ITALY: World diplomats at Lebanon crisis talks in Rome call for an urgent and lasting ceasefire

Lebanon crisis talks on Wednesday (July 26) ended with no firm plan to stop the fighting between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas, disappointing Arab and U.N. hopes for an immediate ceasefire. Foreign ministers from the United States, Middle East and Europe agreed in Rome on the need for an international military force with a U.N. mandate to secure the border between Lebanon and Israel where fighting has killed hundreds of people. Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said at a closing news conference, "The Rome conference participants expressed their determination to work immediately to reach with the utmost urgency a ceasefire to put an end to the current violence and hostilities. The ceasefire must be lasting, permanent and sustainable. The Rome conference feels that the fundamental conditions for lasting security in Lebanon is the government's full ability to exercise its authority over all its territory." However, the diplomats took no concrete steps to halt the fighting, and without the participation of key nations including Israel, divisions persisted over how best to bring peace. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said, "It is important that we work with the countries of the region to find a solution and that should also include Iran and Syria. It is important that we get early and quick contributions for the international force that will eventually be sent to the region to help stabilise southern Lebanon to allow Lebanon, the government of Lebanon, time and space to prepare its own troops, and be able to extend its authority throughout the country. And to bring under the governmental authority all the weapons and guns in the country, as it was said in a location not too far away -- one gun, one authority." Arab leaders, Italy and the United Nations had hoped the conference would call for an immediate ceasefire without preconditions between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas. Diplomats said there was prolonged debate on use of the word "immediate". U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had insisted no durable truce could be sought until conditions were right. "We are all agreed that we want most urgently to end the violence on a basis that this time will be sustainable. Because unfortunately this is a region that has had too many broken ceasefires, too many spasms of violence followed by other spasms of violence. And we do have a way forward, we know that the international community made a pledge to the people of Lebanon when we passed resolution 1559 that we would help the government of Lebanon to establish its authority fully within its country as a sovereign state without the interference of its neighbours and as a state that could fully exercise its control throughout its territory and that would have complete control over any means of violence, in other words that here would not be militias," Rice said. In her speech Rice praised Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who said at the news conference Lebanon needs humanitarian assistance and an immediate ceasefire. "We need, wanted on the one hand to ask the participants to provide the humanitarian relief assistance, which is important and to provide all other assistance in this respect. But what's more we wanted a ceasefire, an immediate ceasefire, I think this matter was well discussed, quite amply, in the discussion. We made some progress in terms of handling all the issues, but that was our expectation. I think there is a lot to be done in the coming period, that we have to work together in order to arrive at ceasefire, that can really protect Lebanon, that can really arrange for Lebanon to get back its territory and that would allow the Lebanese government to prevail all over Lebanon and where by no weapons in Lebanon outside the legitimate authority," Siniora said. The Rome conference held a minute's silence for the victims of the 15-day-old conflict between Israel and Hizbollah, which has killed 418 people in Lebanon and 42 Israelis. Four U.N. observers also died in an Israeli air strike on Tuesday (July 25). Annan said that he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about the incident. "I had the chance to talk to the prime minister of Israel this morning, he definitely believes that it (the death of four U.N. observers) was a mistake, he has undertaken to investigate it, I have suggested we do a joint investigation. And he has expressed his deep sorrow at what happened. And we accept that. But you need to look at the events of yesterday. The shelling of the U.N. position which was long established and clearly marked started early in the morning and went on till after seven p.m. when we lost contact. Our general and the troops, the people on the ground were in touch with the Israeli army, tried warning them, 'please be careful, we have positions here, don't harm our people'. And many calls went out until this happened. You can imagine the anguish of the soldiers and the men and women, unarmed military observers who were down there in the service of peace. And as I said we await their investigations, our investigation and I am grateful for the prime minister what he has said and we accept it." Hizbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers on July 12 sparked the Israel bombings, one of which killed four U.N. observers on Tuesday in what Annan called an "apparently deliberate" attack -- a charge dismissed by Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he wanted to stop the fighting as fast as possible -- but only once it gets "results" in the fight against Hizbollah.

ITN Source | July 27, 2006

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