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Crisis in the Middle East

Aired July 20, 2006 - 11:28   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Now live to the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is addressing the Security Council.
Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: Much of the infrastructure in Beirut and around the country has been destroyed. Lebanon remains under an Israeli military blockade imposed by sea and air.

The Israeli people, who had hoped that Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, certified by this council six years ago, would bring security along the northern border, find themselves under constant Hezbollah rocket attacks which every day reach further into Israeli territory.

To date, 28 Israelis have been killed and over 200 wounded.

On the humanitarian front, conditions continue to deteriorate. Israeli operations have made it impossible for U.N. agencies and their humanitarian partners to reach almost any part of southern Lebanon, even to assess the needs, let alone to deliver the actual assistance needed.

Lack of access and in situ assessments make it difficult to determine the exact figures of people in need.

Based on preliminary information provided by UNIFIL, the national Lebanese Red Cross and the Lebanese government, U.N. agencies are currently working on the basis of a combined total of up to 500,000 people affected, comprising both internally displaced and those under siege.

This includes nationals from some 20 foreign countries.

According to extrapolations of the Lebanese minister of interior, these figures could likely double.

In addition, the Syrian authorities report that more than 140,000 people have now crossed into Syria, the majority being nationals of Lebanon, Syria and other Arab countries.

Mr. President, since the fighting began, I have been in constant touch with regional and world leaders, both by telephone and during the G-8 summit in St. Petersburg, and my visit to Brussels. The G-8 issued an important statement which you have seen. But I have repeatedly stressed what is most urgently needed is an immediate cessation of hostilities for three vital reasons: first, to prevent further loss of innocent life and the infliction of further suffering; second, to allow full humanitarian access to those in need; and third, to give diplomacy a chance to work out a practical package of actions that would provide a lasting solution to the current crisis.

I repeat: Hostilities must stop. But while they continue, it is imperative to establish safe corridors for humanitarian workers and relief supplies to reach the civilian population.

The humanitarian task facing us is massive, and it must be funded urgently. As early as next week, I hope to issue a U.N. flash appeal covering an initial response period of three to six months.

Because of the continued fighting, restrictions imposed by Israel and the destruction of many roads, the U.N. interim force in Lebanon has no freedom of movement and is unable to even provide humanitarian escorts for displaced persons.

Its personnel remain confined to the Naqoura headquarters and their positions in the area of operations.

One UNIFIL staff member and his wife have been missing in Tyre since Monday, when the building they lived in was hit by an Israeli air strike and collapsed.

We are gravely concerned about their fate, since the approach road to Tyre is now impassable and UNIFIL engineers have been unable to reach the area.

UNIFIL now urgently needs a window, a window of time in which to bring in stocks of food, water and fuel from Israel for its own personnel.

If UNIFIL is to remain operational, it will also need to distribute fuel supplies to its positions within the next 24 hours.

We are not going to desert the people of Lebanon in their hour of need. But we have to proceed with caution.

As we come to their aid, our Department of Safety and Security has been coordinating efforts to ensure the safety of staff in the affected areas from all parts of the U.N. system and their dependents. Most nonessential staff and dependents have been moved outside the country. Meanwhile, we are bringing in additional humanitarian experts.

Mr. President, let me be frank with the council. The mission's assessment is that there are serious obstacles to reaching a cease- fire or even to diminishing the violence quickly.

Only on 13 July, I dispatched an urgent mission to the region, led by my special adviser, Vijay Nambiar, accompanied by Terje Larsen and Alvaro de Soto, whom you know well. I sent them to urge all parties to show restraint, to explore ways of defusing the crisis.

Mr. Nambiar and his colleagues returned to New York last night, and they are here now with me. I am very grateful to the governments of Spain and the United kingdom for enabling them to cover so much ground in such a short time.

Hezbollah's provocative attack on 12 July was the trigger of this crisis. It is clear that the Lebanese government had no advanced knowledge of this attack.

Whatever other agendas they may serve, Hezbollah's actions, which it portrays as defending Palestinian and Lebanese interests, in fact do neither. On the contrary, they hold an entire nation hostage, set back prospects for negotiation of a comprehensive Middle East peace.

I have already condemned Hezbollah's attacks on Israel and acknowledged Israel's right to defend itself under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter. I do so again today.

I also condemn Hezbollah's reckless disregard for the wishes of the elected government of Lebanon and for the interests of the Lebanese people and the wider region.

Israel has confirmed that its operation in Lebanon has wider, more far-reaching goals than the return of its captured soldiers, and that its aim is to end the threat posed by Hezbollah.

