559.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned Lebanese factions against rearming and conducting military training, and cautioned against a constitutional void that could lead to two rival governments. Just two days after a special session of Lebanon's parliament to elect a new president was postponed for the second time, Ban urged the Lebanese people to "rise to the occasion and turn a new page in their difficult history."
"There must not be a constitutional void at the level of the presidency, not two rivaling governments," he warned.
He also expressed dismay at the current crisis in a report on implementing a Security Council resolution calling for the disarming and disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias.
"Most political parties in Lebanon are apparently preparing for the possible deterioration of the situation," the U.N. chief said in his report to the Security Council on the implementation of UN resolution 1559.
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Ban also called in his report for "the unequivocal cooperation of all relevant regional parties who have the ability to support such a process," citing specifically Syria and Iran.
Ban's report made it clear that "rearmament and military training directly contravenes" U.N. resolution 1559. He noted that since the text was adopted in 2004 "Lebanon has continued to suffer setbacks in its struggle to reassert, beyond dispute, its sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and political independence."
Ban described as "deeply disconcerting" information suggesting that Hezbollah "has rebuilt and increased its military capacity compared to prior to" its 34-day war with Israel in south Lebanon last year.
Calling on all parties, including Hezbollah, to commit to the disarmament of all militias in Lebanon, he restated his conviction "that the eventual disarmament of Hezbollah in the sense of the completion of its transformation into a solely political party" is of critical importance for the future of a fully sovereign Lebanon.