| UN envoy says disarming
Hezbollah not on 'action agenda' BEIRUT - UN
envoy Terje Roed-Larsen called Wednesday for elections to be held on time in Lebanon to
avoid instability but said the disarming of anti-Israeli guerrilla group Hezbollah was not
yet on the "action agenda."
"The most important instrument to safeguard the stability of the country in the
particular situation, it is now that elections take place as scheduled in a free and fair
manner," Roed-Larsen told reporters.
Legislative elections are due to be held by the end of May in Lebanon, which has been
thrown into political turmoil since the killing of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri two
months ago.
Roed-Larsen said the United Nations was also concerned about the spate of bombings in
Christian quarters of Beirut that have killed three people.
"But I am equally concerned with the emergence of vigilante groups" set up to
counter the attacks, he said.
"There is a very small step (from) forming vigilante groups to forming militias which
will be most unfortunate at the backdrop of the sad history of Lebanon... We are not
welcoming this development."
Roed-Larsen said he was "encouraged" by his talks with pro-Damascus loyalists
and opposition figures calling for an end to Syria's three-decade military presence in
Lebanon.
"I will now brief the secretary general in-depth about my mission in preparation for
his report to the Security Council," due by April 15 on progress on the
implementation of Resolution 1559.
The Security Council resolution, passed in September, calls for an end to foreign
interference in Lebanon as well as the disarming of all militias.
But Roed-Larsen said "that particular requirement in the resolution has not been on
the action agenda at this stage in my work as a special envoy for the implementation of
the resolution."
"We will continue our dialogue in this matter, I have primarily concentrated my
efforts at this stage for the first report due later this month on the issue of Lebanon's
sovereignty, the issue of the full withdrawal of the troops and military assets and the
full withdrawal of the intelligence apparatus."
Hezbollah was theoretically the only militia allowed to retain its arms after the end of
the country's devastating 1975-1990 civil war because it was considered a resistance
movement.
The Shiite Muslim fundamentalist group continues to lead attacks on the disputed Shebaa
Farms border area. The territory, seized by Israel from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war,
is claimed by Beirut with the approval of Damascus. |