The mission was informed that the operation is not yet approaching the achievement of this objective. Israel states that it has no quarrel with the government or the people of Lebanon, and that it is taking extreme precautions to avoid harm to them.

Yet a number of its actions have hurt and killed Lebanese civilians and military personnel and caused great damage to infrastructure.

While Hezbollah's actions are deplorable and, as I've said, Israel has a right to defend itself, the excessive use of force is to be condemned.

But while Israel has stated its military objective is to hit Hezbollah's infrastructure and physical strength, it has, in the words of the Lebanese prime minister, torn the country to shreds.

As Prime Minister Siniora also said yesterday, no government can survive on the ruins of the nation.

The mission reports many of his interlocutors in the region as noting that whatever damage Israel's operation may be doing to Hezbollah's military capabilities, they are doing little or nothing to decrease popular support for Hezbollah in Lebanon or the region, but are doing a great deal to weaken the government of Lebanon.

In short, the very government which Israel wants to extend its control throughout the territory has itself become a hostage to the crisis. It's less able than ever to deploy its forces in the areas necessary to control Hezbollah, and is appealing to the international community for immediate humanitarian cease-fire.

Moreover, any analogy -- any analogy -- with Afghanistan under the Taliban is wholly misleading. Mr. Siniora's government clearly aspires to democratic values. It deserves and must receive all possible support from the international community.

Mr. President, despite our assessment that a full cease-fire remains difficult to achieve at this time, I remain of the view that the international community must make its position clear on the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a far greater and more credible effort by Israel to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure while the conditions for such a cessation are urgently developed.

Both the deliberate targeting by Hezbollah of Israeli population centers with hundreds of indiscriminate weapons and Israel's disproportionate use of force and collective punishment of the Lebanese people must stop.

The abducted soldiers must be released as soon as possible. And in any event, the International Committee of the Red Cross must be granted immediate access to them.

The government of Israel must allow humanitarian agencies access to civilians.

And the democratically elected government of Lebanon must be urgently supported in this hour of crisis.

In addition to and in parallel with these urgent steps, we need to continue diplomatic efforts to develop in the shortest possible time a political framework which can be implemented as soon as hostilities cease.

Most people in the region rightly reject a simple return to the status quo ante since any truce based on such a limited outcome could not be expected to last.

The mission has suggested elements to me which in my opinion must form the political basis of any lasting cease-fire and on which they have conducted consultations with the leaders of Lebanon and Israel. I and my advisers will continue to work with these elements in dialogue with the parties and regional and international partners.

The elements include the following,

The captured Israeli soldiers must be transferred to the legitimate Lebanese authorities under the auspices of the ICRC with a view to their repatriation to Israel and a cease-fire.

On the Lebanese side of the Blue Line, an expanded peacekeeping force would help stabilize the situation, working with the Lebanese government to help strengthen its army and deployed fully throughout the area.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese government would fully implement Security Council Resolution 1559 and 1680 to establish Lebanese sovereignty and control.

The prime minister of Lebanon would unequivocally confirm to the secretary general and the Security Council that the government of Lebanon will respect the Blue Line in its entirety until agreement on Lebanon's final international boundaries is reached.

A donor conference would be established with immediate effect -- sorry, a donor framework -- a donor framework would be established with immediate effect to secure funding for an urgent package of aid, reconstruction and development of Lebanon.

A mechanism would be established composed of key regional and international actors to monitor and guarantee the implementation of all aspects of the agreements.

An international conference should be organized with broad Lebanese and international participation to develop precise time lines for a speedy and full implementation of the Taif Agreement and further measures needed for Lebanon to comply with its international obligations under Security Council Resolution 1559 and 1680.

The conference would also endorse a delineation of Lebanon's international borders, including a final resolution on all disputed areas, especially the Shebaa Farms.

My letter to the Prime Minister Siniora of 5 June, 2006, covers these issues.

The planning and implementation of these elements should as far as possible be done in parallel -- I repeat, in parallel.

I should stress that these ideas would obviously require further elaboration and reworking, in close dialogue with all concerned.

This council would need to consider incorporating elements of such a package in their resolution.

Meanwhile, the conditions for peacekeeping clearly do not exist. The Security Council will need to decide what to do about UNIFIL, UNIFIL whose mandate expires on the 31st of July.

In my view, the continuation of UNIFIL in its current configuration and with its current mandate is not tenable.

Should it be withdrawn? Should it be strengthened? Should it be replaced with something else altogether?

