Siniora takes on Hizbullah

AT LAST!!! WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?

In an emotional address to the Lebanese people, PM Fouad Siniora declared Lebanon a disaster area, and called for 3 things:

1- An immediate cease fire brokered by the UN

2- The Lebanese state to extend its control over all lebanese territories with UN help. He vowed that Lebanese will additionally abide by the 1949 armstice agreement with Israel.

3- Called on Lebanon's friends to send humanitarian aid and economic assistance to Lebanon

Siniora condemned the unjustified Israeli aggression on Lebanon and held Israel responsible for the humanitarian catastrophy. Most importantly, he said the  "Lebanese state will not rise if it is the last to know."  He reiterated that he did not condone Hizbullah's operation (he did not call Hizbullah resistance).  He said "only the state has the right to make war decisions."

With this, Lebanon's prime minister has officially pulled the plug on Hizbullah. Yet his government is weak, which is why he asked for UN help.

Who else could Lebanon turn to? The first step was taken. Hizbullah is illegal in the eyes of the Lebanese cabinet. Next: UN must step in to help the Lebanese government, weakened after decades of Syrian hegemony, to take the country back.

Siniora ended his speech with tears and a promise to all of us that Lebanon will "remain." 

UPDATE. Israel has rejected Siniora's call for a cease fire, according to LBC. 

UPDATE 2. I don't know what LBC's source was, but AP has the Israeli reaction.

"It's an excellent declaration but he doesn't need our permission... We have to see what they do and not what they say," Vice Premier Shimon Peres told Israel's Channel 2 TV. He said Lebanon has to prove it is serious by deploying troops on the southern border.

"A foreign body (Hezbollah) has entered the area and it's your job to get them out of there," he said.

The AP story carries a better translation of the Siniora address.

"We call for working to extend the state's authority over all its territories in south Lebanon, in cooperation with the United Nations, and working to recover all Lebanese territories and exercising full sovereignty of the state over those territories," Saniora said in a televised address to the nation.

His voice cracking with emotion, Saniora criticized Hezbollah without naming the group, saying Lebanon "cannot rise and get back on its feet if its government is the last to know."

"The government alone has the legitimate right to decide on matters of peace and war because it represents the will of the Lebanese people," he said.

Saniora called for the United Nations to intervene to stop bloody cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in south Lebanon.

"We call for an immediate and comprehensive cease-fire under United Nations auspices," he said.

Update. The Daily Star has the text of the statement. Here are more excerpts.

Lebanon cannot grow and develop if the government is the last to know and yet the first to pay the price. The government alone can make the decision of taking this country to war and peace because it represents the will of the Lebanese. United, we face the attack; and we will remain united through the state and its constitutional institutions.

Accordingly, we urge an immediate cease-fire under the auspices of the United Nations, which would be able, in cooperation with sisterly Arab countries and the Lebanese government, to resolve all the problems that caused the latest clashes.

Secondly, we call for the establishment of the government's sovereignty in all Lebanese territory in cooperation with the UN ... and adherence to the Truce Agreement signed in 1949 and the Taif Accord.

Third, Lebanon urges its brothers and friends in the world to immediately help the Lebanese by either pressuring Israel to stop its attacks or providing humanitarian aid.

Comments

[The Perpetual Refugee]

Abu Kais,

Saniora's speech made me tear up.

We are United!!!! We are One!!! We are Lebanese!!! And we will always stand up. We will never kneel.

God bless Lebanon!

[Hassan]

Hey perpetual refugee,
I took up your call. We will never kneel.

[Jos]

PM Seniora made me cry tonight.He is a real stateman.We are all united to SAVE LEBANON.