The context is radically different from that of a few weeks ago.

Mr. President, we also need a peace track for Gaza, despite the issues involved, as much as we do for Lebanon.

I am gravely concerned about Gaza. Palestinians there are suffering deeply, with well over 100, many of them civilians, killed in the last month alone. After the destruction by Israel of the Gaza power plant, more than a million people are without electricity for most of the day and night.

Israelis in the south continue to endure Qassam rockets, though fortunately without casualties in the past month.

I call for an immediate cessation of indiscriminate and disproportionate violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a reopening of closed crossing points without which Gaza will continue to be sucked into a downward spiral of suffering and chaos and the region further inflamed.

In my delegation's meetings with President Abbas, he underscored his readiness to engage in a proper dialogue with the government of Israel.

It is vital that the regional crisis not be allowed to dampen the hopes that had been emerging on this call (ph).

President Abbas' efforts to move the Palestinian side toward a national unity government that addresses the quartet's principles must be fully supported.

Israel needs to refrain from unilateral acts that prejudice final status issues and agree to negotiate in the peace process.

If the violence is to end and dialogue and engagement to resume, the international community must also play its part and address the Israeli-Palestinian issue boldly and creatively. This would also help remove the pretext used by extremists throughout the region, including in Lebanon.

As the G-8 summit concluded and as Arab leaders stressed to the mission, the need to address a root cause of the region's problems -- the absence of comprehensive Middle East peace -- is clear. We really need to focus on the search for a comprehensive Middle East peace.

Mr. President, our hearts and minds must be with the civilians in Lebanon, Israel and Palestine who are enduring daily violence and who are looking to the United Nations, as are many in the wider region, to find a solution to the current crisis.

I recognize that there are differences of approach within this council, but today let us remember what unites us: our compassion for the victims and for all who have lost loved ones to whom we must all express our deepest condolences and our common desire to bring about a stable, long-term peace between Israel and its neighbors.

That requires the international community, through this council, to speak with one voice in the coming days.

I invite the council to consider the parallel implementation of the package of concrete actions I have just presented. The support of the international community in the political security and financial areas would be critical for the success of the entire process. It is my firm belief that only the simultaneous implementation of the different elements of this package will allow for the transformation of any cessation of hostilities into a durable cease- fire.

When this is achieved, the international community will need to develop a framework for the final delineation of the borders of Lebanon and a decisive revival of the Middle East peace process.

I urge the council -- I urge the council -- to take firm action toward ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East region as mandated by the charter of the United Nations.

Thank you, Mr. President.

KAGAN: Right now, though, we're going to focus on what's happening with the civilians trying to get out of Lebanon. Some have made it out of the country, but not quite home. I'll have a chance to talk with one of the thousands waiting to evacuate the region just ahead.

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AMB. JOHN R. BOLTON, U.S. PERMANENT REP. TO THE U.N.: ... and spare the peoples of Israel and Lebanon, in particular, from the threat of terrorism. So we'll be considering the secretary general's ideas and the more detailed report of the team that we expect here, and as I said to you at the beginning of the week, now that we've had this briefing, consider what steps might come next.

I'll just take a couple of questions, because I do have to go.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) accept the cease-fire, to encourage Israel for the cease-fire?

BOLTON: As we've said, repeatedly, what we seek is a long-term cessation of hostilities that's part of a comprehensive change in the region and part of a real foundation for peace. But still, no one has explained how you conduct a cease-fire with a group of terrorists.

QUESTION: Mr. Ambassador, that you seek such a (inaudible) blueprint for peace in Lebanon, are you on board with the first plans that you seek...

BOLTON: I think that we have said what our judgment is in the statement of the G-8 leaders from St. Petersburg. And to the extent the secretary general's ideas and those of his team are consistent with it, I think that's a basis on which to proceed.

But obviously, this is something we want to consider fully. We want to consider fully what he has to say; we want to consider fully what his team recommends and what the reaction of the other council members will be.

So as Secretary Rice prepares for travel to the region, I think we'll factor all of that into account.

QUESTION: Ambassador, do you support the parallel approach that was advanced (ph) by the secretary general?

BOLTON: I'd like to understand better what in parallel means. A lot of this really does depend on sequence. And when particular actions become appropriate depend on the political and military context in which you are operating.

So as I say, this would require further understanding, really, of what he means, which I hope to ask him here shortly.

QUESTION: Mr. Ambassador, do you support the suggestion by the secretary general for Hezbollah to deliver the soldiers to the custody of the Lebanese government under the supervision of the International Red Cross?

BOLTON: I think that's certainly one possible way to proceed. I think the critical element there, of course, is that Hezbollah has to give these kidnapped victims up. That's an absolutely precondition.

And the precise mechanism -- I think a number of ways could be worked out. That could be one of them.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) Is that an acceptable precondition for a cease-fire, at least?

BOLTON: I think what we're talking about when we refer to cessation of hostilities is a cessation that will take place as part of a comprehensive solution that lays a real foundation for peace. It is just not appropriate to talk about a cease-fire as if that is the alpha and the omega of the situation.

And in fact, since the secretary general himself said we want to have a fundamental transformation, the last thing you want to do is fall back into business as usual.

And I'll just take one more here.

QUESTION: Ambassador, don't you already, then, have an impasse here? If this concrete plan is contingent on the cessation first, cessation of hostilities, then isn't there already an impasse with the U.S. in the council?

BOLTON: I don't think so at all. I think that's one of the reasons why we're going to have these discussions in a few minutes. I think it's important to get the full basis of the report of the secretary general's mission and hear what others have to say, which I will now go and do, with your permission.

Thank you.

KAGAN: And with that, the U.S. ambassador John Bolton wrapping up that question session, question-answer session. That followed remarks that came from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan that the secretary-general calling for a cease-fire, saying it needs to be immediate in the Mideast, that it would be difficult, but necessary.

The U.S. ambassador not committing to that completely, saying that you just can't make that as a simple requirement, that there needs to be more change in the region. He also did mention the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Condoleezza Rice who is headed to New York and then on to the region.

Let's go ahead and look at live pictures. These are new pictures we're getting in from Lebanon, from Tyre (ph). It looks like these are fresh strikes that would have taken place. And it looks like, as we listen in, that strikes are actually happening as we go. The secretary general was referring to this, saying that the innocent victims in all of this are the civilians.

While we look at these pictures, we're also going to listen in. The Lebanese ambassador to the United Nations is now at the microphone. So let's keep these pictures up, but also listen in to the Lebanese ambassador.

AMBASSADOR DAN GILLERMAN, ISRAELI PERMANENT REP. TO THE U.N.: Good afternoon.

We've just listened to the report of the secretary general, and I must say that I'm more disturbed by what was not said than by what was said. I think there were several key words missing in that report.

One word which was curiously totally missing from that report was the word "terror." The word "terror" was not mentioned once in the secretary general's report.

Terror is the root cause of what is happening in Lebanon today. Terror has taken that country hostage and made it a victim and made its own people the victims of terror. Without addressing terror, the whole question could not be addressed.

Another word we did not hear was "Iran," which is the main perpetrator, harborer, financier and initiator of terror and of which the Hezbollah, which was mentioned once, is only the proxy.

And another word which was not mentioned was "Syria," a country which was supposed to be visited by the secretary general's delegation, but blackmailed the United Nations into saying that they would not accept Mr. Terje Roed-Larsen. The United Nations nearly succumbed to that blackmail, but at the last minute, did not do so.

The three key elements of this crisis, terror, Iran and Syria, were not addressed. And anybody who asks for cessation of hostilities must first address the core and the root cause of why these hostilities started in the first place, who started them. And without addressing terror, there will be no cessation of hostilities.

So the first thing that must be addressed is cessation of terror, before we even talk about cessation of hostilities. We will continue to do what we are continuing in Lebanon, not just to protect Israel and not just to bring our boys home, but to make sure that this cancerous growth in the heart of Lebanon is excised.

When you operate on a cancerous growth, you do not stop in the middle, sew the patient up and tell him, "Keep living with that growth until it kills you." You make sure it's totally removed.

Thank you.

QUESTION: Mr. Ambassador, how, in good conscience -- I mean, accepting what you're saying that these are not (inaudible) concerns, but how in any good conscience -- with the pleas of the Lebanese ambassador, literally begging Israel to stop this bombing so that innocent civilians, how in good conscience can you say that these are not mentioned, Israel will not stop bombing? Can you please tell me this?

GILLERMAN: You have to ask yourself why is Israel doing it.

Israel left Lebanon six years ago, completely. The United Nations, in Resolution 45 and following resolutions, recognized the fact that Israel withdrew from the whole of Lebanon. This is something which the United Nations and its Security Council have declared time and time again.

Israel was attacked by Lebanon in an act of war and did what any democracy would do, and that is try to retrieve its boys, its soldiers, and also stop the shelling of its towns and villages.