[jgc]

Had the Lebanese government done #2, a decade ago, or even 2 years ago, the country wouldn't be in the mess it is. Saniora's words may make you feel as one, but until you can demonstrate control over Hezbollah the words are nothing. His nice words aren't keeping Hezbollah from making war decisions for the whole country. Hezbollah dominates the discourse, you ought to be thanking Israel for fighting them and weakening them, and you ought to be joining the fight by taking up arms against HA. Saniora's speech does nothing to keep Lebanon from attacking Israel... Yes, Lebanon--- Hezbollah IS Lebanon, at least the dominant portion of Lebanon.

As long as Hezbollah is part of the government and operating from Lebanese sovereign territory, they will put the whole country in peril. When will you learn? When will you learn that tribal and racist choices are keeping you from prospering? When will you take responsibility for your own actions and stop blaming the US and Israel. YOU have made a mess of the country by choosing Arafat and Assad, and Nasrallah as friends. You fight those who share your ambitions for a free and comfortable and safe life. You fight those who could help you the most, just because they are Jews.

Stop waiting for others to fix your problems. Stop blaming others for your unwillingness to work for what you dream. Take responsibility for yourselves.

[charlie]

One can only hope when this destruction ceases the Lebanese will come to grip to the fact that only a strong government can save them.

The Siniora Government should demand HA ceases their military activities immediately.

The Government must demand HA hand over the Israeli soldiers to the Lebanese government and bring in the International Red Cross into the loop to help communicate their well being to the world.

The HA ministers should have never been part of this government, so they should be asked to leave. I am sure there are other Shiia leaders that are more deserving of a leadership opportunity than what HA offers.

If HA refuses, Siniora's next speech needs to be to the Lebanese people, specially HA supports to make a decision: Nasrallah, Iran, Syria and the path to destruction or the Lebanese state, construction, recovery and progress.

Nasrallah is a one dimensional militant, like the all the militant before him, he is only capable of generating havoc and instability, a statesman he is not.
.

[naja]

Hey thanks jgc for the sermon. I don't know if you were looking back then, but we took to the streets to kick the Syrian army out at a time when there were so many of their bloodthirsty agents around you couldn't complete the sentence "Syria out" without being beaten into a pulp. We reclaimed our independence when most of us couldn't recognize sovereignty if it performed a lap dance with its breasts out.

Choosing Yasser, Assad and Nasrallah as friends? For the first two, I'd like to see YOU negotiating with the nozzle of a 155mm howitzer (never mind the fact that the US had sold us to Damascus as part of a regional deal back in '91). As for Nasrallah, maybe when you walk a few steps down from the lofty heights of your ivory tower, you will notice that, in fact, we're not dealing with a bunch of boyscouts on a sunday picnic but with nothing less than, well, Iran - which, incidentally, even the number one world superpower is not that keen on taking on.

You can preach as much as you like but, unlike certain one-dimensional states I could mention, we happen to be a multi-sectarian, multi-ethnic, multi-opinionated nation, with all the delicate balancing acts that this dictates. For all its unforgivable ills, Hizbollah happens to command the devotion of a substantial community and, however much I and many other Lebanese despise them, we're not particularly keen on starting another civil war just to please your kind of haughty logic. Read a bit of contemporary history and use your brains before you start admonishing a nation that is helpless in the face of geopolitical games, and deeply, deeply grieving.

[Mike Thomas]

Naja: Sorry to be harsh...but until we Lebanese deal with Hizbollah, our future will be similar to the past and present. Grieving won't get us anywhere, action will. If we allow ourselves to be cowed by these terrorists we will be living in a mediterranean Iran in 10 years. No Maronites, no Melkites, no Druze, no Sunni, no Cedar Revolutions for anyone.

[Charlie]

Mike,

My friend, right on…. I know Lebanon is going through a very tough and difficult period right now, but we shouldn't lose sight of the fact we have not done all we can to clean up the internal HA, and the rogue Palestinian groups. The National dialogue turned out to be just an opportunity for Nasrallah to buy time till he committed his evil deed. He sat down with other Lebanese leaders pretending that he is interested in finding a solution to the present impasse; while in reality he was collaborating with Iran and Syria on finding new ways to undermine the birth of a new Lebanese state. If this is not treason, I don’t know what is.