Why do you only address the Israeli bombings in Lebanon and not the shelling of our cities? Why don't you talk about the fact that those ruthless indiscriminate animals yesterday targeted the holiest city -- one of the holiest places to Christianity -- Nazareth, in St. Paul Street, killing two little children, aged 3 and 9?

These are the kind of people we are dealing with. And until we root them out, until they are disarmed, there will not be peace in this region of our...

QUESTION: Mr. Ambassador, what do you say to Kofi Annan's suggestions that, as a starting point, the Hezbollah release the two Israeli soldiers to the Lebanese government? Is that basis for a cease-fire, at least to stop the killing of civilians on both sides, Israeli and Lebanese side, and give diplomacy a time and space to succeed?

GILLERMAN: The release of our boys is our first condition, and it must be met. Diplomacy can play a part only after terror has been taken care of. If diplomacy steps in and if there's a cease-fire while this cesspool continues to fester, we will leave the Hezbollah with the capability to do time and time again what they have done this time.

And what they have done is not only terrorize Israel, it has terrorized Lebanon, it has terrorized the region. And the Hezbollah, together with the Hamas, Iran and Syria, are the axis of terror which is today threatening the whole civilized world.

That is why I felt that something very, very important was missing from the statement we just heard.

QUESTION: Ambassador Gillerman, did you respond yesterday? The U.N. human rights commissioner, Louse Arbour, raised the prospect of possible war crime prosecutions. She didn't say Israel, but it was implicit that it was Israel and Hezbollah might be subject to this.

Have they contacted you directly about this and raised this issue? And can you give us your response? And is there a court that would even have jurisdiction to, sort of...

GILLERMAN: I did not hear that statement.

What is happening in the region is a war which was imposed on us, which we retaliated to, which we did not seek, which the international community recognizes we only did in self-defense.

The secretary general himself recognized Israel's right for self- defense. So I think that kind of statement is totally irrelevant under these circumstances.

QUESTION: There is some talk that Israel would ask that the Lebanese army deploy alongside any further peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon. Is that the case? Would you want that to be alongside a U.N. force?

GILLERMAN: We very much would like to see the Lebanese army deployed all along Lebanon. We would like to see the Lebanese government heed the demands of the international community as voiced in Resolutions 1559 and 1680 demanding that it extend its rule and sovereignty over the whole of Lebanon and deploy its forces in southern Lebanon.

This is something we've asked all along. Had this been done before, maybe this present crisis could have been avoided.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) this goal of rooting out terror by military means alone?

GILLERMAN: We are sure that at a certain point diplomacy will have to play a part and a political solution will have to be found. But before that you have to bring those terrorists to a point where they're incapable of continuing to terrorize us and the whole region.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

GILLERMAN: It will take as long as it will take.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) struggling in the north of Iraq, and USA and Israel supporting all the Kurdish terrorists. (OFF-MIKE) Turkey lost 30,000 people. And then now the government says, you know, "If they don't take any measure on that, we will do the same thing Israel does."

What do you know about that?

GILLERMAN: You know, we have enough problems ourselves without worrying about other people's problems.

QUESTION: Mr. Ambassador, you talked about Iran being a sponsor of terror, and yet according to the Swiss Embassy and documents that I've gotten from Iran, they claim that in 2003 they approached the U.S. and offered to disarm Hezbollah and to stop support of Hamas in the Palestinian territories.

I'm wondering why this was not acted on, or if this could be a basis for a cease-fire to stop the war-making in Lebanon.

GILLERMAN: I don't know where this information comes from.

All we know is that Iran is funding the Hezbollah to the sum of $100 million a year. Some of the long-range rockets and cruise missiles which Hezbollah have deployed are made or modified in Iran; they're shipped by Syria.

Iran is a threat to the whole international community and is one of the main agitators and causes of terror in our region and in other parts of the world.

QUESTION: Ambassador, you keep on saying "as long as it takes," but do you have an idea? Everybody is saying that this (inaudible) should stop now, but do you have a timeline as to when you will stop bombing Lebanon?

GILLERMAN: We will do whatever is necessary by whichever means are necessary in order to incapacitate the Hezbollah and making it unable to terrorize us and Lebanon.

We will do whatever is necessary. We have no timeline. We hope it won't take very long, because it should...

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) Lebanon.

GILLERMAN: We have no intention of invading Lebanon. We have no intention of occupying Lebanon. We left Lebanon over six years ago with no intention of going back, and we have no intention of doing it in the future.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much.

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