Siniora should come to realize that he has done all he can to integrate HA into the Lebanese system, but they don’t want it and they don’t respect it. Thus HA have become an enemy of the state and the Lebanese people. Truly a sad turn of events for all involved.

[Ghassan Karam]

I still don't get it. Why would we not be able to accomplish the objective that we set for our selves without outside help. Don't misunderstand me Abu Kais I have nothing against seeking help from the UN or any other source as long as it is given with no conditionalitiea and as long as it meets the objectives that we as a nation state. My point is that we do not always have to go asking for help. We Have to grow up and learn to take responsibilities for our own action. We , the people of Lebanon should mobilize and offer the government of Mr. Siniora all the backing and legitimacy that it needs in order to deploy the army on the borders and disarm HA. Unless we demonstrate our unequivocal support for such a plan then no amount of help from any source will matter in the long run. It is our country and we have to make the decisions and show that we care. Freedom is not free. If we really desire it then we have to be willing to pay the price. Let us demonstrate our support for a legitimate strong Lebanese government. Let us support Mr Sinioras' plan. Ours is the only support that he needs.

[naja]

You're not being harsh, Mike. Indeed, theroretically you're spot on, and so are you, Ghassan. But I wish it were so straightforward. There is genuine fear of civil strife; in fact this is why even Walid Jumblatt is being very careful with his words. The "street" is glued not to this (excellent) blog, nor to coherent, rational stations, but to Al Manar and Al Jazeera, which perpetuate this sad Arab habit of celebrating the dilusionary victory.and the Orwellian imminent triumph (when the Israeli warship was hit, you would have thought Hizbollah tanks were rolling down the streets of Jerusalem!). I agree that we should show uninhibited support to Siniora's plan. But I don't particularly know how to, being now stuck outside Lebanon, but a groundswell of "enough!" that demolishes the prevailing opinion amongst HA supporters that they represent the majority would be hugely welcome. But how, other than by word of mouth? I'm sorry if i appear cagey, but taking to the streets would split our country. I'm not keen on another civil war (which HA would probably win hands down - have you noticed the kind of arsenal they've been keeping in their cellars?). Suggestions, folks?

[Akiva]

As a US citizen, Jew and supporter of Israel, all I can say when I see the comments on this blog are thank god for all of you.

The people of Lebanon have my hopes and prayers for their safety (and I'm sure that they are all deeply greatful for that ).

My own personal suggestion is that perhaps someone could start an online petition calling on the Saniora government to ally with the Israelis to disarm Hezbollah? Personally, I think that such an alliance would be a brilliant move because it would create a fairly unbreakable bond of peace and appreciation between the Israelis and Lebanese like yourselves who want Hezbollah gone, and would certainly end Israeli attacks on Lebanese infrastructure.

But even were the petition not acted upon (and unfortunately I think it is quite unlikely that it ever would be - to many political pitfalls) the simple fact of its existence and (if enough Lebanese sign on) the number of its signatories could provide exactly that "groundswell of 'enough'!" that you are talking about.

Again, I'm a US citizen and a jew, so I won't pretend to know enough about Lebanon to guess at whether such a thing would be feasible or effective. just thought I'd put it out there.

[Alex]

No matter what everyone may think of Hizballah and their actions whether they are the good, bad or ugly in this whole picture, justifies what Israel has done to Lebanon and the Lebanese people. The destruction of an entire nations infrastructure and the consequent death and injury of 100's of civilians is a calculated ferocity that has no equal.

[Nancy]

Reading this blog from the comfort and safety of my US home, I am overcome with sadness for your country. When weaker countries are caught in the cross-fires of more powerful ones, it seems so unjust. My heart goes out to the people of Lebanon. I will spread the word about this blog to my friends to supplement the news from mainstream media. Be well.